 | ||
   | ||
Email
Glossary |
|
hidden resovoirs Jan 14, 1999 Hello: Given that some anti-HIV therapies can reduce HIV to undetecatable levels in blood, is there any value in looking at lymph nodes or other body tissues? Is anyone doing research on looking at HIV in lymph nodes and other body tissues (ie. brain)? If so what have researchers learned? I guess what I am asking is do you forsee a time in the future where plasma viral load might be accopmanied by a tissue viral load test to help determine if the virus is truly cleared form the body? Sorry for so many questions. I just read other readers' questions about undetectable levels of the virus in the plasma and how HIV sometimes hides in the lymph nodes and it made me wonder. Thank you very much! |
||||||||
 |
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
 |
| Response from Dr. Holodniy
 Blood viral load is a very good mirror of the lymph nodes. It would be be too invasive to get ongoing lymph node biopsies from people. Yes these studies have been done. When the viral load is undetectable in the blood, there is very little if any replication going on in the lymph nodes. There are still however, infected cells which can be coaxed in the test tube to produce infectious virus. MH | ||||||||
 Get Email Notifications When This Forum Updates or Subscribe With RSS
|
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
Q&A TERMS OF USE
This forum is designed for educational purposes only, and experts are not rendering medical, mental health, legal or other professional advice or services. If you have or suspect you may have a medical, mental health, legal or other problem that requires advice, consult your own caregiver, attorney or other qualified professional.
Experts appearing on this page are independent and are solely responsible for editing and fact-checking their material. Neither TheBody.com nor any advertiser is the publisher or speaker of posted visitors' questions or the experts' material.
Review our complete terms of use and copyright notice.
