infected males daily doses of growth hormone. After six
months, the size of the thymus and the number of new T-cells
circulating in the blood increased significantly.
Carnitine deficiency in children
Carnitine, which transports fat molecules around the body
to use them as fuel, is frequently deficient in children with HIV, research
shows. In the study, 79 HIV positive children were monitored and investigators
reported that total carnitine was significantly low in 37 per cent of
them.
The L-acetyl version of carnitine has been used successfully to control
peripheral neuropathy in adults and may also help control cholesterol.
Future meeting...
The next i-Base UK-CAB (community advisory board) and treatment
advocates meeting is on October 25. Each workshop includes two training
sessions and a forum for the community to meet with a pharmaceutical company.
They are aimed at people currently volunteering or employed at an HIV
organisation that provides treatment information or at people looking
to learn more about their own treatment. Contact i-Base on 020 7407 8488
for details, or visit their website www.i-Base.org.uk
T-20 pricing fears
The new experimental drug enfurvirtide or Fuzeon (formerly
T-20) - shown to be effective in prolonging the lives of patients with
drug-resistant strains of HIV - has this month been predicted to cost
between £6,500 and £10,000 per year. The most expensive Aids
drug currently available costs about £4,800 per year. The drug is
the first in a class known as fusion inhibitors, which are designed to
block HIV from entering blood cells.
Diaphragm put to test against HIV
The Gates Foundation plans to spend $28 million in southern Africa to
test whether the latex diaphragm can be used to help reduce a woman's
risk of HIV infection. This concept was first
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suggested in 1989 by Aids pioneer Dr Jay Levy: "I'm certain that if you could block virus-infected cells from the cervix, you could reduce transmission dramatically."
