If the nosological definition of AIDS is reset to include all illnesses with serious inflammation regardless of HIV positivity or status, what illnesses could be included in the nosology of AIDS?
From Perplexity A.I.
If the nosological definition of AIDS is reset to include all illnesses with serious inflammation regardless of HIV positivity or status, what illnesses could be included in the nosology of AIDS?
If the nosological definition of AIDS were changed to include all illnesses with serious inflammation regardless of HIV positivity or status, the category would expand dramatically beyond its current, precise meaning. AIDS is currently defined by the presence of HIV infection leading to profound immunodeficiency and a specific set of opportunistic infections and cancers. Chronic inflammation is a hallmark of untreated HIV/AIDS, but it is not unique to it.
If “AIDS” were redefined as any illness with serious inflammation, the following types of illnesses could be included:
Autoimmune diseases: These are characterized by chronic, often severe inflammation due to the body’s immune system attacking its own tissues. Examples include:
Rheumatoid arthritis
Systemic lupus erythematosus
Psoriasis
Ankylosing spondylitis
Autoinflammatory diseases: These are disorders of the innate immune system, leading to periodic or chronic systemic inflammation. Examples include:
Familial Mediterranean fever
Still’s disease
Cryopyrin-associated periodic syndromes
Macrophage activation syndrome (MAS)
Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH)
Chronic infectious diseases with inflammatory components:
Tuberculosis
Chronic hepatitis B or C
Chronic Lyme disease
Chronic viral infections (e.g., CMV, EBV, herpesviruses)
Chronic inflammatory conditions not primarily infectious or autoimmune:
Inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis)
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
Atherosclerosis (chronic inflammation of blood vessels)
Obesity-related metabolic syndrome
Cancers associated with chronic inflammation:
Certain lymphomas
Kaposi’s sarcoma (even outside HIV context)
Cancers arising in chronically inflamed tissues
Other chronic inflammatory syndromes:
Sarcoidosis
Vasculitides (e.g., giant cell arteritis, polyarteritis nodosa)
Chronic pancreatitis
Implications:
Such a redefinition would make the term “AIDS” so broad as to lose its clinical and epidemiological specificity. It would encompass nearly all serious chronic diseases with an inflammatory component, including many not associated with immunodeficiency or opportunistic infections. This would fundamentally alter the meaning and utility of the term, which is currently tied to the specific pathophysiology of HIV-induced immunosuppression.
In summary:
If “AIDS” were redefined to mean any illness with serious inflammation, it would include a vast array of autoimmune, autoinflammatory, infectious, and chronic inflammatory diseases—essentially, any disease with a significant inflammatory process, regardless of immune status or HIV infection.
Would Chronic Fatigue Syndrome be included in that list?
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), also known as Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME), would be included if the nosology of AIDS were expanded to encompass all illnesses with serious inflammation, regardless of HIV status.
Supporting evidence:
CFS/ME is increasingly recognized as an inflammatory disease. Multiple studies have found elevated levels of proinflammatory cytokines and persistent immune activation in people with CFS/ME, indicating chronic, low-grade inflammation.
Symptoms and biological findings in CFS/ME (such as post-exertional malaise, cognitive dysfunction, and musculoskeletal pain) are associated with inflammatory markers and immune system dysregulation.
The CDC notes that increased inflammation is a characteristic shared by CFS/ME and autoimmune diseases, even though classic tissue damage seen in autoimmunity is not present in CFS/ME.
Given these findings, if the definition of AIDS were broadened to include all illnesses characterized by serious or chronic inflammation, CFS/ME would fall within that expanded category due to its well-documented inflammatory features.
