摘要
The natural history of HIV is defined as the untreated progression from the time of HIV transmission to death. The typical course of infection is characterized by three phases： acute or primary infection phase, the asymptomatic phase, and AIDS. Primary infection is often accompanied by a symptomatic acute retroviral syndrome starting 2-3 weeks after transmission and lasting an additional 2-4 weeks. The asymptomatic phase, in contrast, is long with a duration that varies widely. While there is little consensus on how to divide patients based on their duration of asymptomatic phase, multiple clinical groups have been described in the literature including rapid progressors, typical progressors, long-term nonprogressors, and elite controllers. Approximately 5% to 15% of asymptomatic subjects considered as rapid progressors experience a sharp decline in CD4^＋ T cell counts progressing to AIDS within 2 to 5 years.
The natural history of HIV is defined as the untreated progression from the time of HIV transmission to death. The typical course of infection is characterized by three phases： acute or primary infection phase, the asymptomatic phase, and AIDS. Primary infection is often accompanied by a symptomatic acute retroviral syndrome starting 2-3 weeks after transmission and lasting an additional 2-4 weeks. The asymptomatic phase, in contrast, is long with a duration that varies widely. While there is little consensus on how to divide patients based on their duration of asymptomatic phase, multiple clinical groups have been described in the literature including rapid progressors, typical progressors, long-term nonprogressors, and elite controllers. Approximately 5% to 15% of asymptomatic subjects considered as rapid progressors experience a sharp decline in CD4^＋ T cell counts progressing to AIDS within 2 to 5 years.
