AIDS-like disease revealed

Even as the promise of an AIDS vaccine seems finally within humanity`s reach, researchers in the United States have discovered a new disease —as-yet unnamed, but fortunately non-contagious— with very AIDS-like symptoms.

AIDS —or acquired immune deficiency syndrome— results from the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which completely disables its host`s natural defenses against infection. In the Philippines alone, as of June 2012, there were 295 reported HIV-positive cases, 16 of which were AIDS cases, according to the National Epidemiology Center`s latest HIV Surveillance Report.

However, unlike HIV, the newly-discovered immunodeficiency disease does not spread through a virus, nor is it inherited, said Dr. Sarah Browne of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

HIV attacks and destroys T-cells, the main defense of the bodies against germs. In contrast, the new disease does not affect those cells but in stead causes "a different kind of damage," said Browne.

Her study of 206 people from Taiwan and Thailand found that most of those infected with the disease make substances called "autoantibodies" that attack the body`s own tissues instead of fighting off invading germs.

The autoantibodies found by Browne`s study block interferon-gamma, a chemical signal that helps the body fight off infections. When the chemical signal is blocked, the person becomes vulnerable to fungal infections, viruses, parasites, and other bacteria —just as in an AIDS patient.


/gmanetwork.com/