Doubts raised over HIV vaccine therapy
A patient undergoing therapy to elicit immunity to one strain
of HIV has become infected with another strain — a finding that has caused
concerns about the potential effectiveness of HIV vaccines. The patient was on
stop-start therapy, in which anti–HIV drugs are taken until the virus is
suppressed. The treatment is stopped, allowing the immune system to attack
replicating HIV, and when the immune system becomes overwhelmed, the treatment
is continued. But the finding that other HIV strains can infect an 'immunized'
patient could be a huge blow for HIV vaccine development, and researchers now
have to find out whether this is a rare or common event in this treatment
strategy (Nature 420, 434-439 (2002)).
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