http://news.health.com/2010/04/05/scientists-find-clues-how-body-fights-off-hiv/
I found the article "Scientists Find Clues to How the Body Fights Off HIV" at Health.com. The article was published on April 5, 2010 and listed sources such as the chief medical officer at Duke University of Medicine and members of The Foundation for AIDS Research which make it clear that the information given in the article is newly discovered, accurate information. The Author of the article is unknown.
Researches currently searching for a cure for AIDS have reportedly found new information on the process in which AIDS is fought off by the human body. These new findings are not certain to help scientists in developing a new vaccine as HIV still remains an extremely strong enemy to the body. However, chief medical officer, Dr. M. Anthony Moody at Duke University's, Human Vaccine Institue believes that the new findings will help scientists by making them aware of “a possible way that one could think about the kinds of response you’d want to have on hand before a virus shows up,". The researchers study was published and talked about four different kinds of antibodies they found in the immune system which create a barrier to prevent HIV from getting into the cells through what is called the receptor. Receptors are the entry point of AIDS into the cells in the majority of cases. The four antibodies work more to block the cells than to try to destroy the virus cells. The problem with HIV is that the body does not start fighting the virus off immediately, so the virus cells always seem to be one step ahead of the antibodies, even these new antibodies. Doctors are now considering testing the antibodies on animals to see if they boost their immune system. The problem is that the more steps that go into introducing the antibodies to protect against AIDS, the more things that can go wrong.
I found this article to be extremely interesting. What I found the most interesting was the fact that the new antibodies do not go out and try to kill and destroy the virus cells, they simply make a barrier to block them from the healthy cells. For most of the diseases we have learned about in class, the antibodies have attacked the virus right away. I find AIDS very interesting as a disease because there has been so much controversy over it especially during my lifetime. I read this article expecting to find some new type of controversy but I ended up finding something much more interesting and hopeful for the world and the state of the disease. However, there was something about this new information that I really didn't like. The author didn't make it clear what was going to be tested on animals. He or she said that the newly found antibodies would be tested on animals. Does this mean that those animals will also be administered AIDS? Is this legal or even possible? I do not agree with testing such a dangerous and notorious disease on any living thing.
I agree that this is very good news: the more we know about how AIDS enters and attacks the body, the further we’ll advance toward keeping it in check. Along those lines, I would say that an end as great as a cure for the disease, or even an ally in the fight against it, justifies the means, even animal testing. A little research on AIDS shows that a human-specific virus causes it—in most animals, the research on the antibodies would only test for a general boost in immune capabilities. In the event that they do try to test HIV on monkeys with the antibodies, I think that even PETA would have trouble winning the case of sparing a few apes over potentially delivering a cure to millions of afflicted humans.
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ReplyDeleteIt's surprising to me that more people have not chosen to blog about AIDS. For so long, and to this day, it was such a big part of the media. I am glad you are drawing attention to it, Rebecca. It is excellent to hear that researchers are discovering how the body fights the AIDS infection. I didn't know that a way the body tries to block HIV was through creating barriers out of four different kinds of antibodies. It truly is astonishing how our bodies work. It's sad to hear how strong and lethal HIV is, sometimes our bodies can't fight off all infection. The fact that the scientists are going to use animals to try and figure out this disease is something I have questioning feelings about. An animal is a precious life, though Eric makes an excellent point in saying how it would be beneficial perhaps, to far more than can be guessed. And whatever will help the most people to have the highest quality of life, is in the long run, the best solution.
ReplyDeleteLike what Rebecca said, I too enjoyed reading this article because it connects well to our Epidemics class and what we learned about AIDS and the Immune system, as well as how it connects to our generation. This discovery may have brought many new questions, but I think, with time, this discovery will have brought many new answers. This find is another step towards a cure. Simply, the more we know about this disease, the better. I find the complexity of the immune system and this alternate role the antibodies can hold to be fascinating and there is still so much scientists don't know. Hopefully in the process of testing and creating vaccines lives of not too many animals will need to be sacrificed.
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