The team looked at a form of SIV that is up to 100 times more deadly than HIV.
A vaccine for the monkey equivalent of HIV
appears to eradicate the virus, a study suggests. Research published in the journal Nature has shown that vaccinated monkeys can clear Simian
Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV) infection from their
bodies. It was effective in nine of the 16 monkeys that were
inoculated. The US scientists say they now want to use a similar
approach to test a vaccine for HIV in humans. Prof Louis Picker, from the Vaccine and Gene
Therapy Institute at Oregon Health and Science
University, said: "It's always tough to claim
eradication - there could always be a cell which we
didn't analyse that has the virus in it. But for the
most part, with very stringent criteria... there was no virus left in the body of these monkeys." Search and destroy The research team looked at an aggressive form of
virus called SIVmac239, which is up to 100 times
more deadly than HIV. Infected monkeys usually die within two years, but
in some inoculated primates the virus did not take
hold. The vaccine is based on another virus called
cytomegalovirus (CMV), which belongs to the
herpes family. It used the infectious power of CMV to sweep
throughout the body. But instead of causing
disease, it has been modified to spur the immune
system into action to fight off the SIV molecules. "It maintains an armed force, that patrols all the
tissues of the body, all the time, indefinitely,"
explained Prof Picker. The researchers gave rhesus macaque monkeys
the vaccine, and then exposed them to SIV. They found that at first the infection began to
establish and spread. But then the monkeys' bodies
started to respond, searching out and destroying
all signs of the virus. Of the monkeys that successfully responded to the
vaccine, they were still clear of infection between
one-and-a-half and three years later. Prof Picker said his team was still trying to work out
why the vaccination worked in only about half of
the monkeys. "It could be the fact that SIV is so pathogenic that
this is the best you are ever going to get. "There is a battle going on, and half the time the
vaccine wins and half the time it doesn't," he said. Human trials The researchers are now testing the vaccine to see
if it can be used after SIV exposure to treat and
potentially cure infected monkeys. They also want to see if the technique could work
in humans. Prof Picker said: "In order to make a human version
we have to make sure it is absolutely safe. The researchers now want to move from monkeys
to test the vaccine in humans "We have now engineered a CMV virus which
generates the same immune response but has been
attenuated [modified to lose its virulence] to the
point where we think it is unequivocally safe." This would first have to pass through the
regulatory authorities, but if it does, he said he
hoped to start the first clinical trials in humans in the
next two years. Commenting on the research, Dr Andrew
Freedman, from Cardiff University School of
Medicine, said: "This suggests that prophylactic
vaccines - vaccines designed to prevent infection -
using CMV vectors may be a promising approach
for HIV. "While they may not prevent the initial infection,
they might lead to subsequent clearance, rather
than the establishment of chronic infection."

Oh pls hurry

i do nt knw hw much longer i can hold dis konjis

petrov 10: Oh pls hurry

i do nt knw hw much longer i can hold dis konjis

It willl be faster if you volunteer for the human trial