Medical Microbiology 850
Quiz 6 ANSWERS (10 points) - 11/17/00
CASE 6 - AIDS
Ed Stephens, Ph.D.
1. (2 pts) What are the neuropathological findings observed in patients
with HIV-1 induced encephalitits (HIV-E) ?
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Some of the neuropathological findings in patients with HIV-E include
perivascular cuffing with mononuclear cells, microglial nodules, giant
cell formation (syncytia), vacuolar myelopathy.
2. (2 pts) Name two opportunistic infections commonly found in HIV-1 patients?
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Candidia albicans
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Coccidioidomycosis, disseminated or extrapulmonary
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Cryptococcosis, extrapulmonary
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Cryptosporidiosis, chronic intestinal (greater than 1 month's duration)
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Cytomegalovirus disease (other than liver, spleen, or nodes)
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Cytomegalovirus retinitis (with loss of vision)
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Herpes simplex
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Histoplasmosis
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Isosporiasis
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Kaposi's sarcoma (HHV-8)
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Lymphoma, Burkitt's (EBV)
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Mycobacterium avium complex or M. kansasii, disseminated or extrapulmonary
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Mycobacterium tuberculosis, any site (pulmonary * or extrapulmonary)
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Mycobacterium, other species or unidentified species, disseminated or
extrapulmonary
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Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia
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Pneumonia, recurrent
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Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy
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Salmonella septicemia, recurrent
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Toxoplasmosis of brain
3. (2 pts) Name two cell types within the central nervous system (CNS)
that are infected by HIV-1.
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Microglial cells
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Astrocytes
4. (2 pts) What is the rationale behind HAART therapy?
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HAART is a combination therapy that utilizes inhibitors to the reverse
transcriptase and viral protease. The rationale of HAART is by utilizing
inhibitors to two essential enzymes of the virus that resistance mutants
will likely develop slower and viral loads will be reduced for longer periods
of time, resulting in improved immunological function in the patient.
5. (2 pts) What is the rationale for performing Western blot analysis as
an HIV-1 diagnostic tool?
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The rationale for peforming the Western blot analysis is that it is
a
confirmatory test that is more specific in detecting antibodies
against viral proteins than ELISA assays (more sensitive but less specific),which
are used to initial screen samples for HIV-1 antibodies. In the Western
blot analysis you look for antibodies to at least two viral proteins such
as to Env (gp160, gp120, and gp41), to one Env and one Gag (p24) and one
Env and one Pol (p55, p66).
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