 |
Business Wire - May 1, 2001
Following is the story in its entirety and is reprinted with permission from UPI.
AIDS filter may remove virus from blood
SAN DIEGO, April 28 (UPI) -- A novel filtration process designed to remove the AIDS virus from human blood has shown excellent promise in a series of pre-clinical trials, according to researchers at Aethlon Medical, an early stage biotechnology firm in La Jolla, Calif.
Trials of the filtration system, aptly named the HIV-Hemopurifier, began in February of this year according to Richard Tullis, Aethlon's chief project researcher. The HIV-Hemopurifier method is based on kidney dialysis, Tullis told United Press International.
"We use the same hollow-fiber cartridge used for kidney dialysis," Tullis said. "The cartridge contains hair-like fibers with pores that trap particles larger than the virus. Smaller particles pass through the pores and circulate over polysaccharide beads coated with antibodies. These antibodies are specific for Gp120, a surface protein on the AIDS virus. The virus sticks to the antibody-coated beads, allowing uncontaminated material to flow through the filters and back into the blood stream."
In essence, Tullis said, the system filters out AIDS virus in much the same way a water filtration system removes lead and other impurities from drinking water. In the Hemopurifier case, Tullis removed HIV from several 10 milliliter samples of contaminated blood plasma.
The filter's inventor, Dr. Julian Ambrus, emphasized the system is designed to work in tandem with other treatment modalities, such as anti-viral cocktails and AZT.
"This is not a stand-alone treatment model," Ambrus told UPI. "We designed it specifically as one in a series of treatments that reduces the physical amount of HIV virus in blood and tissue."
One such treatment is the use of cytokines -- immune system hormones -- that encourage cells to push the virus out of tissues and into the bloodstream, where it comes in contact with the filtration system. HIV is notorious for hiding in tissue, but once it is forced into blood, it can be filtered out, Ambrus said.
"This filtration process may also have application to removal of hepatitis C virus and heavy metals such as lead and platinum, a major cause of side effects in chemotherapy," Ambrus, an associate professor of medicine at SUNY in Buffalo, N.Y, explained.
Dr. Anil Kumar, a virologist and cellular immunologist at the University of Kansas Medical Center, told UPI the HIV-Hemopurifier process is both unique and interesting.
"I have not heard of this sort of approach before, and I do believe their proposal is sound," Kumar said from his office in Kansas City. "However, I would caution that this is a whole body removal process, and with just a few milliliters of plasma tested it is far too early to say how well it will work."
University of Maryland chemistry professor Michael Summers, an expert in HIV protein structure, also finds the filtration approach unique.
"It's very novel," Summers told UPI from Baltimore. "And it is conceivable that this process could limit the spread of HIV throughout the body, especially if it is used along with the current repertoire of HIV inhibitors."
Gp120 is a protein that projects like little studs from the surface of the HIV virus, Summers explained. It specifically interacts with cd-4 receptors on human cells. Cells without cd-4 cannot be infected with AIDS, Summers said.
"So the idea of a filtration process that actually competes with cd-4 by binding to the Gp120 proteins is perfectly reasonable and workable," Summers concluded. Virologist Ravi Pottathil, president of Accudx Diagnostics, a San Diego firm supplying HIV diagnostic kits, told UPI the Aethlon filtration process is so simple others probably thought about it but passed it by.
"Everyone wants to create the one and only solution to a problem," Pottathil said. "The beauty of Aethlon's approach lies in being a part of the solution."
Pottathil predicts the HIV-Hemopurifier will have no side effects and will be relatively easy to use. He also appreciates the sound science behind the system.
"It is a very simple concept, not some crazy approach without scientific basis," Pottathil said. "Using antibodies like Gp120 and others to bind to different active sites on HIV is a common way to inhibit viral entry into cells. Aethlon is now saying it is a good way to selectively filter the virus out of the blood. They are not trying some new, unknown procedure. Rather, they are using an established procedure in an entirely new way."
(Reported by UPI Science Correspondent Mike Martin in Washington.)
Copyright 2001 by United Press International. All rights reserved.
Aethlon Medical (OTCBB:AEMD) is a development stage, therapeutic device company engaged in the discovery and development of novel products that rapidly reduce the presence of viruses and other intoxicants in the blood. Aethlon's lead product candidate, the HIV-Hemopurifier(TM), is designed to fill the urgent need for new HIV/AIDS treatments that are effective in reducing viral load, have fewer side effects and decrease the likelihood of treatment resistance. The Hemopurifier(TM) was recently introduced at the National Blood Safety Conference. Other products in the Aethlon technology portfolio include Hemopurifiers(TM) that treat Hepatitis C, Lead Poisoning, Iron Overload and curb the side effects of certain Chemotherapy.
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Aethlon Medical, Inc. (the "Company"), or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Readers of this press release may obtain additional information on the Company in reports and other information filed in accordance with the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"). Such reports and other information filed by the Company can be inspected and copied at the public reference facilities maintained by the Commission at the Public Reference Room, 450 Fifth Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20549. Copies of such material can also be obtained at prescribed rates from the Public Reference Section of the Commission, Washington, DC 20549 or by calling the Commission at 1-800-SEC-0330. In addition, Registration Statements and other filings made with the Commission through its Electronic Data Gathering Analysis and Retrieval System ("EDGAR") and publicly available through the Commission's website located at http://www.sec.gov.
--30--RYG/se*
CONTACT: The Catalyst Group Lisa Salinas, 727/441-8809 lisa@ideasonfire.com or Aethlon Medical James A. Joyce, 825/456-5777 jimjoyce@aethlonmedical.com
010501
BW010501
Copyright © 2001 - Business Wire. All rights reserved. Reproduced with permission. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the Business Wire, Permissions Desk, Business Wire, 1185 Avenue of the Americas, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10036; Tel: (212) 575-8822; FAX: (212) 575-1854. http://www.businesswire.com.
AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted grants from Boehringer Ingelheim, Elton John AIDS Foundation, iMetrikus, Inc., John M. Lloyd Foundation, the National Library of Medicine, and donations from users like you. Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2001. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.
AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.
Copyright ©1980, 2001. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .