HIV Cure: Gene Therapy Results Still Preliminary

HIV experts are optimistic about a recent study in which researchers were able to reconfigure blood cells, making them resistant to HIV. This trial was done on six HIV infected patients successfully treated with antiretroviral therapy (ART). But experts are not sure yet if this will actually be a cure to the deadly disease, though they all agree it is a step in the right direction. This study was done after a man in Berlin received a stem cell transplant and four years later is cured from HIV.

The HIV gene therapy results were announced in March 2011 during a medical conference in Boston, Massachusetts. This is a positive sign that there might be a cure found in the near future and will generate excitement in researchers to keep looking. This new approach will not completely eliminate HIV from the body, but it will make the virus controllable, most likely without the need of medication. It is called a functional cure.

An autologous cell transplant was performed in the study, where a human gene was permanently deleted and the altered cells were infused back into the patient. Previous gene therapies were to muffle the activity of a gene or add a new gene, both approaches where unsuccessful. Specifically, six men with HIV had some blood filtered and some T-Cells removed from that blood. A gene-snipping compound called 'zinc finger nuclease' was added to the T-cells. The modified cells were then mixed with growth factors before infusing them back into the patient's blood stream. Half of the men received about five billion modified cells and the other half received about 205 billion modified cells. After a year, these modified cells are still thriving and multiplying.

HIV attacks a person's T-cells, which are special immune system cells, through a protein receptor called CD4 and a coreceptor called CCR5. There are some people that lack the CCR5 gene and are naturally immune to HIV. When a person lacking the CCR5 gene donated bone marrow to a person with leukemia, who also happened to be HIV positive, the HIV infection was cured. This sparked the study. The patients had about two days worth of flu-like symptoms, which was the only reported side effect during the study. Not only is this a huge step in finding a cure for HIV and AIDS, but it is a huge revelation in the field of genetics. It is the first time in the history that doctors succeed to achieve a sabotage of the natural history of HIV infection.

The reference scientific workshop on HIV Persistence, HIV Reservoirs & Eradication Strategies: http://www.informedhorizons.com/persistence2011/

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Gene Therapy For Cancer Treatment

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the United States, claiming over half a million lives each year. While doctors and researchers understand the basic causes of cancer, they are still developing methods to effectively treat this deadly disease. One new type of cancer treatment that is currently in clinical trials is called gene therapy.

Normally, a person who is diagnosed with cancer will undergo a combination of the traditional treatment methods, including surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. However, not all forms of cancer respond the same way to these traditional treatments, and some forms of this disorder hardly respond to this treatment at all. Thus, doctors and scientists are currently trying many new types of potential treatment methods to see if they can combat cancer. Some of these newer forms are already in clinical trials, such as gene therapy.

To understand gene therapy, it is important to first realize how cancer works. Your cells contain packets of information in genes, which are long strands of instructions made from DNA or RNA. Certain sequences in DNA encode information for building proteins, carrying out cell processes, and other important functions. One more important part of DNA, however, is also the instruction for growth and division. If this part of the genes become lost or changed, your cells can suddenly grow rapidly and uncontrollably. This leads to cancerous tumors, which can then spread to the rest of your body.

Gene therapy works to address these problematic genes as well as add extra information into your cells to help them fight cancer. Doctors and scientists insert this DNA into both healthy cells and cancerous cells to combat your disorder at the source of the problem. There are several ways that they will use genetic information in order to help you, such as:

• Replacing missing or mutated genes with healthy ones
• Inserting genes into immune system cells to better prepare them for fighting cancer
• Placing DNA into cancerous cells to make them more susceptible to chemotherapy and radiation
• Injecting "suicide genes" into cancer cells to destroy them
• Installing genes into tumors that prevent them from growing blood vessels

Some cancers, such as mesothelioma, do not respond well to traditional treatment, so patients may decide to instead participate in clinical studies. If you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, you should make sure that you understand all of your treatment options, including gene therapy, before making a decision as to the course of your treatment.

For more information regarding this deadly disease, please visit the Mesothelioma Help Center today.

James Witherspoon

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