HIV Prevention
HIV Screening for All
11 years ago
by ADMIN
in HIV Prevention
A recent study has shown that a more effective way of diagnosing those with HIV is to screen everyone who comes into an ER at random, rather than only offering testing to those who are considered to be at high risk for the disease. Of course, emergency departments are busy enough without adding HIV testing to the mix, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a good idea for implementation.
Those who defend targeted testing as being the best method will point to its cost-effectiveness by reducing the number of tests performed; it also saves time for ER staff. The problem: People who aren’t considered at risk are far more likely to never think about getting tested. Thus, more can slip through the cracks without ever knowing that they have the disease. This leads to further spread of the virus.
A recent study has made a good case for random HIV screening. The test included nearly 10,000 ER patients. The patients who were screened randomly revealed more HIV-positive individuals than targeted testing. Also, the difference in the number of random tests performed was only slightly more than the number of targeted tests.
While about 60% of the randomly approached patients declined the test (this accounts for the number of patients tested being similar to that of targeted screening), testing on those who consented resulted in 6 individuals learning for the first time that they had HIV. This is crucial so they could begin antiretroviral therapy as soon as possible; it may have also resulted in these 6 individuals being able to take extra precautions so as not to spread the disease.
The verdict is, then, that targeted testing really doesn’t save that much time for ER staff, and it certainly doesn’t catch more undiagnosed cases of the disease. The better method is to implement a more random screening procedure if the staff cannot handle offering the test to every patient.
New Protein Could Be Breakthrough in HIV Prevention
11 years ago
The race to eradicate HIV and improve the vaccine has led to an exciting new development. Researchers within the last few weeks have published new findings regarding a protein and sugar molecule that has the potential to not only neutralize HIV, but that can connect to various strains of the virus as well.
The protein that was created mimics the outer layer of the HIV. The part of the layer that can bind to antibodies is the area researchers were targeting. This key part of the cell is where neutralizing the virus takes place. One of the factors that make the creation of this protein so important is that it may help scientists answer some of the most complex issues facing the prevention of HIV. For one thing, an antibody that can target multiple strains of the virus is hard to come by. Another problem is the response of the immune system: At times it is beneficial, but other responses can be negative and unwanted. Researchers are hoping that, with this protein, the immune system will be free to respond in a positive, beneficial way. The protein with the sugar molecule is better able to bond to the outer coat of the virus. It is hoped that broad-spectrum antibodies will be allowed to form. If this happens, the antibodies that can do the most neutralizing will have a better chance to complete their task.
Another benefit to the proteins is the potential to trigger a response from the white blood cells that produce antibodies. Should the antibodies produced by these B cells do what researchers are hoping, results could be disastrous for the virus. This aspect is what scientists are focusing on to develop an effective vaccine. Much more information is needed, as well as testing on animal subjects. This does not, however, negate the importance that this finding will have on the future of the battle against HIV.
HIV Can’t Hide from the Math
11 years ago
For years now researchers have tried to determine the activity of HIV by measuring how much of the virus appears in blood samples – but this doesn’t account for the ability of the disease to hide in body tissue. Using math, researchers have developed a way to examine the true level of the virus’s reproduction.
Antiretroviral drugs will suppress HIV reproduction to such a degree that blood markers may disappear completely – but that doesn’t mean the virus has stopped progressing. It just means the replication process is no longer continuing in the blood. What about lymph nodes and other common hiding places for HIV?
Researchers have never bothered to check this before – it was always assumed that blood samples were a good indicator of what was going on throughout the entire body. New research using mathematical models is now digging deeper to uncover the true state of the disease.
The study involved testing individuals who were taking a mix of three HIV drugs for a period of at least two years – a fourth drug was then added to the mix. In all cases it appeared that the drugs were successfully stopping the spread of the disease. Blood replication was seemingly non-existent. The study did however reveal that progress of the disease continued unabated in other parts of the body despite what the blood was indicating.
In fact, the disease was still ravaging between one and 100 million healthy cells per day. The virus only slowed in replication because it was running out of cells to infect. The replication measurements of three out of the 10 patients involved in the study revealed that there had to be another point in the body at which replication continued with no inhibitions.
It’s bad news for current antiretroviral therapies, which may not be as effective as once hoped – but it is hoped this research will lead to the development of more effective treatment methods.
Vaccination With No Injection May Be Solution for HIV
11 years ago
by ADMIN
in HIV Prevention
For the first recorded time, researchers have been able to use a live vaccine delivery system that is dry as opposed to a liquid injection – never before has this method been deemed powerful enough to get the vaccination process going. What are the implications?
Poorer countries have problems with vaccinations due to the fact that they generally have to be kept refrigerated, thus getting viable vaccines into these areas in a dry format is a great solution. While this process is still early on in the research period it is still an exciting prospect – the process is also cheaper than having to use a needle and eliminates concerns about the proper disposal of used hypodermic needles.
Three of the world’s largest health enemies are HIV, TB, and Malaria, and these diseases are most common in poorer areas. This means that while the search for vaccinations looks promising, the prospect of getting live vaccines into locations that need them most remains a challenge – a lack of proper refrigeration could leave the vaccines no longer viable by the time of use.
The research team used tiny needles made of sugar as an entry system – these needles would dissolve upon entering the skin and introducing the dry vaccine. The dry vaccine is in the shape of a tiny disc, and stays live even at normal room temperature.
This study has shown that it is possible to maintain a live vaccine without refrigeration – thus when HIV and other much needed vaccines are finally ready, there may also be a process in hand to get such vaccines to the remotest parts of even the poorest underdeveloped nations.
In the meantime, while those vaccines are still being developed this technology will have other applications in the medical field – vaccinating infants would certainly be easier with this technique. It may also have applications in the field of autoimmune disease and chronic conditions like diabetes.
HIV Blocking Protein Found
11 years ago
by ADMIN
in HIV Prevention
Researchers have discovered a protein that has the ability to fight a broad range of viruses including HIV – the protein is called cholesterol 25 hydroxylase. How does it work?
It changes normal cholesterol into hydroxycholesterol, and when in this form it functions as an antiviral, blocking the virus from permeating cell walls and spreading. Interferon is the enzyme that activates this process, and this is particularly interesting as interferon is a protein already well-known for helping the body fight viruses.
While interferon is not itself an antiviral, the protein is necessary in order to activate 25HC, and its immune system work has been well documented. The discovery of hydroxycholesterol is exciting, because it holds the promise of something that can actually be synthesized and distributed for use.
What are the implications of this study? The idea is that this protein may be used to create a broad spectrum of medicines to fight an array of viruses. Oxysterol (also called 25HC) was used successfully in a lab to reduce HIV in cells, and was then tested with human cells inserted into mice. This showed that 25HC could significantly reduce the amount of HIV in just one week, while also restoring the T-cells usually depleted by the virus.
Ebola and other diseases were also part of the testing process, and these viruses were all found to have their growth inhibited by 25HC showing that it can be used to fight many types of viruses. The two main drawbacks thus far are that 25HC is difficult to deliver in the necessary high dosage, and that it has not been tested against current antivirals to measure its effectiveness. Thus studies are expected to continue, with the aim of ascertaining whether or not oxysterol is a feasible method for fighting modern viruses.
