How occurs the break down of the immune system responsible for AIDS?

How occurs the break down of the immune system responsible for AIDS?

E. When HIV infection gives rise to AIDS
1. So far we have seen the first step of an HIV infection is the increase of virus, released by the lymphocytes T Helpers. The level of virus into the blood is called viremia. It is why after an HIV infection the viremia increase rapidly because a lot of cells are infected and because they produce a lot of new viral particles. This is the acute phase of infection.
2. Then, in response to this increase of viremia, the immune system is activated. The number of antibodies against viral peptides increases. This is the humoral response.
3. The number of activated T Helpers and T cytotoxic increases simultaneously. This is the cell-mediated response.

During this asymptomatic phase, activated cells in response to HIV virus are at their highest level. The consequence of this extremely powerful response is a decrease in viremia. But somehow, and nobody knows so far. The immune system is overwhelmed and does not respond anymore. There is nomore humoral and cell-mediated response resulting in the increase of the viremia and the death of the infected patient.

THERAPEUTICS AGAINST HIV INFECTION
How an HIV infection can be treated. There is a major consensus agreement among the scientific community. So far it is not possible to cure AIDS. The ideal cure would consist in the elimination of every single infected T Helpers cells. But because it is not possible to detect the virus in its provirus form when it is integrated to its host genome (when the virus is in its latent form), it is not possible to act at this stage of infection. The alternative is to decease the level of free circulating virus into the blood by acting at different level in the life cycle of the virus. The idea being to prolong the asymptomatic phase of the HIV infection. To prolong the low level of viremia. As we have already seen earlier, the less virus is presented to the immune system and the less the immune system is recquired to fight back. At the extreme case the prolongation of the asymptomatic phase could last for the entire life of an infected person. It would be like a chronic disease, something that we have to control but something that we can not cure.