PebHmong Discussion Forum
Hobbies & Interests => Science, Ideas & Research => Topic started by: prima_donna on November 28, 2013, 01:29:03 AM
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SCIENCE IS SO AMAZING.
Doctors used a disabled form of HIV to reprogram a child’s immune system to kill her cancer. Emma Whitehead had been battling leukemia for two years and has now been in remission for seven months thanks to the groundbreaking medical treatment.“Different to using chemotherapy to achieve those goals, you take out some of the body’s immune cells and you basically reprogram them. You put some genetic material into them that teaches the cells to attack that cancer,” says Dr. Sanjay Gupta. “They’re using a sort of deadened form of the HIV virus to transport that genetic material into cells.”The experimental procedure was developed by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, and they’ve tested it on 12 patients so far with varying results. The $20,000 price tag is cheaper than a bone marrow transplant.Exp laining the science behind the body’s reaction, Gupta says, “The person also, often times, gets very sick. They get the immune system really blown up. It’s a long hospitalizatio n, it’s a tough hospitalizatio n.”Gupta also points to the possible implications for patients who relapse. “If you have these cells in your body that are now trained to be able to recognize that cancer, if the cancer were to ever come back, it is possible these cells could immediately attack it. So it’s kind of, almost like a cancer vaccine….imagine that.”
http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2012/12/10/hiv-helps-save-young-cancer-patient/ (http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2012/12/10/hiv-helps-save-young-cancer-patient/)
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Interesting. I wonder about the technical details of how it works and why varying results??
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This isn't a miracle cure to the ears. There are a lot of mysteries with HIV and we do not yet have a cure. It is last resort and desperate measures to use HIV. With thousands of viruses out there, I don't know why they would choose HIV and not a less harmful virus. Dead and altered viruses such as the polio virus have been able to revert back into a virulent form and cause disease. HIV have reverse transcriptase, which can pick up DNA and revert/fix itself. Besides, HIV has the ability to mutate and cause shifts and drifts in it's DNA, making a vaccine impossible. Hopefully dead HIV virus don't come back to life, because if it does, you're going to be in big trouble along with the terminal cancer you've got.
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This isn't a miracle cure to the ears. There are a lot of mysteries with HIV and we do not yet have a cure. It is last resort and desperate measures to use HIV. With thousands of viruses out there, I don't know why they would choose HIV and not a less harmful virus. Dead and altered viruses such as the polio virus have been able to revert back into a virulent form and cause disease. HIV have reverse transcriptase, which can pick up DNA and revert/fix itself. Besides, HIV has the ability to mutate and cause shifts and drifts in it's DNA, making a vaccine impossible. Hopefully dead HIV virus don't come back to life, because if it does, you're going to be in big trouble along with the terminal cancer you've got.
Its still in the work. I dont know how effective this method will be but its a break through in cancer research. Its a virus that tags surface proteins so that T cells can destory cancer cells. Depending on the type of cancer regular cells can't tell the differences between a cancer cell and a normal cell. Thus why cancer cells can grow and take over. But if you can train T-cells or activate them to recongize surface protein then theres a chance for the immune system to fight naturally. Its another alternative to chemotherapy. The sad thing with Chemotherapy its not guarantee to kill all cancer cells. Patients are expect to do check ups after chemo. Most of the time if your cancer comes back your in higher risk because your body will be too weak to fight it off the second time. It makes me hopeful that there can be another way to treat it.
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Its still in the work. I dont know how effective this method will be but its a break through in cancer research. Its a virus that tags surface proteins so that T cells can destory cancer cells. Depending on the type of cancer regular cells can't tell the differences between a cancer cell and a normal cell. Thus why cancer cells can grow and take over. But if you can train T-cells or activate them to recongize surface protein then theres a chance for the immune system to fight naturally. Its another alternative to chemotherapy. The sad thing with Chemotherapy its not guarantee to kill all cancer cells. Patients are expect to do check ups after chemo. Most of the time if your cancer comes back your in higher risk because your body will be too weak to fight it off the second time. It makes me hopeful that there can be another way to treat it.
