An experimental therapy has held back one man’s HIV infection for 10 months, doctors have reported.<\/p>\n
He was one of 18 people in a small trial testing injections of “broadly neutralising antibodies” – the natural weapons of the immune system.<\/p>\n
They delayed the resurgence of the virus in other participants by around two weeks.<\/p>\n
The findings are being presented at the ninth International Aids Society Conference on HIV Science in Paris.<\/p>\n
The human body is inefficient at making antibodies that neutralise HIV.<\/p>\n
Only one in five people infected with the virus develops them – and even then it takes many years and high levels of uncontrolled virus.<\/p>\n
But more than 200 broadly neutralising antibodies have been documented, which doctors hope could be useful for both preventing and treating HIV.<\/p>\n
Antibody infusion<\/strong><\/p>\n The trial in Thailand, led by the US Military HIV Research Program (MHRP), took people who were controlling their infection with their standard HIV medication.<\/p>\n Some were given no treatment and others had an infusion of the antibody – codenamed VRC01 – into their bloodstream.<\/p>\n Inevitably the virus came back in those getting no treatment. It took an average (median) of 14 days, at which point they were put back on antiretroviral therapy.<\/p>\n In those receiving the antibody it took 26 days.<\/p>\n Dr Jintanat Ananworanich, one of the MHRP scientists, said there was also the exceptional case.<\/p>\n She told the BBC News website: “[The patient] has been off treatment for around 10 months and has so far controlled the virus to very low levels.”<\/p>\n He had the antibody infusion every three weeks for six months.<\/p>\n The field is still at an incredibly early stage, but the results point to the potential of antibody-based therapies.<\/p>\n Dr Ananworanich added: “It suggests there’s some impact from the antibody, but how the antibody actually impacts the virus and the immune system – that’s an on-going investigation.<\/p>\n “I do think antibody therapy has potential because the antibody, in the future, could perhaps be given just two or three times a year.”<\/p>\n –<\/p>\n Source: BBC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" An experimental therapy has held back one man’s HIV infection for 10 months, doctors have reported. He was one of 18 people in a small trial testing injections of “broadly neutralising antibodies” – the natural weapons of the immune system. They delayed the resurgence of the virus in other participants by around two weeks. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[19],"tags":[7002,9615,3,1756],"yoast_head":"\n