HIV and AIDS: New Strategies, New Hope
In this episode of The Vitals, Dr. Michelle Cespedes—Professor of Medicine and interim System Chief of Infectious Diseases at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai—joins the conversation to discuss the evolving landscape of HIV/AIDS care. Dr. Cespedes explores how advances in prevention, treatment, and long-term management have transformed HIV from a once-fatal diagnosis into a chronic, manageable condition for many patients. She also highlights the scientific progress that is reshaping expectations for patients and clinicians alike.
00:00:01-00:00:23:00
Dr. Michelle Cespedes
HIV is not a death sentence or it's not what it kind of was perceived. And I think some people still have that feeling from the 80s. HIV is a chronic, manageable disease, right? Your life expectancy essentially is the same if you get diagnosed with HIV in your 20s, but you're in care and take your medicines. Your life expectancy is expected to be 73,
74.00:00:23:00-00:00:30:45
Dr. Michelle Cespedes
You know, depending on what state and other things like that.
00:00:30:50-00:00:59:52
Leslie Schlacter
Hi. Welcome to the Vitals Mount Sinai Health System's groundbreaking new video podcast. I'm your host, Leslie Schachter, a neurosurgery physician assistant here at the Mount Sinai Hospital. Well, December 1st was world Aids day, and there's been a lot of updates over the last couple of decades. And more recently with prevention, treatment and management of HIVand Aids. We're lucky enough to have Doctor Michelle Thespis with us today, who's an infectious disease doctor in specializes in HIV.
00:00:59:56-00:01:10:34
Leslie Schlacter
And we're going to talk everything HIV. So for those listening today in the audience, just for awareness, can you define HIV and Aids for us?
00:01:10:39-00:01:40:44
Dr. Michelle Cespedes
So there's a difference. HIV is the actual virus. Aids is the condition or the illness or the severe form of the illness. HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus. Aids stands for the condition where your immune system is essentially so low or so weak, you can actually be at risk of getting diseases from things that we commonly encounter. Breathe in all the time that a normal immune system would be strong enough to fight to prevent you from becoming ill.
00:01:40:58-00:01:45:56
Dr. Michelle Cespedes
So Aids is a severe form of the condition you can get from the HIV virus.
00:01:46:01-00:01:57:05
Leslie Schlacter
And so over the last 20 years or so, we see those like there we see less people suffering from Aids because we're managing HIV more appropriately.