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From: bob@ozdaltx.UUCP (bob)
Newsgroups: sci.med.aids
Subject: Re: AIDS
Message-ID: <31537@shemp.CS.UCLA.EDU>
Date: 4 Feb 90 16:07:44 GMT
References: <31500@shemp.CS.UCLA.EDU>
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Archive-number: 1667

In article <31500@shemp.CS.UCLA.EDU>, Drew.Hamilton@p5.f180.n221.z1.fidonet.org (Drew Hamilton) writes:
> 
>  
>    Also, Can the immune system be taught to battle AIDS (just like chiken pox)  
> cause we could just develop an immunity shot to give a small dosage of AIDS to  
> the person.
>  
The problem of creating a vaccine has a lot to do with the bodies'
inability to mount a successful attack on HIV.  In other words, the
body does make antibodies to HIV, that is what is tested for when you
"take the test", but apparently these antibodies are ultimately (if at
ever) ineffective.  So even a little of the live virus used as a
vaccine might actually infect the person instead of conferring
immunity.  Ideas of using a killed virus to promote an antibody and
immunity are being researched, there is still the question of being
sure that the vaccine contained no live virus, and of course the
question about whether or not the provoked response to the vaccine
would actually protect someone.  Not too long ago a researcher working
with SIV (the monkey form of AIDS, Simian Immunodeficiency Virus)
claimed early success in developing a vaccine for SIV.  It was not a
100% success yet, but very promising and offers HOPE that a vaccine
for HIV may be possible (it was not at all clear whether it would be
possible to do this with any sort of AIDS like virus).  It is not
certain that the same thing can be done with HIV.  
 
It is worth noting that the chicken pox example and other vaccines
differ in another critical way from HIV - they don't attack the immune
system directly.  And in some of these vaccinations we are looking at
using a less serious disease to provoke immunity which also works
against a more serious disease which is genetically close.  So far
there doesn't appear to be anything like that with AIDS. 

Someone else explained why complete blood transfusions wouldn't work,
but it might be worth mentioning that adults on AZT often develop
anemia as a side effect and receive transfusions, so it has been tried
on that level as well, but not for those reasons.

-- 
Bob Culmer - Dallas        | "Hearts will never be practical until 
Somewhere over the rainbow |  they can be made unbreakable." - Wizard
...in the Land of OZ       | "But I still want one." - Tin Man
     {ames,rutgers,texsun,smu}!attctc!ozdaltx!bob