Remember that HIV attacks Helper T cells. So, what good is it to use something that normally attacks T cells when you need the T cells to function and do it's job? Viruses are also intracellular parasites and only use surface proteins for attachment to gain access into the cells. In the normal human body, antibodies made by B cells attach to foreign antigens, which already tags them for T cell phagocytosis. Hence, we already have an intact built in immune system serving that purpose. They use viruses to attack/bring apoptosis inside the mechanisms of the cell, and not the outer surface. The regular flu virus, which is a weak virus can already perform this mechanism with little harm but a mild flu like symptom, which the patients get over it in a few days to a week. I really think they are just trying to justify, unhorrify, and paint a glory picture of the horrendously tainted HIV virus. Using a killer HIV virus of humans to kill cancer is not the first approach or an ethical approach in rendering a cure.
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Remember that HIV attacks Helper T cells. So, what good is it to use something that normally attacks T cells when you need the T cells to function and do it's job? Viruses are also intracellular parasites and only use surface proteins for attachment to gain access into the cells. In the normal human body, antibodies made by B cells attach to foreign antigens, which already tags them for T cell phagocytosis. Hence, we already have an intact built in immune system serving that purpose. They use viruses to attack/bring apoptosis inside the mechanisms of the cell, and not the outer surface. The regular flu virus, which is a weak virus can already perform this mechanism with little harm but a mild flu like symptom, which the patients get over it in a few days to a week. I really think they are just trying to justify, unhorrify, and paint a glory picture of the horrendously tainted HIV virus. Using a killer HIV virus of humans to kill cancer is not the first approach or an ethical approach in rendering a cure.
Yes I understand there are risks involve but for the time being if they can fine tune it I think it would be a break through. And theyre not dealing with a killer HIV strain. Its a modify strain.
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Yes I understand there are risks involve but for the time being if they can fine tune it I think it would be a break through. And theyre not dealing with a killer HIV strain. Its a modify strain.
Modify or not, HIV have the ability to unmodify itself. But, yeap, nice read. Hopefully the research will be promising. I still think they should of used a flu virus first and use the HIV last. :2funny: :2funny: :2funny:
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i'm skeptical about the end results in a decade... :o :o :o
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i'm skeptical about the end results in a decade... :o :o :o
They had "varying results," which many skeptics can simply say be contributed to a placebo alone. If they live, we will know in a decade if they get full blown AIDS or not.
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They had "varying results," which many skeptics can simply say be contributed to a placebo alone. If they live, we will know in a decade if they get full blown AIDS or not.
those are my thoughts...
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Knock on wood.. well how else are vaccines made. Their either diasble or a dead form that is inject for immune reprogramming.
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Knock on wood.. well how else are vaccines made. Their either diasble or a dead form that is inject for immune reprogramming.
Vaccines for many diseases are made of dead or disabled form of the virus. Once the body encounters it, it forms antibody and you become immune. However, it is impossible to inject a weaken or dead HIV and make a vaccine out it. Because it mutates so fast, the vaccine made today will not work against it tomorrow along with the hundreds of mutated variants that exist. The point is.... the fultility of injecting a HIV virus that don't have a vaccine and be made a vaccine out of.
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Vaccines for many diseases are made of dead or disabled form of the virus. Once the body encounters it, it forms antibody and you become immune. However, it is impossible to inject a weaken or dead HIV and make a vaccine out it. Because it mutates so fast, the vaccine made today will not work against it tomorrow along with the hundreds of mutated variants that exist. The point is.... the fultility of injecting a HIV virus that don't have a vaccine and be made a vaccine out of.
That's your assumption.
Theres no reason to stop research. Its a small stepping stone, another alternative if chemotherapy doesn't work.
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That's your assumption.
Theres no reason to stop research. Its a small stepping stone, another alternative if chemotherapy doesn't work.
it is not an assumption. It is a fact and is why there is no vaccine for HIV. There is simply no way to make an effective vaccine for HIV, or else we would have one by now.
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it is not an assumption. It is a fact and is why there is no vaccine for HIV. There is simply no way to make an effective vaccine for HIV, or else we would have one by now.
