Radioactive Antibodies
For many years, cancer patients have been treated with radioactive substances in hopes of shrinking their cancer and extending their lives. Now nuclear medicine specialists at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine are studying radioactive antibodies and their ability to kill HIV. So far the results have been favorable. In their studies using HIV-infected mice, researchers attached two radioactive isotopes to the antibodies that normally attach to proteins found on the surface of HIV-infected cells. By attaching only to HIV infected cells, the lethal radiation killed the infected cells while leaving the healthy, functioning CD4 cells unharmed. By killing infected cells, HIV replication is slowed or halted, which in turn may slow the progression from HIV to AIDS. In the case of this study, researchers are now looking for a pharmaceutical sponsor that is interested in taking trials to the next step - developing an FDA-approved therapy against HIV.Conventional HIV Medications and Therapies
Gene Therapy
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have reported favorable results using gene-based therapies in the fight against HIV. Gene therapy uses genetically altered CD4 cells that are resistant to HIV, protecting them from the damage caused by the virus. By protecting the CD4 cells, the immune system is preserved and remains able to do its job of fighting infection. In Phase I of the gene therapy trials, the experimental drug VRX496 was given to five patients who previously demonstrated resistance to conventional HIV therapies. When they re-examined the five after nine months of therapy, four of the five showed stable or increased CD4 counts, as well as improved immune system function. In addition, a decrease in HIV viral load was observed in three of the patients. While these results are positive, researchers will follow the five patients for up to 15 years after therapy in order to get a better picture of just how well gene therapy works. In the meantime, researchers are planning a second trial, this time using patients who have well-controlled HIV viral loads to see if the results are similar.A Guide to Participating in Research and Clinical Trials
One Virus Fighting Another
Scientists from the VA Healthcare System and the University of Iowa School of Medicine are studying how one harmless virus impacts the progression from HIV to AIDS. In a study looking at blood samples from 1984 to 1990, researchers found that those patients infected with the harmless virus GBV-C progressed to AIDS much slower than those only infected with HIV. GBV-C is a relatively common virus that is harmless to humans, causing no symptoms or illness. The blood samples used in the study were from 271 men who were HIV negative at the onset of the study but who were positive by time the study follow-up was done. The study showed that those HIV-infected men with persistent GBV-C infection along with HIV progressed to AIDS three times slower than those men infected with only HIV. Those men with GBV-C had much slower immune system destruction compared to those without GBV-C. While there is no immediate use for this discovery, researchers are now studying samples from women to see if the same trends hold true.Not All Viral Co-infection is Good - Hepatitis C & HIV
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