According to the United Nations, it was calculated that, by the end of the 20th. century, around 40 million people were infected with HIV, the etiological agent of AIDS, and that 90% of these people were in developing countries.
AIDS (the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) is a disease of retroviral origin, which is characterized by the onset of a marked immunosuppression in the host. This breakdown of immune system homeostasis has serious consequences, which include opportunistic infections, secondary neoplasms and the neurological manifestations of the disease.
Although when this disease was first discovered it was thought to be limited to marginal or socially segregated groups, it is now considered that practically all individuals are at risk of infection and of developing this disease.Given the magnitude of the worldwide public health problem that this disease represents, there has been a redoubling of the efforts of research into the less well understood aspects of its structure, mechanisms and relationship with the host, as well as its pharmacological treatment.
It is now possible to appreciate the enormous advances that have been made in the understanding of the disease and in the development of new treatments. However, there is still some way to go to achieve the final scientific objective: definitive cure.
