Buckbinder MD, Topics in HIV, Medicine, May 2009
Getting people to get tested for HIV continues to be a big problem even in the United States. It is the recommendation of the CDC that every person 13-65 get tested for HIV one time per year, and those at higher risk for infection get tested more frequently. The CDC reported that at the end of 2006 there were more than 1 million infected with HIV in the United State and over 200,000 people were unaware of their HIV+ status. The number of HIV infections was highest amongst blacks, then whites, and finally Hispanics.The age group having the most infections was the group 35-44. Worldwide it has been estimated that only 10% of persons at risk for HIV infection receive HIV testing. A study from Alameda County California Medical Center showed that only 36 % of eligible patients accepted testing. Why do these numbers remain low. A lot of people including members of our foundation believe that a strong factor in this data is that testing + does not lead to any tr eatment in most people as their CD 4 counts are too high. The public health reasons for testing, namely to cut down on Transmission, is unacceptable to many people. People are asking if I have a positive test I should be able to get treatment immediately.
They are becoming more and more knowledgeable about HIV positivity and they recognize that untreated HIV infection is bad not only for the person who tests +, but for their ability to transmit the disease. More and more people are looking at well publicized data that treatment leads to prevention of spreading the disease. There have been models generated that show a 99% reduction in transmission when everyone who is HIV infected gets treated, and even projections that if this were done in resource poor countries after a period of time HIV would be eliminated.
HIV Vaccine Development Watkins, PhD Topics in HIV Medicine May, 2009
There continues to be a focus on the famous Step trial, the Government Merck trial, that failed as a vaccine to protect people, It was carried out in Africa. Some data has been shown that the expected robust T-cell response which was seen in those patients that got all 3 vaccine infections did not show a robust enough T-cell response to protect people from getting HIV.
Furthermore people in the Step Trial a lready had adenovirus serotype (AdS) neutralizing antibodies and to explain why those patients were more susceptible to HIV infection one only has to look at the fact that these patients when injected with the vaccine that had an Aden-5 vector did not stimulate the necessary boost in neutralizing antibodies as expected.
This is because they already had Adeno-5 vector neutralizing antibodies and did not get the sufficient boost needed for protection. What is needed is another vector or more importantly a live attenuated virus vaccine with a different epitope that includes possibly all genes of the virus, or a DNA vaccine Again there has been little movement in the vaccine area of research since the government put a freeze on funding for vaccines.
The Schick foundation New Pilot Study
Peter Schick Chairman of the Board of the Peter Schick Foundation
In an attempt to eliminate the need for a vaccine and to decrease transmission significantly, our Foundation is instituting a pilot study for the first time studying the effects of a supplement, or botanical, termed BLUE GREEN ALGAE in HIV+ patients who have been virologically suppressed for 6 months by antiretroviral drugs and have undetectable virology loads maintained on antiretroviral therapy.
These people certainty still have low virus in their circulation and their reservoirs like the b rain where the virus hides. We believe with bone marrow stem cells boosted , there is a chance to eliminate the last vestige of the virus . There are published studies that the infected T memory cell's life span is increased with this substance,
There is also data that this substance BLUE GREEN ALGAE enhances the mucosal barrier protecting HIV entry and eliminating microbial translocation which starts the immune activation of HIV. The substance, BLUE GREEN ALGAE also is able to get into the reservoirs.
This supplement increases the circulating stem cells 30% in the circulation and thus the most powerful cell in the immune system stops inflammation so that the main characteristic of HIV infection is eliminated and with it possible elimination of the virus. This study has started accumulating data recently and has its first patient enrolled.
About the foundation:
If you want to see this pilot study implemented world wide then Donate to:
The Peter Schick Foundation
1223 Wilshire Blvd. #1007
Santa Monica California, 90403
or donate of the Schick Foundation web site
http://www.schickfoundation.org/ or http://www.schickresearch.com/
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