主页 > 医学新闻 >
[贴图]HIV写真集
HIV's Brain Assault
HIV is the particularly lethal and nasty virus that causes AIDS. Left untamed, it can harm the brain and impair mental function, a condition called HIV-associated dementia. In the past few years, researchers have made progress in battling HIV by developing HIV-targeting treatments. These treatments, however, seem to have some trouble battling the virus in the brain. Researchers hope to add fire to the current treatment regimen by developing methods to stop the series of damaging reactions that appear to occur following HIV infection. New strategies are being tested in humans.
Many researchers believe that HIV damages the vital brain cells, neurons, indirectly. According to one theory, HIV either infects (1) or activates (2) cells that nurture and maintain the brain, known as macrophages and microglia. These cells then produce toxins (3) that can set off a series of reactions that instruct neurons to kill themselves. The infected macrophages and microglia also appear to produce additional factors (4) - chemokines and cytokines - that can affect neurons as well as other brain cells known as astrocytes. The affected astrocytes, which normally nurture and protect neurons, also may now end up harming neurons. Researchers hope that new drugs under investigation will interfere with the detrimental cycle and prevent neuron death.
[标签:content1][标签:content2]
阅读本文的人还阅读：
作者:admin@医学,生命科学 2011-02-19 17:11
医学,生命科学网