Ultimately, the infected will be totally defenseless against simple infections which normal persons will not die from. The only approach to destroy any virus is by our immune system. Vaccine was developed along this approach, causing our immune system to response with the right antibodies to eliminate virus. HIV theories in the eighties are superseded in some ways by the nineties.
Lets get to the basics, forget about complex terms.
No one can deny the simple fact that the major contribution of our body immune system is White Blood Cells. There are many subtypes and not all are fully discovered , neither are their functions fully understood. In any infection may it be a simple cold or food poisoning, our immune system will response with an increase in WBC to combat the invasions. Many died of infections because their immune system failed to response adequately. Hence, with sufficient WBC there exists a chance that the living body may reach a homeostasis in balancing the different subtypes of cells.