|
HIV therapy may rebuild immune system
Thymus may be the key
September 30, 1997
Web posted at: 10:49 p.m. EDT (0249 GMT)From Correspondent Al Hinman
LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- Doctors know that powerful drugs are helping people with human immune deficiency live longer. What they don't know is whether immune systems damaged by HIV can recover enough to give the body complete protection.
But researchers at UCLA are producing promising results with laboratory animals that could prove to be life-saving news for those with AIDS.
CNN's Al Hinman reports
2 min., 18 sec. VXtreme streaming video
Researchers at the UCLA AIDS Institute infected mice with HIV, and then gave them the same type of triple-drug therapy recommended for humans.
"Our studies suggest a possible mechanism for what is seen in humans who receive the triple-drug therapy," says Dr. Elizabeth Withers-Ward. "We see a resurgence of the CD-4 cells that are the cells that are killed by HIV."
Many HIV patients have seen their immune system "barometer" ---that is, their CD-4 cell counts -- climb as the level of virus in their body drops soon after starting on the triple-drug regimen popularly known as the "cocktail" therapy.
But researchers still don't know if the therapy can also rebuild immune systems that have been heavily damaged by HIV.
Thymus may be the key
"There's a very vigorous immune response that's directed against the virus that can also secondarily damage the immune system micro-environment, or architecture of the lymph nodes," says Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health.
But according to the researchers at UCLA, the virus apparently does not damage another crucial organ -- the thymus.
The thymus directs the development of the immune system, and researchers transplanted human thymuses into specially bred mice -- essentially equipping them with a human immune system.
Then they infected mice with HIV and administered the triple-drug therapy. They found that the mice began producing new immune cells capable of fighting the infections that kill people with AIDS.
"We feel the proper therapy will allow the body to come back and develop an entirely new immune system, which should protect against other infections," says Jerome Zack of UCLA.
(102K/8 sec. AIFF or WAV sound)
The researchers stress that they don't yet know if the same thing will happen in humans. If it does, it may be that children will benefit the most, since the thymus begins to degenerate after age 18.
Related stories:
- AIDS vaccine volunteers press their case - September 25, 1997
- Doctor makes promising advances in AIDS treatment - January 22, 1997
- FDA approves AIDS drug in record time - March 1, 1996
- Panel recommends approval of new AIDS drug - November 8, 1995
Related sites:
Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
- University of California at Los Angeles
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- AIDS Daily Summary - short summations from the CDC that give news and highlights of news relating to HIV/AIDS and related diseases.
External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.
|
Sound off on our message boards You said it... |
|
© 1997 Cable News Network, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.