Disease in the News
Shontavia Harris
HCS 245
September 19, 2011
Cheryl Meaux

Disease in the News
According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), there were 35,962 cases of AIDS in 2007 diagnosed and 14,110 deaths among people living with HIV in the United States. For years there has been a large amount of research done to understand how HIV/AID’s target human cells. Researchers have also done extensive research trying to find a cure for AID’s. Researchers at Duke University Medical Center, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and Harvard Medical School have discovered a possible vaccine through extensive research that may use an alter form of HIV’s outer protein coating. It may not be the answer to provide officially a treatment for HIV, but it is one step closer in the right direction to finding a cure. An article provided by Duke University Medical Center gives insight into a way that may be an effective vaccine option used to alter HIV’s cells for patients. Aside from the information given on a vaccine is information about the research and insight from various health care personnel’s.
HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) leads to AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome). HIV is transmitted through acquiring unprotected sex or multiple sex partners, sharing of personal equipment such as needles, and passed from mother to baby that targets the immune system by affecting the white blood cells and organ cells. HIV is hard to distinguish when it is contracted because it is establishes through flu like symptoms to no symptoms. It may be weeks, months, or even years for HIV to become evident. AIDS is the last stage of HIV that completely destroys a person’s immune system by attaching to some of the immune cells and altering its function.
In the article, researchers approach the possible HIV vaccine by first finding a way to target the immune’s immature cells. Once the immune cell is attacked by HIV virus, it produces a protective cover made of sugar that makes the cells resistant to different antibodies that tries to fight off the virally infected cells. The HIV vaccine that the researchers have discovered is designed to target the outer coating of the HIV cells by developing and attaching to an artificial outer covering. The artificial outer covering created by the researchers will better help bind the cells and create a strong vaccine response for the immune system. As stated in the article, this procedure could be why previous approaches of an HIV vaccine were unsuccessful.
During the research, researchers noticed that they had to find a way for the vaccine to bind to the HIV outer cell covering that consist of sugars. The sugars resulted in the cells becoming virus mutations and resistant to antibodies. Antibodies bind well when the sugars of the outer coating are removed. Researchers did a study on primates because their immune system and genetics are similar to humans. The vaccine removed some of the sugars and bind to the cells to stimulate antibodies.
In conclusion, HIV/AIDS have become an active health care concern and 20% of Americans infected with HIV are unaware because they have never been tested. For years people had struggled with HIV and AIDS because of the clear outcome of knowing that this virus is not pleasant and will eventually lead to death. Researchers have worked hard over the years understanding the structure and how HIV works with the immune system. Surprisingly their hard work may have finally paid off. Researchers at Duke University Medical Center, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and Harvard Medical School discovered a possible vaccine that targets the outer layer of the infected cells.

References
Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2011). Basic Information about HIV and AIDS. Retrieved September 18, 2011 from http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/basic/index.htm#prevention
Medical News Today. (2011, September 6). New HIV Vaccine Approach Target Desirable Immune Cells. Retrieved September 15, 2011 from http://medicalnewstoday.com/releases/233815.php