Week 12

According to a new study published by PloS Medicine, Tenofovir the anti-HIV drug, is safe to use during pregnancy. Researchers led by Diana Gibb found that the drug does not increase the risk of kidney problems, birth defects or growth abnormalities in infants born to HIV-positive women in Africa. The team examined data to figure out what the effect was on infants born to Ugandan and Zimbabwean HIV-positive women who took ART ( Antiretroviral therapy ) during pregnancy. The majority of women the team examined were taking Tenofovir at somepoint throughout their pregnancy and after comparing the infants exposed and not exposed to the drug, the researchers found that out of 226 live births, there was no increase in the proportion of infants who died shortly after birth. In my opinion this is a great discovery because they now know that they can use the drugs on these pregnant mothers without there being a defect or death.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/245426.php

Week-11

An international team led by UC Davis researchers has figured out that mothers in sub-Saharan Africa could successfully follow certain steps that were planned out for them (protocol) for flash-heating breast milk to reduce transmission of HIV to their infants. Flash-heating breast milk was highly recommended by the World Health Organization (Who) for HIV-infected mothers during times of increased transmission risk. To flash-heat the milk you have to put the milk into a glass jar and then put the jar into a small pot of water and heat it unitl the water boils. Research from UC Davis and UC Berkeley shows that these steps inactivate HIV in the breast milk but keep the milks nutritional and infection-fighting properties. But they don't know whether or not women in poor countries would be willing and able to successfully use the technique.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/244952.php

Week-10

Tall with dark green pointy leafs, the neem tree from India is known as the village pharmacy. As a child Sonia Arora recalls visiting India and seeing villagers using the neem bark to clean their teeth. Arora's childhood memories have developed into a scientific fascination with natural products and their power to cure illnesses. An assistant professor at Kean University in New Jersey is helping Arora to fight AIDS. Arora and the assistant presented their data at a postersessio at the Experimental Biology 2012 meeting in San Diego. Her results indicate that there are compounds in neem extracts that target a protein essential for HIV to replicate. If further studies support her findings, Arora's work may create a cure for HIV.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/244439.php

Week 9

For the first time U.S scientist have shown that HIV-fighting cells made from human stem cells can supress the virus in living human tissue in mice. A team from UCLA had already shown that it was possible to create cells that seek out and destroy HIV, but this is the first time that they showed it can be done in a living organism as well, according to what they wrote in the 12th April issue of the online open access journal "PLoS Pathegens, the researchers suggest that it may be possible to use human stem cells to create tailored cells to target and eradicate viruses like HIV, and thereby "engineer the human immune response to combat viral infections". However, there is still alot of work to do before what happens in mice can be replicated in humans.


http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/244108.php

week 8

The Supreme Court will be hearing arguments from lawyers representing a quebec woman who is being accused of having unprotected sex with her spouse without informing him that she was HIV positive. A publication ban prevents naming the woman, she is referred to in Supreme Court documents as "D.C"
The woman was found guilty of sexual assault and aggravated assault but the charges were later dropped on the basis that her viral load was undetectable during the period that she was charged.

Week 3-Study Could Lead To Novel Therapy For Cancer/HIV

In a study published in Nature Medicine, Loyola researchers report on a promising new technique that potentially could turn immune system killer T cells into more effective weapons against infections and possibly cancer. The technique involves delivering DNA into the immune system's instructor cells. The DNA directs these cells to overproduce a specific protein that jumpstarts important killer T cells. These killer cells are typically repressed in patients who have HIV or cancer, said José A. Guevara-Patino, MD, PhD, senior author of the study. Guevara is an Associate Professor in the Oncology Institute of Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine. Guevara and colleagues reported their technique proved effective in jumpstarting defective immune systems in immuno-compromised mice and in human killer T cells taken from people with HIV. Guevara said a clinical trial in cancer patients could begin in about three years.

Week 2- Vaccines for HIV and other diseases

Scientists from Trinity College Dublin have discovered a new 'off switch' in our immune response which could be boosted in diseases caused by over-activation of our immune system, or blocked to improve vaccines. The findings are published this week in the journal Nature Communications. The research was funded by Health Research Board, Ireland and Science Foundation Ireland. The research team, led by Dr Anne McGettrick and Professor Luke O'Neill, at the Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, have discovered that a protein, called TMED7, can shut down part of our immune system once an infection has been eliminated. "Without stop signals like TMED7 our immune system would continue to rage out of control long after the infection has been cleared, leading to diseases such as septic shock," says Dr Anne McGettrick. Manipulating these stop signals could help dampen down our immune system to prevent it attacking our own bodies. In certain cases, removing stop signals and boosting our immune system can be advantageous. Several diseases such as Malaria and HIV are lacking good vaccines and research laboratories and drug companies around the world are looking to solve this problem.