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Inexpensive tests can be used to decide who needs HIV treatment in poor countries

Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Chiang Mai University in Thailand, evaluated the ability of inexpensive biological markers, which are obtainable in resource-poor countries, to determine which HIV-infected patients are in the greatest need of antiretroviral therapy.

20 Jun 2005

HIV protease inhibitors block programmed cell death in vivo

The immunodeficiency that arises in HIV may be due to excessive programmed cell death of immune CD4 T cells.

3 Jun 2005

HIV deaths drop 90 percent among African-American IDUs who are given access to combination drug therapy

Combination drug therapy effectively reduces 90 percent of HIV deaths in African-American injection drug users when they are given ample access to care, according to a new Academy study in the June issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology.

1 Jun 2005

Two-photon imaging gives real-time video of cells in living tissue

Biologists have a new tool to track and videotape cells moving about inside living tissue.

3 May 2005

HIV treatment not affected by hormonal birth control

Estrogen and progesterone hormones in birth control do not influence the effectiveness of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), which is used to treat HIV infection, according to researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and other institutions. The study is published in the May 1, 2005, issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology.

2 May 2005

New guidelines for managing chronic kidney disease in patients living with HIV infection

The HIV Medicine Association has released guidelines for managing chronic kidney disease in patients living with HIV infection. They are published in the June 1 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases.

27 Apr 2005

Scientists have discovered the mechanism that enables some CD4 T cells - the main target of HIV - to thwart the virus

The discovery, reported on April 13 in the online version of Nature, could open the door to an entirely new strategy for preventing the spread of HIV infection in the body's cells, according to the senior author of the study, Gladstone Institute of Virology and Immunology Director Warner C. Greene, MD, PhD.

13 Apr 2005

HIV treatment-experienced patients set high standards for therapy success

Patients who have previously failed at least two anti-HIV regimens continue to have high standards for their treatment success, according to a survey commissioned by the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR).

11 Apr 2005

Stress might actually be beneficial to health

New research has surprisingly shown that stress, generally thought to be bad for the immune system by lowering the body's ability to fight off disease, on a short-term basis might actually be beneficial.

6 Apr 2005

Novel method to reduce cat allergic reactions

Scientists have discovered a novel method to reduce cat allergic reactions by topping up the immune cells responsible for controlling them.

6 Apr 2005

Surprising discovery about natural immunity to pneumococcus

Since 2000, U.S. infants have been routinely immunized against pneumococcal (Streptococcus pneumoniae) infection. Now, Boston researchers have made a surprising discovery about natural immunity to pneumococcus.

29 Mar 2005

AIDS virus initially more destructive than first thought

The AIDS virus destroys more than half of the immune cells that might recognize and help fight it, within days of infection according to US researchers, and this revelation might necessitate a re-evaluation of how the deadly infection should be tackled.

28 Mar 2005

HIV is not an independent risk factor for severe heart disease

Infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is no longer an automatic death sentence, thanks to the use of highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART).

8 Mar 2005

alpha-defensin-1, a protein found in immune cells, can control HIV infection

Theresa Chang and colleagues at Mount Sinai School of Medicine analyzed how alpha-defensin-1 inhibits HIV infection in white blood cells (CD4+ T cells). Defensins have been shown to have anti-HIV activity. The body attempts to protect itself from HIV infection via the innate immune system.

1 Mar 2005

VIRxSYS novel HIV gene therapy yields exciting results

VIRxSYS Corporation reports unexpected and unprecedented findings in its ongoing Phase I clinical trial of its VRX496 therapy in patients with HIV.

28 Feb 2005

Scientists identify immune-system mutation

A team of Fox Chase Cancer Center scientists led by immunologist Dietmar J. Kappes, Ph.D., has identified the genetic mutation that keeps a mouse strain from developing white blood cells, or lymphocytes, called helper T cells. The report by Kappes and his colleagues appears in the Feb. 24 issue of Nature.

27 Feb 2005

Scientific rationale behind the use of antiretroviral therapy

Johns Hopkins researcher and infectious disease specialist Robert Siliciano, M.D., Ph.D., will provide an update on the scientific rationale behind the use of antiretroviral therapy, focusing on the mechanisms that allow life-long persistence of HIV even in patients on potent medication.

27 Feb 2005

Research may provide the basis for development of a new, extensive immunotherapy for human tumors

Scientists have made significant progress towards understanding how the immune system can be more specifically and efficiently targeted against cancer cells. The research, published in the January issue of Immunity, may provide the basis for development of a new, extensive immunotherapy for human tumors.

26 Jan 2005

AIDS breakthrough - vaccine strengthens the body’s immune system againts HIV

A Hadassah University Medical Center research team has developed a vaccine that significantly strengthens the body’s immune system against the autoimmune sequela of HIV infection, a breakthrough that could dramatically make an impact in the treatment of AIDS patients.

28 Dec 2004

Discovery of key immune system molecules that helps determine how effectively a person resists HIV infection

A team of researchers based partly in South Africa has identified a key set of immune system molecules that helps determine how effectively a person resists infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

8 Dec 2004