New HIV-fighting antibodies found
Posted on Friday, September 04, 2009
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US-based researchers attached to the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVA) have identified the new "broadly neutralising antibodies" - named PG9 and PG16 - which have been shown to be able to stop the highly-mutating virus from spreading.
They are the first to be identified in more than a decade, and the first to be identified in an HIV-infected but otherwise resistant person from a developing country.
Commenting on the research, Melbourne-based Associate Professor Damian Purcell said the discovery had pointed to a new and potentially broadly available "chink" in the AIDS virus's armour.
"I think this is a very significant finding," says Prof Purcell, who heads the Molecular Virology Laboratory at the University of Melbourne.
"And it's actually a foretaste for what we're going to require over the next couple of years in order to make an effective HIV vaccine."
Work towards an HIV vaccine has continued for decades, and its success hinges on finding an unchanging part of the virus which otherwise mutates furiously inside the body.
The search is centred on a rare group of people referred to as "elite neutralisers", because while they had contracted HIV they appeared to live without ill effect.
The IAVA research, published in the journal Science, took in 1,800 blood samples from HIV-infected people across the African continent but also from Australia, Thailand, the UK and USA.
They settled on a sample from an HIV-resistant Kenyan man, and the unique antibodies found in his blood were shown to work against a part of the virus not considered for potential vaccine application before.
It also worked against a range of different HIV strains, Prof Purcell says, raising hopes of finding "the chink in the armour, the susceptible target that seems to be across all of these (HIV) viruses".
"They chose an elite neutralising patient in Africa, and the antibodies they plucked out were able to neutralise viruses from Australia, from USA, from Asia," Prof Purcell says.
It was also "very potent" compared to earlier antibody discoveries.
Prof Purcell also says the effort to develop an HIV vaccine could continue for another five to 10 years but "at least we now know what we're aiming at, the target has become more visible".
Further developments in HIV will be discussed at the 2009 Australasian Sexual Health Conference, to be held back-to-back with The Australasian HIV/AIDS Conference 2009, in Brisbane next week.
Vascular Disease Patients Face Recurring Heart Attacks and Strokes
Posted on Wednesday, September 02, 2009
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There is no easy way out for those battling vascular disease. Despite treatments and medications, a large international study shows patients have high rates of multiple heart attacks and strokes that may lead to hospitalizations and death.
The international REACH (Reduction of Atherothrombosis for Continued Health) Registry, presented by a researcher from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine examined data of over 30 thousand patients. Patients who had vascular disease had a 28.4 percent rate of reoccurring attacks just after three years of their last vascular episode. The data presented also named North America, including the United States, as having above average rates for recurring heart attacks, strokes, hospitalizations and death.
"We are surprised by the high rate of these recurring vascular events," Mark J. Alberts, lead author, M.D. professor of neurology at the Feinberg School and director of the stroke program at Northwestern Memorial Hospital was quoted as saying, "We know how to prevent vascular disease and the events that it produces. This points to the need for better prevention, better use of medications and a need to develop more potent medications. These are the number one and two causes of death throughout the world."
The cost of recurring vascular events in the United States alone is in the billions. Hospitalization is the leading factor driving health care costs. Adopting healthy lifestyles, with a healthier diet, and regular exercise are necessary to reducing health care expenses and the likelihood of reoccurring heart attacks, and strokes according to researchers.
Moderate Drinkers are Healthier
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Drinking a moderate amount of alcohol may be good for your health.
A new study from the University of Miami finds people who drink moderately are more likely to report above-average health than light drinkers, heavy drinkers and those who have never drank. But it is not clear whether moderate drinking leads to better health or whether moderate drinkers just have healthier lifestyles.
Researchers looked at data from more than 31,000 adults from a U.S. Census Bureau survey. Participants answered questions about how much they drank, their health behaviors, and chronic health conditions. Moderate drinking was defined as four to 14 drinks a week for men and four to seven drinks a week for women.
Results show men who drank moderately were 1.27-times more likely to report above-average health compared to lifetime abstainers and former light drinkers. And women who were moderate drinkers were more than twice as likely to report above-average health as those who abstained.
Researchers say the results may have something to do with the healthy lifestyles of moderate drinkers because people who work out and eat healthy are probably the same people who drink moderately instead of heavily.
The study notes the main health benefit of moderate drinking is that it can ward off cardiovascular disease, especially hardening of the arteries and stroke caused by blood clots.
But while moderate drinking may have its benefits, the authors warn about the dangers of heavy drinking and how bad it is for your health.
