The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
HIV used to signal a death sentence
sorb.” Sheen’s physician, Dr Robert Huizenga, from UCLA, told Lauer the actor now has an undetectable level of the virus in his blood and does not have Aids.
Sheen has been married three times and has five children.
His first marriage was to Donna Peele and his second to former Bond girl Denise Richards.
RichardsandSheen have two daughters together, Sam and Lola. The couple finalised their divorce in November 2006.
In 2008, Sheen wed for a third time, to Brooke Mueller, with whom he has twin sons, Bob and Max.
Sheen told Lauer both Richards andMueller have known about his diagnosis for some time and he recently told his eldest daughter Cassandra, his child with a high school girlfriend.
He said he does not intend tobecomethe “posterman” for HIV but added: “I’m not going to shun anyway from responsibilities and opportunities that drive me to helping others.” Actor Charlie Sheen has announced he has HIV. What is HIV? Human immunodeficiency virus attacks the immune system, weakening the ability to fight infections and disease.
It is found in the bodily fluids. It destroys a white blood cell called a T-helper cell and copies itself inside them.
The groups with the highest rates of HIV in the UK are gay and bisexual men and African men and women.
What are the treatments?
HIV used to signal a death sentence but, while there is no cure, new treatments mean people with the virus can lead longer lives. Anti-retroviral tablets work by stopping the virus replicating.
HIV is able to develop resistance to a single drug, so combination therapies are used. What is Aids? Acquired immune deficiency syndrome is the final stage of HIV, when a person’s body can no longer fight life-threatening infections.
If someone is said to have Aids, they will have HIV and at least one other defined disease, such as tuberculosis or pneumonia. How common is HIV? TheWorld Health Organisation estimates that around 35million people globally are living with HIV.