I dont know why an HIV vaccine hasn't been created. In mechanisms of marking or tagging cancer cells, they could utilize that part.
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I dont know why an HIV vaccine hasn't been created. In mechanisms of marking or tagging cancer cells, they could utilize that part.
There are tons of other less harmful virus that can be use for tagging. I think these researchers and doctors are trying to gain attention and publicity of a horrendous HIV and trying to paint a positive aspect of it in rendering optimistic hopes of treating cancer. Inject me with HIV......no. ;D
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There are tons of other less harmful virus that can be use for tagging. I think these researchers and doctors are trying to gain attention and publicity of a horrendous HIV and trying to paint a positive aspect of it in rendering optimistic hopes of treating cancer. Inject me with HIV......no. ;D
They're not injecting patients with HIV i hope you knoe that. Theyre cultivating t-cells from patients outside of the body and introducting them to modified Hiv with package genes. More or less a different t-cell that will latch to surface protiens of cancer cells. Onces these T-cells are modified they're drip back into the patient.
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They're not injecting patients with HIV i hope you knoe that. Theyre cultivating t-cells from patients outside of the body and introducting them to modified Hiv with package genes. More or less a different t-cell that will latch to surface protiens of cancer cells. Onces these T-cells are modified they're drip back into the patient.
it is still injected into the cells either way, isnt it?
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My point isnt about the procedure, but whether using HIV is such a good idea? Although it has been modified to do good, there is a tendency for modified viruses to turn bad. In medicine, the common practice is to give a drug if there is an antidote to counter that drug. There is no vaccine to counteract HIV. And if its genetic material is introduced to where it can pick up other genetic materials to modify itself, it can mutate to a virulent form.
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My point isnt about the procedure, but whether using HIV is such a good idea? Although it has been modified to do good, there is a tendency for modified viruses to turn bad. In medicine, the common practice is to give a drug if there is an antidote to counter that drug. There is no vaccine to counteract HIV. And if its genetic material is introduced to where it can pick up other genetic materials to modify itself, it can mutate to a virulent form.
Its already been tested in mices. From what I picked up this modify strain can't duplicate itself.
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Now that the human DNA has been mapped, why don't they just write thier own code?
If they find out the code to the HIV virus already, then ummm they should just genetically engineer thier own code.
Ok pay me!
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Vaccines for many diseases are made of dead or disabled form of the virus. Once the body encounters it, it forms antibody and you become immune. However, it is impossible to inject a weaken or dead HIV and make a vaccine out it. Because it mutates so fast, the vaccine made today will not work against it tomorrow along with the hundreds of mutated variants that exist. The point is.... the fultility of injecting a HIV virus that don't have a vaccine and be made a vaccine out of.
like-wise the flu vaccine as you speak of in a sense...using a previous years' virus to create the next years' vaccine...in which no one really understand...b ut yes, the HIV one is completely to it's own degree...as you've mentioned above... O0 O0 O0
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Ah, Dr. Gupta is an amazing genius. I am glad I got to meet him briefly at a conference... and also a great speaker.
You guys might want to check out CCR5 gene. This gene is found in a few percentage of the human population in which people are immune to HIV/AIDS. This gene is fairly new study within the last couple of years and are still under clinical trials.
There was a recent patient battling with leukemia but needed a donor with this specific gene in order to get a transplant. The patient suddenly lost his battle last fall.
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Ah, Dr. Gupta is an amazing genius. I am glad I got to meet him briefly at a conference... and also a great speaker.
You guys might want to check out CCR5 gene. This gene is found in a few percentage of the human population in which people are immune to HIV/AIDS. This gene is fairly new study within the last couple of years and are still under clinical trials.
There was a recent patient battling with leukemia but needed a donor with this specific gene in order to get a transplant. The patient suddenly lost his battle last fall.
Thanks I remember hearing about that gene. A 5% human population have it. It was thought to appear after the bubonic plague in Europe.
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Those lucky people!!!
You know if this was still the land before time this would've been Classic Darwinism at work! All of us would've died off and they would be all that's left to start the human population!
Oh wells....