The Human Immunodeficiency VirusA groundbreaking new trial into the use of Gene Therapy to combat the growing problem of HIV, or the Human Immunodeficiency Virus has been completed in February this year. The seventy four patient, 100 week trial was 'the largest clinical trial ever to test genetically altered cells in humans'.
In the trial, patients were given an injection to stimulate the production of white blood cells, some of which were then seperated from their blood, and then further into blood stem-cells. These blood stem-cells were then infected with a genitically engineered mouse virus (OZ1), giving them a 'anti-HIV gene'. This gene, carried by these blood stem-cells, would eventually go into the bone marrow of the patient, and cause the production of HIV resistant T-cells, and as older T-cells die or are killed by the virus, a higher and higher proportion of the patients T-cells should be resistant to the virus.Over the course of the trial, there was no sign that there were any harmful side effects linked to the therapy, and despite the low doses used in the trial, anti-HIV effects were observed.
- 'Throughout the 100-week trial, patients who received the OZ1 cells had higher numbers of CD4 T cells, the kind of white blood cell that HIV attacks and kills.
- When patients went off their anti-HIV drugs, those who received the gene therapy were able to postpone restarting treatment longer than those who received a placebo.
- During treatment interruptions, treated patients had higher CD4 T-cell counts and lower HIV viral load than placebo patients.'
http://www.webmd.com/hiv-aids/news/20090216/hiv-gene-therapy-major-advance
Photo 1:
http://www.healthnews-stat.com/primages/Aids_virus.jpg
Photo 2:
http://blog.wired.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/2009/02/01/syringe.jpg
Another take on germline therapy as a counter to HIV:
http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/02/hivtreatment.html
By Bill Middleton (41616945)
