AIDS lesions are abnormal or damaged tissue caused by opportunistic infections and tumors that attack the immune system. Kaposi’s sarcoma is a common type of AIDS lesion, but lesions can also appear in the nervous system and other areas of the body. Hepatitis C and antiretroviral drugs can also cause lesions.
Areas of abnormal or damaged tissue, called lesions, are a common symptom of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). There are different types of AIDS injuries, caused by opportunistic infections and tumors that attack the sufferer as AIDS weakens his immune system. The most visible types of AIDS lesions are on the skin, but they can also appear on internal organs such as the brain and kidneys.
The cause of AIDS lesions best known to most of the general public is Kaposi’s sarcoma, a form of cancer in blood and lymphatic vessels caused by the herpesvirus associated with Kaposi’s sarcoma. Most carriers of the virus are unaffected by it, but in a person with a compromised immune system it can produce rapidly spreading malignant tumors in the victim’s body. It is usually initially visible as raised, darkened lesions on the skin caused by distortion in blood vessel formation, but as it progresses it sometimes spreads into the mouth and throughout the body. Other viral infections commonly seen in AIDS patients that cause skin lesions include olluscum contagiosum and both oral and genital herpes simplex virus.
Other AIDS lesions appear in the nervous system. Toxoplasmosis, an extremely common protozoal infection that is harmless in most people but extremely dangerous to those with severely compromised immune systems, can cause brain and eye damage in people with AIDS. Another common and usually harmless infection in the general population dangerous to AIDS patients is progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML). PML causes lesions in the white matter of the brain that cause decreased motor control; changes in vision, speech, and personality; and ultimately death without treatment. Another common cause of brain damage in people with AIDS is a type of cancer called primary lymphoma of the central nervous system, which can cause headaches, seizures and dementia.
Other areas of the body may also develop lesions due to AIDS, the accompanying opportunistic diseases, or the side effects of AIDS medications. Advanced Kaposi sarcoma can produce AIDS-like lesions within the gastrointestinal tract, lungs, or lymph nodes. A significant proportion of AIDS patients are also infected with hepatitis C, which causes liver damage and can also cause small skin lesions, usually on the legs. Antiretroviral drugs, commonly used to slow the development of AIDS, can also cause liver damage when taken in large amounts or over long periods of time. Some AIDS patients develop HIV-associated nephropathy, a condition that damages the kidneys and can eventually lead to kidney failure.
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