Giant UK drugs company GlaxoSmithKline has said it is
cutting the price of anti-HIV medication for 63 of the poorest countries
in the world. The cost cuts - to include anti-malaria drugs - will apply
to 'not-for-profit' prices. A typical dose of Combivir - two tablets a
day - will cost just $1.70 (£1.10), but this price still remains
beyond the reach of most workers in sub-Saharan Africa.
Herbal hope for liver disease
Taking herbal medicine as well as conventional drugs may help long-term
hepatitis B sufferers, say Californian researchers. A study shows that
taking a Chinese herbal medicine on top of the standard treatment (interferon
alfa) is better than interferon alone. Overall, Chinese herbal medicine
combined with interferon alfa was almost twice as effective as the standard
treatment alone.
'Drug holidays' of little benefit
Hopes that taking regular breaks from combination therapy would train
the immune system to keep HIV under control were dashed last week when
a new study failed to detect any benefit. The researchers concluded that
structured treatment interruption is "generally unable" to alter
how an immune system responds to HIV.
Protein helps fend off Aids
Scientists have identified why some HIV patients are immune from developing
Aids. Around two per cent of patients do not - or have not so far - go
on to develop Aids. Experts have been aware since 1986 that the CD8 immune
cells, also called T-suppressor cells, produced some unidentifiable substance
that inhibited HIV cells from replicating. American and Chinese researchers
have now isolated the mysterious factor - a substnace called -1, -2 and
-3 alpha defensin proteins. This discovery could lead to the development
of new treatments in the future.
Shouldn't have started? It's safe to stop
European guidelines recommend starting HIV therapy when your CD4 count
goes below 200. But is
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it safe to stop if you started on much higher counts? The answer seems to be: yes. Fifty Spanish 'early starters' who stopped their HIV therapy found that, four months afterwards,
