POZ Community Forums
Meds, Mind, Body & Benefits => Research News & Studies => Topic started by: phildinftlaudy on December 10, 2012, 06:46:46 pm
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http://www.medicaldaily.com/articles/13465/20121210/revolutionary-treatment-uses-hiv-reprogram-cells-fighting.htm
Revolutionary Treatment Uses HIV to Reprogram Cells Into Fighting Cancer
The treatment uses a disabled version of the virus that causes AIDS to reprogram the genes of a person’s immune system and retrain it to kill cancer cells.
The treatment uses a disabled version of the virus that causes AIDS to reprogram the genes of a person's immune system and retrain it to kill cancer cells. Researchers remove millions of the patients' T-cells, a type of white blood cell, and insert new genes that would allow the T-cells to kill cancerous ones. Disabled HIV is used for the treatment because the virus is good at transmitting genetic material into T-cells. Then the engineered T-cells are pumped back into the body where they are intended to attack B-cells, which turn malignant during leukemia. The reengineered cells can stay in the body for years, though not at the same level as when fighting the disease.
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ABC News featured a story tonight about this. It was used on a young girl with cancer. The video is at the bottom of the story. This will probably cause more interest in HIV research by those who wouldn't otherwise be.
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2012/12/10/doctors-find-success-using-retooled-hiv-to-fight-leukemia/
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Exciting advancements seem to be coming regularly these days. I hope it does spur further research.
thanks for sharing
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I saw this article too -- I couldn't help but think about the contrast. What a blessing that HIV had (at least in a minor way) for one young girl and her family - against all of the suffering this disease has caused.
Lets hope this very small light grows against the darkness of HIV's past.
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Jmark you took it off my lips....truly an irony of life and a blessing to this young lady.....i bet if you did ask her she wld affirm that hiv is a good thing....
On the other hand, I was wondering if same process can't be applied in developing a cure, ie re-engineering the virus, to be able to kill the virus itself....
Just thinking......
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I'm sure this will set the denialists' tongues wagging "See! It doesn't cause AIDS!"