Monitoring the Treatment of HIV Infection and AIDS

A regular part of HIV health care involves having blood tests done every 3-6 months to monitor your overall health, the progression of HIV disease, your immune system's response to medications that you are taking, and any medication-related side effects or complications. Some of the most common laboratory tests done are the CD4 cell count, HIV viral load, blood chemistry (includes liver and kidney function tests), blood lipid panels (cholesterol, blood fats), blood sugar tests, and complete blood count, or CBC (checks for low white cell counts and anemia). It is important for a person who is being treated for any chronic disease to be educated about the disease and its treatment in order to be a true "partner" in their own health care. HIV is no exception. You should know what lab tests are being done, what they are measuring or monitoring, and the implications of the results. In this article I will discuss the CD4 cell count (T Cells).

In order to understand how HIV breaks down the immune system, it is important for you to have a basic understanding of how the immune system works when it is healthy and not compromised by HIV. The immune system is one of the most complex systems in the human body. HIV harms the body's immune system by targeting and infecting the CD4 cells, or T-cells, which are a type of white blood cell whose purpose in the body is to resist infection and protect the body from illness. The CD4 cells are a major part of the body's natural first-line defense against illness. Once inside the CD4 cells, HIV takes over the cells and turns them into "virus factories" within the body, making thousands of copies of itself in each cell. As the amount of virus grows, the original CD4 cell is damaged and eventually destroyed. HIV eventually kills so many of these cells that the immune system is weakened and the body is no longer able to defend itself against infections (bacteria, viruses, parasites, molds) and certain cancers. If left untreated, HIV can lead to the development of opportunistic infections, AIDS, and death.