Possible Key To Ridding HIV Infection From Immune System - Vaccination Strategy
Using human immune system cells in the lab, AIDS experts at Johns Hopkins have figured out a way to kill off latent forms of HIV that hide in infected T cells long after antiretroviral therapy has successfully stalled viral replication to undetectable levels in blood tests. In a report published in the journal Immunity online, the Johns Hopkins team describes a vaccination strategy that boosts other immune system T cells and prepares them to attack HIV, before readying the virus for eradication by reactivating it.
HIV Rates For Black Women In Parts Of The US Much Higher Than Previously Estimated
Study results released indicate that the HIV incidence rate for US women living in areas hardest hit by the epidemic is much higher than the overall estimated incidence rate in the US for black adolescent and adult women. The HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) announced results from its HPTN 064 Women's HIV Seroincidence Study (ISIS) which found an HIV incidence of 0.24% in the study cohort of 2, 099 women (88% black), a rate that is five fold higher than that estimated for black women overall by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
After Stopping Antiretroviral Therapy, Interferon Decreases HIV-1 Levels, Controls Virus
A multi-institutional team of researchers, led by The Wistar Institute, has announced the results of a clinical trial that shows how the immune system can engage in fighting HIV infection if given the right boost. In their study, HIV-infected volunteers suspended their daily antiretroviral therapy to receive weekly doses of interferon-alpha, an antiviral chemical produced by the human immune system. The study provides the first clinical evidence for a means of reducing the persistent amount of HIV in patients and the ability to control HIV without continued antiretroviral therapy.