December 1st is annual World AIDS Day, presenting an ideal opportunity to view the progress made by medical research in fighting the disease.
There are 35 million people infected by HIV worldwide, hence the disease is still most prevalent. Despite the fact that antiretroviral drugs manage to slow down the progression of the condition, they come at a high cost and with long-term toxicity, hence the need for a vaccine remains stringent.
A current European research project is looking into the idea to obstruct the entry of HIV into cells, both at mucosal sites and in blood. Targeting mucosal sites would be effective as almost all HIV infections (90%) happen via the sexual route, and achieving an immune response at this access point could therefore signify successfully blocking the virus and preventing it from ever entering the body.
A pioneering clinical trial on humans has just been finalised to evaluate toxicity. Following this, a team of researchers will assess whether the volunteers’ blood and mucosal tissue will create the neutralizing antibodies when confronted to HIV in the lab.
Source: AlphaGalileo
26 November 2013
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Research, AIDS, vaccine
December 1st is annual World AIDS Day, presenting an ideal opportunity to view the progress made by medical research in fighting the disease. There are...
