PREVENT AIDS
PREVENT AIDS
University of Melbourne carried out a study which came up with a new immune treatment that may control AIDS. Test on animals showed that the treatment controlled the infection, although it does not cure it, and human trails are planned. The treatment is called OPAL (Overlapping Peptide pulsed Auto logous Cells). Treatment involves mixing the patient’s own blood cells with tiny bits of protein from the virus. These cells are then re-infused into the patient. The whole viral sequence is taken and a series of overlapping peptides is made based on it. These trigger the body’s immune cells, the T-cells, to recognize the presence of the virus like HIV much more clearly – and to attack it more effectively, reducing the levels of the virus and preventing the destruction of the immune system.