UCLA: Stem Cells Kill HIV

So while funding for treatment is on the rise, prevention dollars are slowing fading away. One can't forget the importance of prevention in beating this disease. Without continued prevention efforts, the fight is only going to get tougher. source: http://simplestdtesting.com/resources/

If I could just throw in my 2 cents... Jack you said everyone in the country needs to read the scientific study and not the Advocate. That's really not the problem. I can't imagine any country where all its citizens are comfortable reading a medical journal. I teach in a university, but I still can't digest what's in a medical journal. The problem is that magazines are reporting crap as news and overexaggerating stories, like this one, because they make "better" news and sell more copies. I think it's despicable, but they all do it (meaning all the for-profit news media).

Miriam- In questioning the misleading title (and content) of this article, you demonstrated a scientific approach. I think you'll agree that good scientists are always skeptics. The Advocate wants to gain attention, so it runs a ridiculous article that distorts the true state of stem cell/HIV research. Its readers then (inexplicably) skip the necessary (and scientific) process of questioning the merit of the article and jump right into a political discussion. The modern American understanding of scientific work is all fucked up because nobody reads these studies. They read The Advocate instead. My last comment was meant to encourage other readers to imitate your scientific approach, rather than immediately screaming that federal funding of stem cell research will end the HIV/AIDS epidemic. I'm sorry if it came out wrong. I agree that the study is good news, but to me ALL scientific news is good news (as it indicates an advancing understanding of our universe). : )

Jack, I hope your not speaking to me here when your saying Im not helping. I posted specifically TO try and help people better understand this study, and because I was concerned that people had false hope that a cure for HIV is around the corner. This news is great, and I dont want to detract from that, but we have to be realistic is all.

Notice that the only skeptical comment comes from the only commentator (Miriam) actually capable of understanding this study. Be a scientist, not a sheep. You think you're helping, but you're not.

Correction, T cell "killing" of HIV infected cells was only shown in vitro and not in the mouse. The mouse did not have HIV. Good news that we can engineer T cells from stem cells to specifically kill HIV infected cells, but we need to show that these engineered T cells kill virus infected cells in vivo in organism that actually has HIV.

I have taken graduate level immunology and stem cell biology courses, and read this article in depth after reading all the hype. I have several points to make. Firstly, people are grossly overstating the results of this study. The study used a mouse chimera model (mouse with human liver and thymus) which is better than a regular mouse model in terms of implications for clinical use in humans; however, in terms of HIV-1 studies specifically, studies with murine (mouse) models have failed to show similar results in humans . Also, the mouse was NOT infected with HIV, it only was injected with certain cells presenting HIV-1 peptides. HIV is so difficult to combat specifically bc of its ability to manipulate various immune features of the immune system. So this study doesnt show that HIV infection can be cleared through stem cell engineering, they only suggest the possibility. While this information is encouraging, we are no where near to clinical use of an approach like this (at all).

AstraZeneca, GSK and Roche in England announced an initiative to co-fund stem cell research in 2007. Apparently the U.S. isn't alone in restrictions on this research. Pfizer announced a project with University College London in May 2009. Several states in the U.S. are funding or developing funding programs. Federal funding may be desired, but is not the only way. I found these with a five minute search. Imagine how many examples you could find if you really looked.

Everyone: Is it so difficult to simply applaud these scientists for a potentially world-changing discovery? Tens of millions of people around the world suffer from HIV/AIDS. Since it is among the biggest barriers to economic prosperity in the developing world, a cure could aid billions. Stop pointing fingers and blaming politicians for everything.

You guys are getting caught up in the political aspect here and it's really not the point of the article. This is great news! As an individual who recently lost her grandmother to Parkinsons and has a father suffering from Parkinsons, any breakthrough on stem cell research is AWESOME. Lets stay focused, my peeps!