The video was posted on YouTube in August of 2009, and I was interested to see how there research has progressed. As of January 28, 2011, they are screening for potential participants for their trial run of their HIV vaccine (DOM, 2011). "The trial is testing the safety and effectiveness of a combination of two HIV vaccines to see if they will stimulate an immune response to HIV or decrease the amount of virus in the blood if a person later becomes infected." (DOM, 2011) I think that the idea of an HIV vaccine is extremely exciting. It would be beyond amazing if they could create a vaccine that could eradicate HIV, similar to the way that past vaccines have nearly eliminated all cases of diseases like polio and smallpox. I am very intrigued by the idea of a vaccine and actually found very interesting information. According to the Wall Street Journal, they have a discovered a naturally occurring antibody that kills 91% of HIV strains (Schoof, 2010). This antibody was found in a "60-year-old African-American gay man." (Schoof, 2010) This is a huge leap of progress, but unfortunately it will still take years to develop an effective HIV vaccine. (Schoof, 2010) I have included a video that summarizes the findings and the link to a time-line of HIV vaccine research.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703609004575355072271264394.html#project%3DAIDS_TIMELINE0909%26articleTabs%3Dinteractive
References:
Department of Medicine. (2011). Case western Reserve/University hospitals join nationwide HIV vaccine clinical trial. Retrieved February 23, 2011, from http://cwrumedicine.org/blog/case-western-reserveuniversity-hospitals-join-nationwide-hiv-vaccine-clinical-trial/
Schoof, M. (2010). Advances in quest for HIV vaccine. Retrieved February 23, 2011, from http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703609004575355072271264394.html
Did You Know?
This week I have chosen to look at the statistics for Rwanda. There are 170,000 people living HIV in Rwanda, 88,000 of them are women (UNAIDS, 2009). The adult prevalence rate among adults 15-49 is 2.9% (UNAIDS, 2009). There are 22,000 kids living with HIV/AIDS in Rwanda, and 139,000 kids have become orphans as a result of HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS, 2009). There have been 4,100 deaths due to HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS, 2009). Surprisingly, these statistics are not as bad as some of the other countries that I have looked at, they are horrific nonetheless, but I expected it to be worse because of the recent hostility in Rwanda. I also found a video about people making probiotics that have helped with HIV/AIDS in developing countries. I think that it is an awesome, inexpensive way to help those that cannot afford or do not have access to antiretroviral drugs.
References:
UNAIDS. (2009). Rwanda. Retrieved February 16, 2011, from http://www.unaids.org/en/regionscountries/countries/rwanda/
Spencer,
ReplyDeleteYour videos that you posted really give people a genuine hope that epidemic will end. To find a naturally occurring antibody in an African American gay man that potentially can kill 91% of HIV strains is one of the most amazing pieces of information that I have learned this semester.
Imagine that, a gay man who is African American has an antibody in him that can possibly lead to finding a powerful vaccine. What if that combination of a person is the only way to find that antibody? To those who don't care for homosexual individuals, or have their negative beliefs, this brings relevance to those people. Shamefully, a discovery like this should not have to come in order for that to happen. I very much like your research and enjoyed learning from your blog.
-Dominick Iannelli
I am sure there will be a vaccine at some point. I just don't think it will happen in my life time. I hope they prove me wrong. Don't you love the irony of an African Gay Man having one key to a possible vaccine? Wonder how those racists individuals will deal with that knowledge?
ReplyDeleteSeems like Case Western is doing some remarkable research.