Researchers in France have created an antibody that attacks the cytokine IL-6 (interleukin 6). Their antibody, called BE-8, was originally made by cells from mice. This antibody had been tested on non-HIV-infected patients with cancer and did not appear to cause any serious toxicity. Our report provides results from a study called ANRS 018.
Researchers in the EU and USA have noted that some patients with certain cancers have T cells that do not function properly. In one study of cancer (Hodgkins disease using non-HIV-infected subjects) researchers found that subjects with the weakest T cell response usually had the most severe complications of cancer. In such patients, cell-mediated immunity was poor.
Researchers in Atlanta studied the effect of standard treatment for neurosyphilis in 11 HIV-infected subjects (9 male, 2 female). The subjects were all adults and tested 'positive' for syphilis on standard tests (listed in section A). Medical staff performed a spinal tap to get a sample of CSF (cerebrospinal spinal fluid; in which the brain and spinal cord float).
For treating patients with syphilis, the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia) recommends using the antibiotic penicillin. Penicillin may not work in some patients and others may be allergic to it. Alternatives include ceftriaxone, tetracyclines and erythromycin.
Infections normally kept under control may reappear as the immune system begins to break down under constant attack by HIV. A number of researchers have claimed that in patients with HIV/AIDS
For background information on DNCB please see TreatmentUpdate 43. We now report results from a long term observational study on DNCB. Researchers in California enrolled 24 male, HIV-infected subjects for this study
Doctors in Cleveland, Ohio, have recently reported their results in treating 4 HIV-infected patients with kidney dysfunction. All subjects were adults, 2 males and 2 females. Three of these subjects had used AZT and one, ddI. The CD4+ cell counts ranged from 30 to 80 cells. Doctors treated them with the corticosteroid Prednisone 60 mg/day "for 2 to 6 weeks."
In the early 1980s researchers found that some patients with HIV/AIDS had damaged kidneys. This complication even appeared in symptom-free patients. In the USA, HIV-infected patients from Miami and New York were more likely to have kidney dysfunction than patients from rural areas. In some patients the kidneys remove protein from the blood and dump it into the urine.
Several research teams have noted a decrease in cell- mediated (CMI) immunity in EGV-infected patients as their CD4+ cell counts fall over time. As well, production of cytokines associated with CMI (interferon-gamma, IL-2 and IL-12) fall in HIV/AIDS while production of cytokines associated with humoral immunity (IL-4, 6, 10) rise.
Cytokines are chemicals (such as the interferons and interleukins) that are made by the immune system. The immune system releases certain cytokines to help recruit cells and manage the fight against infections. Once the infection is cured other cytokines are released which help to 'turn off' the response against the infection.
This information is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.