KNOW YOUR CD4 COUNT

CD4 COUNT 

In the treatments of patients with HIV or AIDS, the first or one of the major tests the doctor request the patient to do is the CD4 count test.

CD4 COUNT; What is it?

CD4 count is a lab test that measures the number of CD4 T-lymphocytes (CD4 Cells) in a sample of blood.

In people with HIV, it is the most important laboratory indicator of how well the immune system is working and the strongest predictor of HIV progression.

To understand why it's important, it is helpful to know what CD4 cells are. . .

WHAT ARE CD4 CELLS?

CD4 cells are a type of white blood cells that fight infections. Another name for them is T-helper cells.

CD4 cells are made in the spleen, lymph nodes, and thymus gland, which are part of the lymph or infection-fighting system. CD4 cells move throughout the body, helping to identify and destroy germs such as bacteria and viruses.

TYPES OF T-CELLS. . .

T-cells are divided into three groups:

• Helper T-Cells (also called T4 or CD4+ cells): These help other cells destroy infective organisms.

• Suppressor T-Cells (also called T8 or CD8+ cells): These suppress the activity of other lymphocytes so they don't destroy normal tissue.

• Killer T-Cells (also called cytotoxic T-lymphocytes, or CTLs, and are another kind of T8 or CD8+ cell): These recognize and destroy abnormal or infected cells.

The "c" and the "d" in CD4 stands for "cluster of differentiation," and refers to the cluster of proteins that make up a cell surface receptor. There are dozens of different types of clusters, but CD4s and CD8s are the ones talked about most often.

Moving on. . .

You ask, "since CD4 cells help to destroy bacteria and viruses, how come HIV still get to infect and cause harm to people?

Once a person is infected with HIV, the virus begins to attack and destroy the CD4 cells of the person's immune system. HIV uses the machinery of the CD4 cells to multiply (make copies of itself) and spread throughout the body. This process is called the HIV LIFE CYCLE.

How this event occurs. . .

HIV binds to the surface of CD4 cells, entering CD4 cells and becoming a part of them. As CD4 cells multiply to fight infection, they also make more copies of HIV, and HIV continues to replicate, leading to a gradual decline of CD4 cells.

As time goes on, HIV destroys entire "families" of these CD4 cells. Then the disease(s) these "families" were designed to fight can easily take over. That's when opportunistic infections are likely to develop.

So, during regular check-ups, an HIV healthcare provider will want to know the patient's CD4 count to help keep track of how healthy the patient is and whether the virus has progressed in the person's body.

CD4 COUNT RANGES. . .

The CD4 count of an uninfected adult/adolescent who is generally in good health ranges from 500 cells/mm to 1,200 cells/mm.

A very low CD4 count (less than 200 cells/mm ) is one of the ways to determine whether a person living with HIV has progressed to stage 3 infection (AIDS). READ HERE to see stages of HIV Infection.

The CD4 count is also used to help the patient and the healthcare provider decide when to start antiretroviral therapy (ART).

ART is recommended for everyone with HIV, but the urgency to start ART is greater in people with low or rapidly falling CD4 counts.

A falling CD4 count indicates that HIV is advancing and damaging the immune system.

After the start of ART, the healthcare provider will use the CD4 count as one way to check how well the medication is working to monitor the effectiveness of the HIV regimen.

The healthcare provider will also monitor the CD4 count to determine whether it has fallen to a level at which the patient might be at risk for certain opportunistic infections. In that case, the HIV care provider may prescribe some additional medications to prevent other infections.

NOTE: THE HIGHER YOUR CD4 COUNT, THE BETTER FOR YOUR HEALTH, THE BETTER YOU'RE ABLE TO FIGHT HIV AND OTHER INFECTIONS.

#ITSABOUTTIME

#Stayhealthy