NIH Funds Philadelphia HIV Researchers
The National Institute of Health announced they had agreed to provide funding to researchers in the Philadelphia area in the amount of $6.2 million for use in the study of interferon alpha treatment in HIV patients. Interferon alpha is technically not a new drug, as it has been used to treat other indications such as hepatitis C. The human body also naturally produces the chemical whenever it experiences an infection.
Researchers questioned whether the drug could also be applied to patients infected with HIV. According to preliminary studies, the drug appears to be effective in reducing the viral loads for patients who still retain a strong immune system and are taking antiretroviral drugs. According to Luis Montaner, director of Wistar Institute’s HIV Immunopathogenesis Lab, "The introduction of interferon alpha in a recovered immune system makes that immune system more powerful to fight against HIV-1. The answer that the future holds for us is whether that response is going to be clinically useful, and how useful is, basically what the study is trying to answer."
Plans for use of the funds are already in motion. Montaner and his peers plan to delve back into their initial work with interferon alpha and associate themselves with more clinics in the Philadelphia area. The goal is to introduce 54 patients into various studies using the drug. These clinical trials will focus on whether or not interferon alpha is most effective with the combination of antiretroviral drugs or as a stand-alone.
Montaner also stated "The rationale is that we will allow the virus to come out — to be seen by the immune system — so the immune system can go back and clear it in a much better fashion."
Though research by Montaner and his team is far from a cure, the study could present a stepping stone for the 30,000 people in the city infected with HIV. Montaner concluded his comment by saying "We would be adding one more piece to a strategy of therapy that will make a cure more likely in the future."