Combined antiviral and chemotherapy to fight HIV AIDS

HIV-AIDS could be treated through a combination of targeted chemotherapy and current Highly Active Retroviral (HAART) treatments, revealed by researchers.

A team of Canadian and American researchers reported new ways to fight HIV-AIDS, published in Nature Medicine.

This radical new therapy would make it possible to destroy both the viruses circulating in the body as well as those playing hide-and-seek in immune system cells.

The study was led by Dr. Rafick-Pierre Sékaly, of the Université de Montréal. Dr. Jean-Pierre Routy of the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) and scientists from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the University of Minnesota in the United States also collaborated on the investigation.

To date, anti-AIDS treatments have been stymied by "HIV reservoirs" – immune system cells where the virus hides and where existing HAART treatments cannot reach. The researchers successfully identified the cells where HIV hides and the "stealth" mechanisms that allow the virus to escape existing treatments. This breakthrough opens the way towards innovative therapies that are completely different from current approaches.

"Our results argue in favour of a strategy similar to the one used against leukemia, which is targeted chemotherapy, associated with a targeted immune treatment. This would make it possible to destroy the cells containing a virus, while giving the immune system time to regenerate with healthy cells," says Dr. Rafick-Pierre Sékaly, a professor at the Université de Montréal, researcher at the Centre Hospitalier de Université de Montréal (CHUM), director of INSERM 743 and scientific director of the Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute of Florida.

"For the first time, this study proves that the HIV reservoirs are not due to a lack of potency of the antiretroviral drugs, but to the virus hiding inside two different types of long life CD4 memory immune cells," explains Dr. Jean-Pierre Routy, a hematologist with the MUHC, researcher in infection and immunity at the RI-MUHC and professor of hematology at McGill University. "There are several types of HIV reservoirs, each necessitating a different treatment to eliminate them."

Existing HAART treatments destroy the viruses circulating in the body, yet cannot reach those hidden in reservoir cells.

"We now have brand-new options to fight HIV," concludes Nicolas Chomont, a postdoctoral intern at the Université de Montréal's Department of Microbiology and Immunology and one of the co-authors of this study.


(Editor compiled and published Combined antiviral and chemotherapy to fight HIV AIDS at HealthNewsTrack on June 21, 2009 sourced from University of Montreal - http://www.umontreal.ca/)

HIV - recent articles and current news stories:

- Investments for children must be at top of African HIV and AIDS agenda - UNICEF
- Many US people do not know they have HIV
- HIV infections and AIDS related cases reduced
- Hormonal contraception doubles HIV risk in Africa
- Odds for detecting HIV varies by method

HIV article/news source:

Read more health articles from University of Montreal and health articles from Canada.

HIV - search related terms:

AIDS, Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, Antiviral, Chemotherapy, HIV, Highly Active Retroviral, Human immunodeficiency virus,
HIV books,

Subscribe to Health News by Email

List health news, Health organizations, Health news world, Glossary, Best health articles, Featured     Go to top

The information provided on Health Newstrack is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between a patient/site visitor and his/her physician. We comply with the HONcode principles for trustworthy health information, and Health News Track is hon code accredited, verify here.
About us, Site map Privacy policy, Disclaimer
© 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 HealthNewsTrack.com
1.1