Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) invades key white blood cells called T-lymphocytes and replicates, causing a breakdown in the body's immune system that increases vulnerability to opportunistic infections and cancers. Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is a condition characterized by an HIV-damaged immune system. Treatment with antiretroviral drugs to slow the progression of HIV can help prevent a series of various illnesses, from common ailments to specific diseases, and has reduced AIDS-related fatalities from these complications.
Tuberculosis
HIV infection and tuberculosis (TB) infection cause complications for one another. Primary screening tests for TB rely on an immune response that may be weak in HIV positive patients. If HIV status is known, other screening methods are used. TB infection takes years to develop to active status in healthy individuals, but may progress very rapidly because of a synergistic relationship with HIV. According to the Mayo Clinic, HIV makes it easier for TB infection to take hold in the body, and TB encourages rapid replication of HIV. Tuberculosis is endemic in some countries and multidrug-resistant strains are a growing problem in the United States.
Viral Hepatitis
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), about one fourth of HIV-infected persons in the United States are also infected with viral hepatitis type B or C. These organisms are blood-borne pathogens; the mode of transmission is the same as for HIV. Viral hepatitis causes chronic disease and damage to liver cells and may progress quickly if the immune system is impaired. Because anti-retroviral drugs can be toxic to the liver, the treatment of HIV is complicated by the effects of viral hepatitis.
Cancer
Kaposi's sarcoma is a very rare malignancy in those who do not have HIV. Although anti-retroviral therapy has reduced the incidence among the HIV-infected population,15 percent develop tumors despite treatment, according to "Patient UK" author Tim Kenny, M.D. As nodes grow on blood vessel walls they appear as pink, red, or brown bumps on the face and mouth but may also be present in the digestive tract, lungs, and other internal organs.
Tumors that invade the lymph nodes of the neck, armpit, or groin known as Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma develop in approximately 10 percent of those infected with HIV, according to Dr. Kenny. Besides HIV infection, aggressive forms are associated with Epstein Barr virus. Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma can spread to the brain. Cancer cells that form these tumors originate in lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell found in the lymph glands, digestive tract, spleen, bone marrow and skin.
