Possible cure for AIDs found

[Hanz]

http://news.aol.com/health/article/marrow-...red-aids/246178

Oh I hope this is the case and not some fluke.

[Raven]

Hopefully it is the cure to one of the most common diseases around.

[Liz]

the question is, will it be affordable?

because it won't do most people any good if its incredibly expensive to the point that they can't afford it

Edited November 13, 2008 by Empress Alina

[Rehab]

Huh. My aunt died of leukemia back a bit. Interesting.

Edited November 13, 2008 by Mac

[_____]

I dearly hope it isn't a fluke.

[Oguma]

I dearly hope it isn't a fluke.

[Fireman]

Thank you for the information, Hanz. Now there might posibly be one less obstacle to worry about in my life.

[bunny: spider bitten]

I have to say, it's probably a fluke.

[Florete]

Wow, I sure hope it's real.

[Steven Tyler]

I really do hope this is real and if so, just imagine how far we can get with this! I do see some drawbacks however. Not everyone will donate Bone Marrow for the cause.

[bunny: spider bitten]

The issue is that they actually already felt as if the surgery could slow down HIV simply because the creation of white blood cells not built to fight AIDS would actually kill all the smaller diseases that were more likely to kill you.

But even if it were an actual treatment, Marrow would never be available in large enough quantities to stop it.

[Wolf]

I'm hoping this isn't a fluke, and I'd love to see this disease finally cured. But if its expensive that wont do any good for the AIDs people.

[Phoenix Wright]

So what's the cure exactly? Replacing bone marrow?

[bunny: spider bitten]

Exactly.

Technically, it's the equivalent to sucking out 10 pints of blood while injecting blood at the same speed into the body. This could also theoretically cure AIDS.

[Phoenix Wright]

Exactly.

Technically, it's the equivalent to sucking out 10 pints of blood while injecting blood at the same speed into the body. This could also theoretically cure AIDS.

I don't know...sounds risky.

[bunny: spider bitten]

That's part of the point.

[YokaiKnight]

I'm more interested in finding out how it worked. As the article said, it's not the first time nor is it reliable.

[bunny: spider bitten]

If enough AIDS tainted blood is removed from the blood stream, it'll fade. They have found some people to be more resistant to HIV than others, so the proper marrow. . .

It's the same reason why some babies that are born with AIDS test negative months later.

[YokaiKnight]

I understand that, but we still don't know how to genetically induce resistance.

[Blacken]

I understand that, but we still don't know how to genetically induce resistance.

Yeah, we do. We know how to twiddle the genes necessary to suppress CCR5 and, to a lesser extent, CXCR4--the problem is that we can't do it. Gene therapy in a fully grown organism is beyond us at present (and may be impossible); there are simply too many somatic cells. Start with an embryo and maybe you can, but you don't know what you might be scribbling over.

That said, HIV is capable of mutating to the point where it can use other co-receptors anyway. Those "immune" people are not immune, it's just a lot more difficult, so to speak, to contract it. This is not a significant step forward due to such (it's a "yeah, we knew that already, thanks" at best), as well as the fact that bone marrow transfers are not new and not even new to AIDS treatment.

Hopefully it is the cure to one of the most common diseases around.

In what insane world is AIDS one of the "most common diseases around"? You know what's a common disease? Heart disease.

the question is, will it be affordable?

because it won't do most people any good if its incredibly expensive to the point that they can't afford it

It isn't cheap to do a marrow transplant and it isn't easy. It's also painful as hell and requires a wipe of the person's immune system to the point where a clean room is necessary. Not a good cure.

(Of course, all this ignores the fact that HIV is not really a big deal in the First World outside of historically high-risk populations--e.g., the homosexual community, though awareness is rising--and never will be the scare-tactic mess that was predicted in the 90's. It also conveniently ignores that Africa has been due for a population adjustment a la Europe's Black Death for half a century or more. This is one of those diseases I'd say may very well be better not to "cure," and settle for "prevent" where possible. It has all the hallmarks of a burn-it-out epidemic, and trying to dodge those is stupid.)

Edited November 14, 2008 by Blacken

[bunny: spider bitten]

Of course, studies have shown that eating bone marrow is very healthy for your heart and body.

[Metal Rabbit]

Wait a minute... they're just replacing bone marrow, but what about othe parts of the body whose cells can be infected? You can take blood out and put new stuff in, but if there's another area that's infected it will just corrupt the new blood too.

Though... I haven't studied the disease other than the basics. I might be wrong in assuming that it works the same as other diseases in infecting organs.

Edited November 14, 2008 by Adam

[bunny: spider bitten]

Funny thing is, AIDS doesn't really effect any other parts of the body. You can't really die from AIDS.

All it does is kill your immune system. So you end up dying of cat diseases or old Italian Man diseases. Because AIDS basically destroys the antibodies produced by the body for food and uses the antibodies made to fight AIDS to produce more AIDS. Or something similar.

Since bone marrow produces white blood cells which produce the antibodies, having someone else's bone marrow produces a new set of white blood cells and a new set of immunities for the body. Without the ability to make more AIDS, the body eventually phases it out. Or something similar.

I'm not exactly pre-med, but I've studied both AIDS and Leukemia. I'm sure the explanation is riddled with errors, but the basic reason as to why this would remotely help either disease is there.

[Blacken]

Correct enough.