Scientists now trying to outflank HIV/AIDS virus

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Scientists now trying to outflank HIV/AIDS virus

By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID, AP Science Writer Randolph E. Schmid, Ap Science Writer
Mon May 18, 12:42 am ET

WASHINGTON – Like a general whose direct attacks aren't working, scientists are now trying to outflank the HIV/AIDS virus.

Unsuccessful at developing vaccines that the cause the body's natural immune system to battle the virus, researchers are testing inserting a gene into the muscle that can cause it to produce protective antibodies against HIV.

The new method worked in mice and now has proved successful in monkeys, too, they reported Sunday in the online edition of the journal Nature Medicine. The team is led by Dr. Philip R. Johnson of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

That doesn't mean an AIDS vaccine for people is in the wings, Johnson said. Years of work may lie ahead before a product is ready for human use.

Nevertheless, the report was welcomed by Dr. Beatrice Hahn, an AIDS researcher the University of Alabama at Birmingham, who was not part of Johnson's team. "It basically shows there is light at the end of the tunnel," she said in a telephone interview.

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090518/ap_on_he_me/us_med_battling_aids/print