7 ms·

A Man Who Beat HIV for 30 Years

48 points by BIackSwan 11y ago

lkrubner 11y ago
When my dad was 9 years old he had whooping cough. Then it went it away for 55 years. Then, slowly, it began to creep back, as he got older and his immune system became less aggressive. And I think this is a common story for almost any virus: once you get it, you have it for life, but for most of your life, while your immune system is strong, the virus will remain repressed. But once you get older, those viruses start coming back. We know of many viruses that can resurface, decades later. Shingles is perhaps the most common, something like 25% to 33% of people eventually get shingles (according to the CDC, 96% percent of the USA population has the herpes zoster virus). And of course, we now know that many things that used to be thought of as a natural part of the aging process are in fact caused by bacteria: gum disease stomach ulcers heart disease There is also evidence that most back pain is caused by bacteria (according to the CDC, 30% of the USA population shows signs of exposure to spinal meningitis). There is also the theory that certain forms of dementia are driven by bacteria. (Dementia onset following a bout of pneumonia is a common story.) I think this man's story fits into the ordinary story of a man getting older and his immune system getting less aggressive. In terms of cost/benefit analysis, it is worth noting, if we could find a general way to boost the immune system, the benefits would apply to thousands of illnesses, including all of the most common ones. Research on any one disease is less likely to yield the sort of wide benefits that boosting the immune system would offer. Such research (to boost the immune system in a general way) might seem a bit far fetched, but I think it justified by the large benefits it could yield.
- refurb 11y ago
  And I think this is a common story for almost any virus: once you get it, you have it for life, but for most of your life, while your immune system is strong, the virus will remain repressed. But once you get older, those viruses start coming back. I would say that's a minority of viruses. There are some great examples of viruses that stay dormant in the body (HSV, HCV), but most viruses are completely cleared by the immune system.
  - maxerickson 11y ago
    I thought that too, and read this looking for a good resource on it: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK8538/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK8538/ Several times it discusses viruses that are treated as acute but probably persistent (including measles and various intestinal and respiratory viruses).
- maxerickson 11y ago
  The immune response is plenty strong as it is. The problem is getting it to target things that have evolved for thousands of years to avoid it. Auto immune diseases and allergies are some indication that it is a delicate balancing act.
- cperciva 11y ago
  if we could find a general way to boost the immune system We have ways of boosting the immune system. Unfortunately they tend to result in patients dying of multiple organ failure when the overactive immune system attacks cells which we can't do without. Even when dealing with infectious diseases, many deaths are caused not by pathogens but rather by the immune responses to them. What we need is a way to selectively boost the immune system.
  - rsync 11y ago
    Actually, we have a way to boost the immune system that has none of those side effects - regular, moderate exercise.
- maurycy 11y ago
  Could you link to the CDC claim that 30% of the US population shows signs of exposure to spinal meningitis? I'm unable to find any references. Personally, I find this quite probable, since antibiotics are already known to reliev some back pain.
- Gatsky 11y ago
  Whooping cough is caused by bacteria (Bordatella pertussis). It is virtually unheard of for whooping cough to re-activate, catching it again as a new infection is much more likely. Incidentally, there is a zoster vaccine that can prevent shingles[1]. If you have ever seen anyone with the debillitating pain that shingles can cause, you will realise that this vaccine is definitely worth it. [1] http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/shingles/vacc-need-know.htm http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/shingles/vacc-need-know....
spoiler 11y ago
This is kind of a touchy subject for me. I don't practice unsafe sex but I had unprotected sex once with a guy I was dating who got pretty close to contracting the virus a day before we had sex. He is a medic and he was measuring a woman's blood sugar after she fainted. It was a small office where it happened and as he was taking the stabby pen someone pushed him and he accidentally stabbed his palm (he's unsure how the pen was armed). He didn't think much of it and took some mandatory tests, but after a few weeks he found out the woman had HIV. We both got tested (he got tested more extensively and a few times because of his work), and we were both negative, thankfully. To make things worse in the early phase of the virus most people develop a fever and have flu-like symptoms (according to WebMD, lol). It was just around flu season; I contracted the flu. Those two weeks that it took the test results to come back were probably the worst of my life. I can't even describe my state of mind. I was mortified. Also, the stress made my depression worse and I was genuinely on the verge of committing suicide at least a couple of times. I think the only reason why I didn't commit suicide at the time was because I thought it would effect him (the guy I was dating) too much. After I found out I wasn't HIV positive, it took me about 2 weeks to recover from it. I tested for HIV a few more times after that, even though I didn't practice sex at all since then. I'll never underestimate the wisdom behind the simple phrase that is play safe. On the subject of unwanted intrusion: What's with all the spammy comments on that post? I always considered Disqus to have pretty good spam protection.
- Grazester 11y ago
  Did he have Pep treatment after this exposure? I would be surprised if as a medical worker who was exposed to the virus he didn't. You really can't trust the internet to tell you if you have HIV based on symptoms.Everything begins to look like a symptom when you are worried about any kind of sickness or ailment and it just happens at those glorious times too.
  - spoiler 11y ago
    Yeah, he got PEP'd right after he was exposed to the woman's blood as a precaution. I'm not sure if that covers HIV; he was equally stressed about the whole thing as I was. He found out the woman has HIV from a colleague, but only ~10 days after being exposed.
adevine 11y ago
The section of this article that discussed a "potential downside" of anti-retroviral treatments being that they prevent human evolution seemed downright offensive to me. I don't think the author realizes it but what he is suggesting is basically eugenics. Evolution against pathogens works by killing off most everyone who isn't naturally immune. The fact that we can halt this process with drugs and technology isn't a "potential downside" - it's the goal.
- evincarofautumn 11y ago
  The problem that the author describes is that we can’t discover who’s naturally immune and thereby develop cures if we always halt the natural immune process with treatments. I don’t know how scientifically valid this is, but it seems at least a valid ethical concern: if we could eradicate a deadly disease by sacrificing a few people, should we?

