Researchers Use Synthetic Protein to Block HIV In Laboratory Experiment
South Carolina Congressman Discusses HIV/AIDS During Town Hall Meeting
CDC Report Shows 10% Drop In Overall HIV-Related Death Rate
Researchers Use Synthetic Protein to Block HIV In Laboratory Experiment
Researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison "report they were able to block HIV infections in the lab with synthetic proteins that prevented the virus from entering healthy cells," as noted in the August 18 Kaiser Family Foundation Daily HIV/AIDS Report and according to a HealthDay/U.S. News & World Report story. The study, funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), was published in the online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
During the course of the study, "researchers developed synthetic molecules that interfered with the ability of a key HIV protein called gp41 to interact with proteins in host cells" in the lab, according to the article. The synthetic molecules physically prevent the virus from infecting host cells by their interaction with gp41, a crucial HIV protein. In a University of Wisconsin-Madison/EurekAlert! press release, lead author Samuel Gellman says, "Although it is not clear that the [synthetic proteins] themselves could ever be used as anti-HIV drugs, the results show that this type of approach has great potential to lead to new ways to think about designing molecules for antiviral therapies and other biomedical applications."
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South Carolina Congressman Discusses HIV/AIDS During Town Hall Meeting
The August 19 Kaiser Family Foundation Daily HIV/AIDS Report cited a WOLO.com report of Rep. Jim Clyburn’s (D-S.C.) presence at a town hall meeting that was hosted by the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation and the South Carolina HIV/AIDS care crisis task force and which focused on the impact of HIV/AIDS in the black community. According to the WOLO.com story, Clyburn referred to HIV/AIDS in the context of the debate on health care reform saying, "Health care could be the ruination of our economy and HIV/AIDS could very well be the ruination of health care. How is health care, and the health care proposal Congress is looking at, going to affect HIV/AIDS funding, treatment? I don't think we know that yet." According to WLTX.com, in addition to HIV/AIDS funding, town hall attendees also wanted to discuss health care reform, especially as it pertains to pre-existing conditions like HIV/AIDS. Clyburn said, "The primary reason for health care reform is to get rid of discrimination of people with pre-existing conditions."
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CDC Report Shows 10% Drop In Overall HIV-Related Death Rate
According to a preliminary report released on August 19 by the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), "U.S. life expectancy has risen to a new high, now standing at nearly 78 years," and "death rates in almost all the leading causes of death" have fallen, the Associated Press/Philadelphia Inquirer reports. According to the report, in 2007, there was a 10% drop in the overall HIV-related death rate. This constitutes the biggest one-year decline in HIV-related mortality since 1998. Bob Anderson, chief of the NCHS mortality statistics branch, said, "It was kind of a surprise to see it go down so much," and it is unclear whether the trend will continue. For more information also see the August 20 Kaiser Family Foundation Daily HIV/AIDS Report.
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