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Author Topic: New numbers high and low  (Read 3409 times)

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Offline Cerrid

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New numbers high and low
« on: October 05, 2007, 11:13:08 am »
I just got my new numbers and I'm very pleased because my CD4 increased by a factor 2.4 within the last three months, going from 119 in June to 290 in September. It's the first time I'm above 200 since my diagnosis one year ago, when I started with a measly CD4 of 1 and went straight to taking meds (Epzicom/Kaletra). So that's a nice evolution and I didn't expect to bounce back this quickly, really. VL has been undetectable for half a year in a row now.

However, there's one hitch: Between June and September my CD8 count increased by a factor 4.5, going from 650 to 3200 and sending my CD4 percentage down from 9,8 % to 6,5%. Which I figure is not so good... Or is it? I'm a bit at a loss here when it comes to judging absolute and relative numbers. What do you folks think?

March07:    T4=70   (6,0%)   T8=630   (54,0%)   T4/T8=0,10   
June 07:    T4=119   (9,8%)  T8=652   (53,0%)   T4/T8=0,20   
Sept 07:    T4=290   (6,5%)  T8=3199  (71,8%)   T4/T8=0,10
"Boredom is always counterrevolutionary. Always." (Guy Debord)

Offline vokz

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Re: New numbers high and low
« Reply #1 on: October 05, 2007, 12:08:45 pm »
Well, if your CD4 is there now (which it is), then it is a sign of your immune system kicking in and reacting to something – and in that sense it is a good sign and shows that your CD4s are doing their job and mustering a strong CD8 response.

If you aren’t obviously suffering from anything, then don’t worry about it .. it could just be a very mild immune reconstitution reaction to some other mild infection that you hadn’t been able to respond effectively to before (and that would be entirely normal when bouncing back so quickly from such a low CD4 count).

Just be alert to any weird symtoms or signs of inflamation / swelling.

Offline milker

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Re: New numbers high and low
« Reply #2 on: October 05, 2007, 07:42:25 pm »
Studies for treatment naive individuals have shown that those with CD4 counts < 300 have a CD8 range of 200 to 1300, and those with CD4 counts over 300 have a CD8 range of 580 to 3600. For people taking HAART there is this interesting study:

"Following initiation of HAART, substantial increases in CD4+ T cell counts and decreases in viral loads were observed in both groups, indicating treatment success. CNAR activity was found to be increased significantly during HAART, but only in the late-stage group (p < 0.01). This increase in CD8+ cell function was seen within 4 weeks of treatment initiation and resulted in levels of CNAR activity almost equal to those observed in the healthy reference subjects. Our findings suggest a beneficial effect on CNAR in those individuals with reduced activity, typically in late-stage infection."  source

CNAR is the amount of CD8 in the sample.

If your CD8 count stabilizes, and your CD4 increases, the T4/T8 ratio will go up, which is what you want. Looks good to me ! :)

Milker.
mid-dec: stupid ass
mid-jan: seroconversion
mid-feb: poz
mar 07: cd4 432 (35%) vl 54000
may 07: cd4 399 (28%) vl 27760
jul 07: cd4 403 (26%) vl 99241
oct 07: cd4 353 (24%) vl 29993
jan 08: cd4 332 (26%) vl 33308
mar 08: cd4 392 (23%) vl 75548
jun 08: cd4 325 (27%) vl 45880
oct 08: cd4 197 (20%) vl 154000 <== aids diagnosis
nov 2 08 start Atripla
nov 30 08: cd4 478 (23%) vl 1880 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
feb 19 09: cd4 398 (24%) vl 430 getting there!
apr 23 09: cd4 604 (29%) vl 50 woohoo :D :D
jul 30 09: cd4 512 (29%) vl undetectable :D :D
may 27 10: cd4 655 (32%) vl undetectable :D :D

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Offline Cerrid

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Re: New numbers high and low
« Reply #3 on: October 07, 2007, 01:21:50 pm »

If you aren’t obviously suffering from anything, then don’t worry about it .. it could just be a very mild immune reconstitution reaction to some other mild infection that you hadn’t been able to respond effectively to before (and that would be entirely normal when bouncing back so quickly from such a low CD4 count).

Thanks vokz! Yes, my doc did an infection serology check and found there are CMV, EBV and varicella zoster infections going on. I was diagnosed with these bugs before, so they're not new infections. I don't have any symptoms like fever, swelling or pimples. Just a little afternoon tiredness. I'll keep my eyes open, tho.

"This increase in CD8+ cell function was seen within 4 weeks of treatment initiation and resulted in levels of CNAR activity almost equal to those observed in the healthy reference subjects." 

Thanks milker! It's an increase 9-12 months after initiation of HAART, not 4 weeks. But as I started with very low numbers, things might well be retarded. I'll go to see to my doc next week and ask her about IRS. :)
"Boredom is always counterrevolutionary. Always." (Guy Debord)

 


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