|
|
Tweet |
Spanish doctors unveil promising AIDS vaccine
"This is a very important improvement with respect to previous initiatives where with a similar vaccine there was a modest response in 30 per cent of the treated patients. No therapeutic vaccine has achieved up to now the same level of response as in this study."
- Barcelona's Hospital Clinic
Spanish researchers announced Tuesday they have developed an AIDS vaccine which cuts the viral load by a significant amount in most patients although they cautioned it is still not enough as a treatment.
Twenty-four AIDS patients took part in a clinical trial carried out by doctors at Barcelona's Hospital Clinic and after 24 weeks the majority had shown a "significant" decrease in their viral load, the hospital.
The vaccine was personalized for each patient as it was made from their own dendritic cells, a special type of cell that is a key regulator of the immune system.
It was administered in three doses with an interval of two weeks between each one.
The researchers hope to develop a therapeutic vaccine to treat AIDS which will reduce the need for antiretroviral drug treatments which are expensive as they must be administered daily.