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MEDICAL ANIMATION TRANSCRIPT: HIV or human immunodeficiency virus is the retrovirus that eventually causes AIDS or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Overtime, HIV infection suppresses the immune response, resulting in a spectrum of diseases leading to AIDS. HIV is transmitted from an infected person via specific bodily fluids including blood, semen, vaginal fluids, and breast milk. White blood cells or leukocytes defend the body from infection. One group of leukocytes called T lymphocytes or T Cells is part of a direct immune response against infected cells and tumor cells. During HIV infection, HIV targets and kills certain cells in the immune system. HIV attacks CD4 T cells, which are a sub-type of T cells that signal other leukocytes to attack a specific pathogen. HIV replicates inside the CD4 T cells, which not only kills them, but also allows the virus to spread and infect healthy cells. As HIV continues to replicate and destroy more CD4 T cells, the body becomes defenseless, succumbing to infections. When a CD4 count drops below 200, a person is considered to have AIDS. This can take as long as 10 years from the time aperson is infected with HIV. This low CD4 count increases susceptibility to opportunistic infection such as encephalitis and meningitis, debilitating illnesses such as Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia and tuberculosis, and cancers such as Koposi's sarcoma. Patients can die from these opportunistic diseases, not from the HIV infection itself. Although there is no cure or vaccine for HIV infection or AIDS, medication can slow the progression of HIV infection. Antiretroviral medications such as highly active antiretroviral therapy or HAART combine several anti-HIV medications in a daily regimen. HAART attacks HIV at several points in its life cycle, slowing its replication. One drug in the cocktail, a fusion inhibitor, blocks HIV from binding to the cell. A second drug, reverse transcriptase inhibitor, blocks it from replicating. And a third drug, a protease inhibitor, prevents HIV from assembling a new virus. Though it is not possible to completely eliminate HIV from the body, HARRT slows progression and significantly reduces deaths from HIV-related diseases. In addition to HAART, there are other HIV medication drug classes available. Other treatment options for AIDS include specific medications for opportunistic infections, for example, licensed healthcare professionals prescribe certain antibiotics to treat tuberculosis and pneumonia. Blood tests are performed regularly to check CD4 counts and determine the efficacy of the cocktail and antiviral. ♪ [music] ♪
"Medical Legal Art wins our firm's highest accolades for professionalism and
exhibit quality. In fact, many of the doctors I work with request color
copies of your outstanding artwork to show to patients during the informed
consent process."
Jeanne Dolan, BSRN, AlNC Legal Nurse Consultant Golden Valley, MN
"It is with great enthusiasm that I recommend Medical Legal Art. We have
used their services for three years and always found their professionalism,
quality of work, and timely attention to detail to exceed our expectations.
We recently settled two complicated catastrophic injury cases. One medical
malpractice case involving a spinal abscess settled for 3.75 million and the
other involving injuries related to a motor vehicle accident settled for 6.9
million. We consider the artwork provided by MLA to have been invaluable in
helping us to successfully conclude these cases.
I highly recommend MLA to anyone seeking high quality, detailed medical
legal artwork."
E. Marcus Davis, Esq.
Davis Zipperman, Krischenbaum & Lotito
Atlanta, GA www.emarcusdavis.com
"I thought you might want to know that after we sent a copy of your
illustration to the defendants, with a copy to
the insurance company, they increased their offer by an additional million
dollars and the case was settled for $1,900,000.00.
I appreciate your help!"
O. Fayrell Furr, Jr.
Furr, Henshaw & Ohanesian
Myrtle Beach, SC
www.scmedicalmalpractice.com
"We are extremely pleased with the quality of the medical exhibits and the
timely manner in which they were provided. I will certainly recommend
your company to my business associates who could benefit from your services.
Please tell Brian Wilson [Director of Content Development, Senior Medical
Illustrator] that he did an exceptional job on these exhibits."
Medical Legal Art creates medical demonstrative evidence (medical
illustrations, drawings, pictures, graphics, charts, medical animations,
anatomical models, and interactive presentations) for use during legal
proceedings, including research, demand letters, client conferences,
depositions, arbitrations, mediations, settlement conferences, mock jury
trials and for use in the courtroom. We do not provide legal or medical
advice. If you have legal questions, you should find a lawyer with whom you
can discuss your case issues. If you have medical questions, you should seek the advice of a healthcare provider.