48 points by BIackSwan 11y ago

When my dad was 9 years old he had whooping cough. Then it went it away for 55 years. Then, slowly, it began to creep back, as he got older and his immune system became less aggressive. And I think this is a common story for almost any virus: once you get it, you have it for life, but for most of your life, while your immune system is strong, the virus will remain repressed. But once you get older, those viruses start coming back. We know of many viruses that can resurface, decades later. Shingles is perhaps the most common, something like 25% to 33% of people eventually get shingles (according to the CDC, 96% percent of the USA population has the herpes zoster virus). And of course, we now know that many things that used to be thought of as a natural part of the aging process are in fact caused by bacteria: gum disease stomach ulcers heart disease There is also evidence that most back pain is caused by bacteria (according to the CDC, 30% of the USA population shows signs of exposure to spinal meningitis). There is also the theory that certain forms of dementia are driven by bacteria. (Dementia onset following a bout of pneumonia is a common story.) I think this man's story fits into the ordinary story of a man getting older and his immune system getting less aggressive. In terms of cost/benefit analysis, it is worth noting, if we could find a general way to boost the immune system, the benefits would apply to thousands of illnesses, including all of the most common ones. Research on any one disease is less likely to yield the sort of wide benefits that boosting the immune system would offer. Such research (to boost the immune system in a general way) might seem a bit far fetched, but I think it justified by the large benefits it could yield.

