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New HIV battle plan
(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-05-20 09:50 Like a general whose direct attacks on the enemy are not working, scientists are now trying to outflank the HIV/AIDS virus. Having failed to develop vaccines that enable the body's natural immune system to battle the virus, researchers are widening tests on inserting a gene into the muscle that can cause it to produce protective antibodies instead.
The new method worked in mice and has now proved successful in monkeys, too, they reported this week in the online edition of the journal Nature Medicine. That doesn't mean an AIDS vaccine for people is in the wings, stresses team leader Dr Philip R. Johnson of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Years of work may lie ahead before a product is ready for human use. Nevertheless, Dr Beatrice Hahn, an AIDS researcher at the University of Alabama, welcomes the report. "It basically shows there is light at the end of the tunnel," she says. "It shows thinking outside the box is a good idea and can yield results - maybe we need more of these unconventional approaches." The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative says AIDS is one of the most devastating pandemics. More than 20 million people have died so far and 33 million are living with HIV. Most efforts at preventing the progression of HIV to AIDS have sought to stimulate the body's immune system to produce antibodies. This model has worked for diseases such as measles and smallpox but has so far failed to produce a protective reaction to HIV. |
