Hi everyone,
Hope you all had another good week! This week has been an interesting one for me I did a lot of research on different diseases related to HIV/AIDS. One condition I researched was HIV wasting syndrome, which according to AIDS.org is, "the involuntary loss of more than 10% of body weight, plus more than 30 days of either diarrhea, or weakness and fever(aids.org, 1)." Also according to aids.org the wasting condition is caused alterations in your metabolism and hormones, and the loss of appetite due to HIV/AIDS. The second disease I researched was Kaposi's Sarcomas and according to Medline Plus they are, "a cancer that causes patches of abnormal tissue to grow under the skin, in the lining of the mouth, nose, and throat or in other organs(Medline Plus, 1)." Kaposi's Sarcomas are caused a strain of the herpes virus, herpes virus 8, because the virus brings genetic material into the cell causing too much division and growth according to Medline Plus. Another disease related to HIV/AIDS is Isosporiasis which according to aidsmeds.com is, "an organism infects the lining of the small intestine and can cause severe diarrhea and malabsorbtion (aidsmeds.com, 1)." And it is caused by the protozoan Isospora belli and is spread through feces according to aidsmeds.com. The last condition I researched was immunosuppression which according to Google Health is when the, "CD4+ count less than 200 microliter and/or CD4+ percentage of lymphocytes less than 14%(Google Health, 1)." It is caused when the body does not develop enough antibodies to help fight off a disease or foreign substance, or does not try to fight off the disease at all.
Also this week we were told to write about two different famous people that died. I have decided to wright about Robert Reed and Merritt Butrick to famous actors that died due to AIDS. Robert Reed was most remember for play the father, Mike Brady, on the Brady Bunch tv show, he was also in many other tv and movie apperances. Robert Reed was born in Illinois on October 19, 1932 and unfortunately died on May 12, 1992. Robert Reed died from colon and bladder cancer due to AIDS according to findadeath.com. Robert Reed is a well know actor and I hope that his death influenced some of the education and research movements for HIV/AIDS, but I was too young to remember. The other actor I wanted to talk about was Merritt Butrick. He was mainly known as the role of captain Kirk in Star Trek and in the movie Fright Night 2. He was born right here in Gainesville, Florida on September 3, 1959 and died on March 17, 1989. He died of AIDS when only 29 and was dedicated in a featurette during the film Square Pegs, according to findadeath.com also. It is crazy how many well know actors/actresses have died with HIV/AIDS or are still living with the condition. I hope it shows that everyone is at risk for HIV/AIDS and motivates people to help find a cure and educate for HIV/AIDS.
Did you Know
In this weeks did you know I decided to talk about a medication that helps with the HIV/AIDS related disease Kaposi's Sarcoma. According to aidsdrugsonline.com Etoposide is a medication used to treat Kaposi's Sarcoma and Aids-related non Hodgkin's lymphoma. It is also used to treat other various HIV/AIDS related cancers. It works by inhibiting the enzyme topoisomerase II and is used as a type of chemo according to aidsdrugsonline.com. Also according to aidsdrugsonline.com side effects include, "low blood pressure, hair loss, constipation, diarrhea, metallic taste in mouth, bone suppression (which lowers white cell count), and nausea(aidsdrugsonline.com, 1)." Now there was a ton more side effects on the home page, but too much for me to wright all down. One fact that surprised me was that a prescription of 28 pills cost $158.82! I do not know if insurance covers any of this medication, but I sure hope it does, because HIV/AIDS has been around long enough for the medication to be mass produced and become cheaper or covered by insurance. Also just going through the website shows you how many drugs HIV/AIDS patients have to take and the prices are through the roof, I have no idea how they afford it, because I could not now and neither could my family.
AIDS drugs. (2009). Etoposide Fact Sheet. (March 3, 2010). http://www.aidsdrugsonline.com/en/hiv-medications/etoposide
Merritt Butrick(March 3, 2010). http://www.findadeath.com/Deceased/b/merrittbutrick/johnnyslash.htm
Robert Reed(March 3, 2010). http://www.findadeath.com/Deceased/r/Robert%20Reed/robert_reed.htm
AIDS.org(2009). Wasting Syndrome(March 3, 2010). http://www.aids.org/factsheets/519-wasting-syndrome.html
Medline Plus(2009). Kaposi's Sarcoma. (March 3, 2010). http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/kaposissarcoma.html#cat5
Aidsmeds.com(2009). Isosporosis(March 3, 2010). http://www.aidsmeds.com/articles/isosporiasis6876.shtml
Google Health(2010). Immuno deficency disorders(March 3, 2010). http://www.health.google.com/health/ref/immunodeficiency+disorders
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Thanks, I had not thought about Robert Reed in a long time. It's good to not forget. I hadn't known the details of what causes KS as well, so there is always something new to learn.
ReplyDeleteMedications are quite expensive, and I live in Canada where pricing is regulated and not the wild west of whatever the free market will bear. One protease inhibitor alone is about 900 dollars Canadian a month, and the NNRTI is about the same, plus I have Issentress which should be around that price if not a little more per montrh. Anyhow it works out to a few thousand a month. Fortunately I have private insurance to pay for it, otherwise in Canada each province deals with reimbursement differently.
Jenna, you have to wonder why people take drugs when you see all the side effects. Its no wonder that many HIV positive people stop their toxic drugs and go it alone. I guess it becomes a question of quality over quantity.
ReplyDeleteDidn't know you lived in Canada, Brian. I am Canadian, born in Shawinigan Fall, Quebec and moved to Whitby, Ontario, east of Toronto at 15.
Worked for the Toronto General Hospital as a respiratory therapist until I came to Florida to get my BS degree in 1974. Have not been back except to visit. I still miss the country, but just can't leave the warm weather here in Florida.