From: Merhawie (merhawie@gmail.com)
Date: Mon Jul 20 2009 - 23:42:40 EDT
Sent to you via Google Reader
Explanation for HIV vaccine failure eludes researchers
It's hard to overstate the degree to which the medical community
craves an HIV vaccine. Between its high mutation rate and the fact
that it attacks the immune system itself, HIV has a frustrating
tendency to evade immune surveillance. But, as scientists have
discovered a number of naturally occurring neutralizing antibodies and
areas of the virus that tend to remain mutation free, hopes have been
rising that this information could lead to an effective vaccine. But
one major trial, called the STEP Study, was brought to an end early
after preliminary analyses suggested that those who received the
vaccine picked up HIV infections at rates higher than controls.
That's clearly not how vaccines are supposed to work, but an answer to
the obvious question—why did the vaccine make things worse?—could
help researchers understand HIV biology better and perhaps craft an
improved vaccine. The leading explanation for this puzzling behavior,
however, took a severe blow thanks to two papers released today by
Nature Medicine.
Click here to read the rest of this article
Sent from my iPhone