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Scientists ask HIV vaccine researchers to return to basics
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Scientists ask HIV vaccine researchers to return to basics
Scientists ask HIV vaccine researchers to return to basics
A group of scientists speaking at the 11th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in San Francisco say that because of recent setbacks in HIV vaccine research, investigators should get back to solving basic science questions about HIV, The Wall Street Journal reports. Ron Desrosiers of Harvard Medical School says the HIV vaccines currently in development or human tests "stand little chance of success. There is ample evidence to indicate that development of an effective vaccine against HIV-1 will be extremely difficult." He says HIV's ability to thwart the protections conveyed by vaccines--including frequent mutation, an ability to resist antibodies, and the ability to hide from vaccines and antiretroviral drugs by hiding in resting immune system cells--will likely make all current experimental HIV vaccines fail. Researchers should instead refocus on studying HIV's complex interaction with the body's immune system rather than rushing vaccine candidates that are unlikely to succeed into the development pipeline, says Desrosiers.
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