MEDICAL UPDATE: HIV Diversity and the Progression to AIDS

MEDICAL UPDATE: HIV Diversity and the Progression to AIDS

Being Alive; March 1992
presented by Mark Katz MD and reported by Jim Stoecker

As we discussed last month, a major cofactor in the progression to AIDS may be the strain of HIV that the person carries. We now recognize that there is a diversity of HIV. A person may harbor several different strains, and these may change over time.

A study in Science, out of Oxford University in England, looked at a number of HIV+ people over time. The research subjects ranged from asymptomatic to people with late stage AIDS. Researchers found a steady increase in the more virulent strains of HIV as a person progressed to AIDS. This is not surprising. But what the researchers concluded is that this predominance of virulent HIV strains is the cause of progression, not the result of it. It may be that the more virulent strains arise over time and propel HIV infection. More research is needed to understand how these strains arise and how they affect the progression of HIV disease.
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