refurb 11y ago
And I think this is a common story for almost any virus: once you get it, you have it for life, but for most of your life, while your immune system is strong, the virus will remain repressed. But once you get older, those viruses start coming back. I would say that's a minority of viruses. There are some great examples of viruses that stay dormant in the body (HSV, HCV), but most viruses are completely cleared by the immune system.
- maxerickson 11y ago
  I thought that too, and read this looking for a good resource on it: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK8538/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK8538/ Several times it discusses viruses that are treated as acute but probably persistent (including measles and various intestinal and respiratory viruses).
maxerickson 11y ago
The immune response is plenty strong as it is. The problem is getting it to target things that have evolved for thousands of years to avoid it. Auto immune diseases and allergies are some indication that it is a delicate balancing act.
cperciva 11y ago
if we could find a general way to boost the immune system We have ways of boosting the immune system. Unfortunately they tend to result in patients dying of multiple organ failure when the overactive immune system attacks cells which we can't do without. Even when dealing with infectious diseases, many deaths are caused not by pathogens but rather by the immune responses to them. What we need is a way to selectively boost the immune system.
- rsync 11y ago
  Actually, we have a way to boost the immune system that has none of those side effects - regular, moderate exercise.
maurycy 11y ago
Could you link to the CDC claim that 30% of the US population shows signs of exposure to spinal meningitis? I'm unable to find any references. Personally, I find this quite probable, since antibiotics are already known to reliev some back pain.
Gatsky 11y ago
Whooping cough is caused by bacteria (Bordatella pertussis). It is virtually unheard of for whooping cough to re-activate, catching it again as a new infection is much more likely. Incidentally, there is a zoster vaccine that can prevent shingles[1]. If you have ever seen anyone with the debillitating pain that shingles can cause, you will realise that this vaccine is definitely worth it. [1] http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/shingles/vacc-need-know.htm http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/shingles/vacc-need-know....

spoiler 11y ago

This is kind of a touchy subject for me. I don't practice unsafe sex but I had unprotected sex once with a guy I was dating who got pretty close to contracting the virus a day before we had sex. He is a medic and he was measuring a woman's blood sugar after she fainted. It was a small office where it happened and as he was taking the stabby pen someone pushed him and he accidentally stabbed his palm (he's unsure how the pen was armed). He didn't think much of it and took some mandatory tests, but after a few weeks he found out the woman had HIV. We both got tested (he got tested more extensively and a few times because of his work), and we were both negative, thankfully. To make things worse in the early phase of the virus most people develop a fever and have flu-like symptoms (according to WebMD, lol). It was just around flu season; I contracted the flu. Those two weeks that it took the test results to come back were probably the worst of my life. I can't even describe my state of mind. I was mortified. Also, the stress made my depression worse and I was genuinely on the verge of committing suicide at least a couple of times. I think the only reason why I didn't commit suicide at the time was because I thought it would effect him (the guy I was dating) too much. After I found out I wasn't HIV positive, it took me about 2 weeks to recover from it. I tested for HIV a few more times after that, even though I didn't practice sex at all since then. I'll never underestimate the wisdom behind the simple phrase that is play safe. On the subject of unwanted intrusion: What's with all the spammy comments on that post? I always considered Disqus to have pretty good spam protection.

Grazester 11y ago
Did he have Pep treatment after this exposure? I would be surprised if as a medical worker who was exposed to the virus he didn't. You really can't trust the internet to tell you if you have HIV based on symptoms.Everything begins to look like a symptom when you are worried about any kind of sickness or ailment and it just happens at those glorious times too.
- spoiler 11y ago
  Yeah, he got PEP'd right after he was exposed to the woman's blood as a precaution. I'm not sure if that covers HIV; he was equally stressed about the whole thing as I was. He found out the woman has HIV from a colleague, but only ~10 days after being exposed.

adevine 11y ago

The section of this article that discussed a "potential downside" of anti-retroviral treatments being that they prevent human evolution seemed downright offensive to me. I don't think the author realizes it but what he is suggesting is basically eugenics. Evolution against pathogens works by killing off most everyone who isn't naturally immune. The fact that we can halt this process with drugs and technology isn't a "potential downside" - it's the goal.

evincarofautumn 11y ago
The problem that the author describes is that we can’t discover who’s naturally immune and thereby develop cures if we always halt the natural immune process with treatments. I don’t know how scientifically valid this is, but it seems at least a valid ethical concern: if we could eradicate a deadly disease by sacrificing a few people, should we?