"Elite" HIV wife may hold secret to AIDS vaccine

[Ichingcarpenter]

Source: reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A woman who has never shown symptoms of infection with the AIDS virus may hold the secret to defeating the virus, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.

Infected at least 10 years ago by her husband, the woman is able somehow to naturally control the deadly and incurable virus -- even though her husband must take cocktails of strong HIV drugs to control his.

She is a so-called "elite suppressor," and studies of her immune cells have begun to offer clues to how her body does it, the team at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore said.

"This is the best evidence to date that elite suppressors can have fully pathogenic virus," said Dr. Joel Blankson, who led the study.Tests showed that immune cells known as CD8 T-cells from the wife stalled HIV replication by as much as 90 percent, while the husband's T-cells stopped it by only 30 percent, Blankson's team reported in the Journal of Virology.

Her virus has also mutated in apparent response to this immune attack, becoming weaker, while her husband's virus has remained strong.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSN1227256020080812?rpc=64

[Tarheel_Dem]

1. This is potentially good news for many millions. Here's hoping that

this is truly a breakthrough that can save lives. If HIV/AIDS was a disease that primarily affected white heterosexual males, I think that we would be much further along on the road to a cure.

[StercusAccidit]

7. Disagree...

Saying that the treatment of HIV/AIDS has been hampered due to the majority of its victims is complete BS. People recognize the danger that it poses, and billions are spent to combat it. Viruses/diseases like HIV/AIDS, Parkinson's, Cancer, Alzheimer's have no cures because they primarily affect blacks, or the elderly, or any demographic, it is because modern medicine has not found a cure. Even Bush realizes the danger that AIDS poses and has pushed for funding for it (despite how parts of the funding is appropriated).

[progdonkey]

10. and how does modern medicine find a cure with no funding?

Your comment is what's BS. Tarheel_Dem's comment was completely correct: funding for research into a cure was very slow at the beginning because people like Ronald Reagan and Jesse Helms held it up. And they held it up because it was "only killing fags," which wasn't such a bad thing, as far as they were concerned.

Therefore, if it hadn't been hit with the stigma of being "the gay cancer," we'd be further along on the road to a cure than we are now.

[StercusAccidit]

11. That was almost 30 years ago..

Public opinion towards HIV/AIDS has evolved greatly since then, and so has the funding for HIV/AIDS research/treatment.

[progdonkey]

20. you're just bolstering the original point...

Yes, public opinion has "evolved" since then, because it was complete shit for so long because it wasn't considered a priority because of who the first victims were, resulting in it taking a long time for funding to seriously start. Every day that major funding was delayed because the perception was still that it was a "gay" disease was a day that was holding research back.

If you plan on starting a journey at 2pm, but various things delay you so you can't start until 6pm, then you'll arrive four hours later than you would've had you not been delayed. You won't ever be able to get back those four hours, nor will we be able to get back the years the conservatives spent dragging their feet. I don't see how this could be explained any clearer. :banghead:

[endthewar]

12. This is actually very old news

that was discovered a while ago, almost 10 years ago. If I recall correctly, it was initially discovered in some prostitutes who were infected by HIV but the disease never became full blown AIDS. A lot of research was done and it was determined that certain people have a natural immunity to the disease (too complicated to discuss in this forum, but I think that certain cells in the body lacked a protein which HIV needs in order to latch onto and infiltrate cells, so it couldn't replicate very efficiently). The prostitutes were of European decent (although other studies on other people have probably been done since then) and it only affected a very small percentage of people, about 1.5% of Europeans.

The real problem with AIDS isn't that we don't have treatments for the disease. It's just that those treatments are too expensive.

[pinto]

13. Yeah. This research seems to be following that previous lead.

One other component looked at, iirc, is the CD4/CD8 ratio in an effective immune response. And, as noted, the woman's HIV mutations may have resulted in a less virulent virus as a side effect of her immune response.

[enid602]

17. plague

There was a program on PBS a few years ago where researchers researched the family backgrounds of ´elite ´HIV-positive people, and found that most of them had ancestors who had the plague (but survived) in Europe during the Middle Ages.

[sofa king]

19. Weren't they calling that ARC back then?

AIDS-Related Complex. Some few people were testing positive for high levels of HIV, but showing very few symptoms. This person sounds like an example of that phenomenon.

[Happyhippychick]

2. Don't the Repukes think elitism is evil?

[bluesmail]

3. When BigPharma can block stem cells, what do you think they're

after?

[SheilaT]

4. Another good example

of how we're all different, and how a "one size fits all" health system (whether vaccines, or nutritional supplements, or whatever) isn't a very good idea. I'm not casting any doubts on the validity of this woman's immune system, and its potential to help others, but she's a wondrously unique individual.

[TransitJohn]

5. Straight out of Heroes season 2

I just got done watching it. :hide:

[awoke_in_2003]

6. They need to look at Magic Johnson, too. nt

[file83]

8. When you think about it that way, his name is kind of ironic.

Just sayin'...
:hide:

[awoke_in_2003]

9. Have you seen him lately?

He has really porked up. Kinda odd for HIV patients to put on weight. And before he put the weight on, he still looked healthy as a horse. I wonder if he snuck out of the country and got that ozone dialysis done.

[rainbow4321]

16. Not nowadays...

I take care of HIV/AIDS pts and we have all sizes...I've seen them as tiny as 95 pounds to very healthy 120's-150's to not so healthy 300 pounds.
The gaunt, underweight look is remembered by most from the late 80's and early 90's before cocktails came into play.
Wanna know what our waiting room looks like?? Go to your local mall or movie theater and look around. That is our waiting room. Nowadays, you may not be able to pick out the person in a crowd who is living with HIV/AIDs. The odds of the person being the 60 year old grandma and grandpa with their grandkids in tow or a young, athletic looking mom pushing her infant in a stroller are real possibilities.

[Wabbajack_]

14. She hasn't divorced the guy!!?!?!?!?!?

!?

[La Lioness Priyanka]

18. why should she?

[Wabbajack_]

21. He gave her HIV?

I'm sorry did he get it via blood transfusion or something. I assumed he must have cheated on her.

[Lyric]

22. Or had it before he married her, but didn't know it?

Ya know, just a thought.

[TrogL]

15. She needs to be protected from the Freepers

Wasn't there a movie about that?

[graegoyle]

23. Night of the Living Dead?

:shrug:

[Regret My New Name]

24. What an elistist!!! argh.

Needs to stop hiding the secrets for herself....