Naked Science Forum
Life Sciences => Cells, Microbes & Viruses => Topic started by: thedoc on 06/12/2011 13:36:35
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A modified virus encoding an anti-AIDS antibody can protect animals from HIV infection.
Read the whole story on our website by clicking here (http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/news-archive/news/2443/)
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Very interesting application of gene therapy.
Was the experimental group also tested with an HIV PCR? Or other HIV antibodies?
Certainly there will need to be tests for long-term efficacy with multiple exposures to the virus.
If a vaccine can be developed, perhaps the disease can be eliminated in the next few decades.
I wonder if a similar method could be developed against Plasmodium Falciparum. In some areas, the two vaccines could be delivered together.
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AIDs vaccines of many types has been actively pursued for a good while with little to any success. Some attribute this to lack of fcus - moneys are spread unproductively - alot of money but heavily diluted among concepts and substantial bureaucracy.
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Indeed very interesting.
I guess this sc-AAV 8 vector could be developed as a platform for vaccines against a wide range of diseases.
I foresee a great future for human-virus interaction, going from diseases to treatments
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AIDs vaccines of many types has been actively pursued for a good while with little to any success. Some attribute this to lack of fcus - moneys are spread unproductively - alot of money but heavily diluted among concepts and substantial bureaucracy.
I disagree.
Perhaps more funding would help, but HIV/AIDS is one tough disease to fight. And, over the last few decades there have been tremendous strides forward in the treatment.
There actually is a viable vaccine. However, the vaccine is only 31% effective. (http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1925957,00.html). Very statistically significant. Yet, not the same efficacy as what people get used to with other vaccines. Imagine the benefit in countries where 1/4 of the population is infected with HIV, if one could reduce the new infection rate by 1/3.
Anyway, putting all of one's eggs in one basket is not wise.
Creating viruses that make our own antibodies is a very novel approach to vaccination, and might never have been tried if all the funding was held by a lab that was trying a more traditional approach to vaccine development.
If we have one chance to wipe out this killer disease. Perhaps we should wait to distribute any vaccine until we can make a multi-vaccine cocktail, just like the multi-drug regimens that are being used to treat the disease. And, then have required booster-shots for high risk individuals.
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A modified virus encoding an anti-AIDS antibody can protect animals from HIV infection.
Read the whole story on our website by clicking here (http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/news-archive/news/2443/)
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