Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1989. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
New vaccine may benefit HIV-infected
San Francisco Chronicle - Tuesday, October 17, 1989
Early human tests of a potential AIDS vaccine suggest that people already infected by the HIV virus may benefit if they are vaccinated before disease symptoms appear, according to a U.S. Army medical research team. Dr. Robert Redfield of the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in Washington said that trials with a small number of infected people indicate that the vaccine, VaxSyn HIV-1, slows down or even halts destruction of vital white blood cells, T-4 lymphocytes, which a patient needs to fight infections. T-4 lymphocytes play a critical role in acquired immune deficiency syndrome, because they are the virus' main target. Their disappearance from the bloodstream usually heralds the onset of full-blown AIDS, making a patient vulnerable to opportunistic infections. Whether the vaccine will shield the uninfected from the human immunodeficiency virus was not determined. Redfield issued the report yesterday in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., at the second annual meeting of the National Cooperative Development Group for AIDS. The new work suggests that vaccine treatment soon after infection may help preserve an infected person's T-4 cell count and perhaps stave off disease. According to Walter Reed spokesman Paul Klein, Redfield's research group worked with eight vaccinated patients and found "some potential" for the vaccine to preserve immune function in HIV-infected people. Vaccine treatment seemed to stabilize T-4 cell counts, and in one patient the number of T-4 cells increased slightly, he said. The vaccine is manufactured using gene-splicing techniques by MicroGeneSys Inc., of West Haven, Conn. The tests indicated that both antibody and cellular immune responses against the virus were stimulated, the firm reported, with "no evidence of toxic side effects." Earlier low-dose tests established the vaccine's safety.
Keywords: AIDS; MEDICINE; DRUGS; RESEARCH; US
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