AIDS

AIDS is a baffling disease that has recently attracted considerable attention. The name stands for "acquired immune deficiency syndrome." It refers to a severe breakdown in the body's immune system. A person with AIDS is vulnerable to a variety of infections and tumors that would normally be attacked by the body's white blood cells. As a result, the person becomes weak and dies. The cause of AIDS is a virus. It was identified in 1984 by Dr. Luc Montagnier of the Pasteur Institute in Paris, who called it LAV- I, and also named by Dr. Robert C. Gallo of the National Cancer Institute, HTLV-III. It is now known as HIV, or human immunodeficiency virus. It is believed that the AIDS virus kills a specialized type of white blood cell, called the helper T4 cell, which normally protects the body from infection by destroying foreign substances that enter it. The disease is believed to be passed through blood and semen, but not passed by casual contact, such as sneezing or using the same utensils. In the United States, certain groups of people have the greatest risk of getting the disease: male homosexuals, intravenous drug users who share contaminated needles, and babies born to infected mothers. Before 1987, recipients of contaminated blood transfusions contracted AIDS. In Central Africa where AIDS is prevalent the disease is also spread by heterosexual contact. Heterosexual transmission is also becoming more common in the world. Considerable research is being conducted to develop a defense against the disease. In 1986, a drug, azidothymidine (AZT), was found to be effective against a form of pneumonia common among AIDS patients. It appears to interfere with  reproduction of the virus inside the body cells. In the near future, it is hoped that research will produce a vaccine against the virus. See also Health and Medicine.