Re: white blood cells and hiv

There are various white blood cells with different functions. In AIDS the CD4 cells (T4 cells) are lowered. This does not collapse the immune system though, or even cause immune suppression for that matter since other white blood cells operate independently from the CD4s supporting the immune system in the absence of CD4s. The immune system does not collapse unless HHV6-A, the only virus that can cause AIDS under the original definition, destroys key white blood cells, or the antiviral drugs destroy the bone marrow. In the latter case the destruction of the bone marrow leads to a complete collapse of the immune system from a loss of stem cells needed to form ALL immune cells. This is why the largest study ever done on AZT, the Concorde Study, found that AZT shorted the lives of AIDS patients rather than extending them.