Eliminate latently infected resting CD4+ T cells ?

[John2038]

Just found this article interesting.

http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/news/NIAIDdiscoveryNews/earlyTreatmentHIV.htm

Abstract

The persistence of latently infected resting CD4+ T cells has been clearly demonstrated in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)ndashinfected individuals receiving effective antiviral therapy. However, estimates of the half-life of this viral reservoir have been quite divergent. We demonstrate clear evidence for decay of this HIV reservoir in patients who initiated antiviral therapy early in infection. The half-life of this latent viral reservoir was estimated to be 4.6 months.
It is projected that it will take up to 7.7 years of continuous therapy to completely eliminate latently infected resting CD4+ T cells in infected individuals who initiate antiviral therapy early in HIV infection.

Source:
http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/JID/journal/issues/v195n12/37645/37645.html

More:
http://www.natap.org/2007/HIV/050307_07.htm

And:
http://www.aidsportugal.com/article.php?sid=7603

[whizzer]

If you're REALLY interested, Dr. Margolis has a study regarding this currently recruiting.

http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct/show/NCT00312546?order=10

The date of the above reference is April 2006, but the study is still open and recruiting.

[SASA39]

It is projected that it will take up to 7.7 years of continuous therapy to completely eliminate latently infected resting CD4+ T cells in infected individuals who initiate antiviral therapy early in HIV infection.

First : who does HAART in early stages ? Almost no one .
Second : What about late starters .What is a half life period for them?
Any answer?

[HIVworker]

Studies into HIV latency are in their infancy. The reason that these people were selected for the study is because they have been on antiretroviral therapy the longest and therefore have controlled their virus right from the beginning. It's sort of the best case for having hit the virus early in infection. For the record, the half-life of the latent pool is still under discussion. At a recent meeting there was great debate on how long it really was - with the authors of both studies not agreeing. You raise some good questions - some of which will be answered by new studies on HIV latency. It has to be tackled if there is any hope of a cure...as are accurate methods of monitoring the size of the latent pool.

R

[ashton]

I agree with HIVworker; it's way too early to know much.  You could go to http://www.natap.org/ and look for a Conference Report entitled "A band of optimists considers the road towards a distant goal: eradication; Report from HIV Eradication Conference", 3rd Intl Workshop on HIV Persistence during Therapy, West Indies, St Maartin.  This covers some of the latest thinking on the topic.

[HIVworker]

Aye, I know about that meeting.

[bimazek]

not sure how new this article is but yes of course there is lowering of the latent infection over time, the issue is that the immune system is not a linear system, what is called a linear system in mathematics, it is not just the sum of its parts, it does not behave in a completely easily predictable way

it is a nonlinear system -- In a nonlinear system the components are interactive, interdependent, and exhibit feedback effects. 
Like the weather -- yes the hidden reserviours decay over time on HAART, that is why HAART is so so important, like my friend who is 62 yrs old and been on meds for 6 years and now off meds for 8 months, he is still undetectable, but he has had a health event, one node in his neck has swollen up about size of a acorn or half a thumb, the point is this is why they dont take many off of haart because of these unpredictable little, and sometimes big problems that arise when the virus re animates.






Nonlinear system - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In mathematics, a nonlinear system is a system which is not linear i.e. a system which does not satisfy the superposition principle. Generally, nonlinear problems are difficult (if possible) to solve and are much less understandable than linear problems. Even if not exactly solvable, the outcome of a linear problem is rather predictable, while the outcome of a nonlinear is inherently not.  Nonlinear problems are of interest to physicists and mathematicians because most physical systems are inherently nonlinear in nature. Physical examples of linear systems are not very common. Nonlinear equations are difficult to solve and give rise to interesting phenomena such as chaos. The weather is famously nonlinear, where simple changes in one part of the system produce complex effects throughout....
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonlinearity

nonlinear system
In a nonlinear system the components are interactive, interdependent, and exhibit feedback effects. Related category • SYSTEMS THEORY Also on this site: ...
www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/N/nonlinear_system.html -