NUEVO DESCUBRIMIENTO
ADVOCATE.COM/July7,2010/Jeffrey Gerson
A discovery of three antibodies that neutralize 91% of HIV strains has the potential to possibly lead to a future vaccine, according to an article published inSciencemagazine.
The antibodies were culled from the body of a 60 year old gay African-American male, referred to as Donor 45, who has been HIV positive for the last 20 years. According to the Wall Street Journal, the research team designed a specially crafted probe to exactly emulate the molecular site where the HIV-neutralizing antibodies attack.
Dr. Gary Nabel, director of the Vaccine Research Center at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, led the research team, stressed that the implementation of the antibodies must work towards a universal effect that can overcome the virus's constant mutations.
Theorized methods of implementation for the antibody vaccine include a raw form drug, a "microbicide" gel to be applied before sexual intercourse, and a stimulant that would cause the immune system to produce the antibodies before infection. The discovery also holds the possibility for boosting the effectiveness of already-existing HIV treatment medication.
Experimentation is in progress, but as Dr. Nabel asserts, "We're going to be at this for a while."
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