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AIDS is Aging, and vice versa

We know that Immune health deteriorates as you age. But did you know that the aging of your immune system may be an important CAUSE of aging in general?

The thymus is a small but essential organ overlying your breastplate where fresh immune cells from the bone marrow, aka the “T Cells” (for thymus), become mature. It is like a “West Point” for T-cells which will be selected for their ability to learn the host’s unique password, the MHC-1 (or Major Histocompatibility Complex 1), that almost every cell in your body possesses. In the diagram below, this “positive selection” takes place in the outer cortex. MHC-1 critical for fighting cancer and viruses-infected cells.

The thymus is the heart of the adaptive immune system
The thymus is the heart of the adaptive immune system


Before they graduate, the majority of T-cells are killed off by apoptosis (programmed cell death) because they react too strongly to the MHC 1 and might escape to wreak havoc on host cells by creating autoimmune diseases. This “negative selection” takes place in the central medulla of the thymus.

Until the 1960’s, scientists considered the thymus to be a useless organ, a graveyard for immune cells. This was probably because the organ was withered by the time their older patients went to autopsy.

On the other hand, the ancient Greek physician, Galen (AD 129-200) considered the thymus the “seat of the soul” and “that mystical organ.” We now realize that the thymus is literally and figuratively the center of the adaptive immune system. Galen noted that the relative size was greatest as an infant and that after puberty, the organ shrinks. But the “thymic West Point” probably withers because of lack of enrollment from eligible young T-cells, not from self-destruction.

Advanced HIV infection, aka AIDS, results in a premature burning-out of the host’s immune system. That is why HIV patients keep track of their “T-cell count” as a gauge of how much immune function remains. CD28 (+) cells are “naive T-cells” and are thus able to adapt to new immune threats. With AIDS, the immune system loses its capacity to respond to new threats as the proportion of CD 28(-) (pronounced ‘cee-dee-negative’) T-cells increases. CD28 (-) T-cells, stretching the military metaphor, are 4F, or not suitable for military service.
immune deficiency allows cancer to develop and thrive
immune deficiency allows cancer to develop and thrive

Previously an extremely rare cancer occurring in elderly Mediterranean men, Kaposi’s sarcoma (shown above) was one of the first phenomena of AIDS before scientists had identified HIV in the early 1980’s. So what is the relationship between cancer, viruses and immune deficiency?

You body is constantly fighting new cancers and latent viruses like an army waging war on many fronts. When all the T cells (West Point officers) and the Natural Killers (enlisted men) are used up, the war is lost.

To understand why AIDS is a form of Aging and vice versa, go to:
https://www.rechargebiomedical.com/immunehealth.html

1 thought on “AIDS is Aging, and vice versa”

  1. Lorraine Pacific

    Excellent article. I’m a fan of Dr. Dave’s and have learned so much from his e-mails. This adds to my knowledge. I’m doing the exercise, Omega 3-6-9, Resveratrol, etc….., but after reading your article, wish I could afford TA-65.

    Thanks for the enlightenment!

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