Much has recently been made of the damage that the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) does - not only to a person's CD4 cell count, but also to the entire body - via an inflammatory process which engages when the body's own defense mechanism is activated by the HIV.
What we have long known and are beginning to understand more about, now, is that cardiac (heart); cerebral (brain); osteo (bone); and other body systems are affected - though age at infection, length of time from infection to testing & detection, general overall health, treatment and other factors seem to influence the outcomes to varying degrees - as might logically be expected with any difference in disease progression from person to person.
Some people take special precautions, particularly if closely monitored by healthcare professionals and / or they are on treatment: These can include taking such things as statins (lipid-lowering agents that help fight higher-than-appropriate values in LDL-C and triglycerides: markers of cholesterol imbalance that can lead to heart disease); calcium and vitamin D supplements to help fight bone mineral density (BMD) decreases, which are not uncommon in HIV-positive persons, etc...
What other treatments - whether specifically suggested by healthcare professionals or not - are people using / taking / considering for overall healthy organ and system health in light of HIV infection?
Let us all know!
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