Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Scientists On Brink of HIV Cure?

Scientists on brink of HIV cure

Researchers believe that there will be a breakthrough in finding a cure for HIV “within months”. 

The Telegraph 

Scientists on brink of HIV cure
 
With modern HIV treatment if medication is stopped, HIV reservoirs become active and start to produce more of the virus Photo: Alamy
6:30PM BST 27 Apr 2013

Danish scientists are expecting results that will show that “finding a mass-distributable and affordable cure to HIV is possible”.
They are conducting clinical trials to test a “novel strategy” in which the HIV virus is stripped from human DNA and destroyed permanently by the immune system.
The move would represent a dramatic step forward in the attempt to find a cure for the virus, which causes Aids.
The scientists are currently conducting human trials on their treatment, in the hope of proving that it is effective. It has already been found to work in laboratory tests.
The technique involves releasing the HIV virus from “reservoirs” it forms inside DNA, bringing it to the surface of the cells. Once it comes to the surface, the body’s natural immune system can kill the virus through being boosted by a “vaccine”.
In vitro studies — those that use human cells in a laboratory — of the new technique proved so successful that in January, the Danish Research Council awarded the team 12 million Danish kroner (£1.5 million) to pursue their findings in clinical trials with human subjects.
These are now under way, and according to Dr Ole Søgaard, a senior researcher at the Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark and part of the research team, the early signs are “promising”.
“I am almost certain that we will be successful in releasing the reservoirs of HIV," he said.
“The challenge will be getting the patients’ immune system to recognise the virus and destroy it. This depends on the strength and sensitivity of individual immune systems.”
Fifteen patients are currently taking part in the trials, and if any of them are found to have successfully been cured of HIV, the “cure” will be tested on a wider scale, aided by an immune system booster.
Dr Søgaard stressed that a cure is not the same as a preventative vaccine, and that raising awareness of unsafe behaviour, including unprotected sex and sharing needles, remains of paramount importance in combating HIV.
With modern HIV treatment, a patient can live an almost normal life, even into old age, with limited side effects.
However, if medication is stopped, HIV reservoirs become active and start to produce more of the virus, meaning that symptoms can reappear within two weeks.
Finding a cure would free a patient from the need to take continuous HIV medication, and save health services billions of pounds.
The technique is being researched in Britain, but studies have not yet moved on to the clinical trial stage. Five universities — Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial College, London, University College, London and King’s College, London — have jointly formed the Collaborative HIV Eradication of Reservoirs UK Biomedical Research Centre group (CHERUB), which is dedicated to finding an HIV cure.
They have applied to the Medical Research Council for funding to conduct clinical trials, which will seek to combine techniques to release the reservoirs of HIV with immunotherapy to destroy the virus.
In addition, they are focusing on patients that have only recently been infected, as they believe this will improve chances of a cure. The group hopes to receive a funding decision in May.
“When the first patient is cured in this way it will be a spectacular moment,” says Dr John Frater, a clinical research fellow at the Nuffield School of Medicine, Oxford University, and a member of the CHERUB group.
“It will prove that we are heading in the right direction and demonstrate that a cure is possible. But I think it will be five years before we see a cure that can be offered on a large scale.”
The Danish team’s research is among the most advanced and fast moving in the world, as that they have streamlined the process of putting the latest basic science discoveries into clinical testing.
This means that researchers can progress more quickly to clinical trials, accelerating the process and reaching reliable results sooner than many others.
The technique uses drugs called HDAC Inhibitors, which are more commonly used in treating cancer, to drive out the HIV from a patient’s DNA. The Danish researchers are using a particularly powerful type of HDAC inhibitor called Panobinostat.
Five years ago, the general consensus was that HIV could not be cured. But then Timothy Ray Brown, an HIV sufferer — who has become known in the field as the Berlin Patient — developed leukaemia.
He had a bone marrow transplant from a donor with a rare genetic mutation that made his cells resistant to HIV. As a result, in 2007 Mr Brown became the first man to ever be fully cured of the disease.
Replicating this procedure on a mass scale is impossible. Nevertheless, the Brown case caused a sea change in research, with scientists focusing on finding a cure as well as suppressing the symptoms.
Two principal approaches are currently being pursued. The first, gene therapy, aims to make a patient’s immune system resistant to HIV. This is complex and expensive, and not easily transferrable to diverse gene pools around the world.
The second approach is the one being pursued by Dr Søgaard and his colleagues in Denmark, the CHERUB group in Britain, and by other laboratories in the United States and Europe.

ADAM IN STUDIO WITH NILE RODGERS & Avicii & King! Tweets & Pics & Background Info






: "The uber talented Adam Lambert studying the lyrics before singing the soundproofing off the walls" 

NILE RODGERS BLOG 



I’ve teamed up w/ , . For each person who RT this AT&T will donate 50¢, max 50k to
https://twitter.com/adamlambert/status/327955570432811009 



15h
KING last night with Nile Rodgers & Adam Lambert :) Santa Monica, CA

KING is  comprised of twin sisters Paris and Amber Strother and friend Anita Bias



KING Talks New Album, 'In the Meantime' Single & Prince's Best Advice

"Amber reached notes and hit runs that were otherworldly. Anita's lower register rivaled another famous alto by the same name. Paris broke it down on the keys. Together, the ladies left the audience in love.

KING caught up with The Juice to discuss their latest single, "In the Meantime," upcoming album and what it's like to have Prince as a mentor."

 BILLBOARD ARTICLE

 

  1. Hey - great 2 meet u last nite. Enjoyed getting 2 B in the room with u & & with some music-making happening!

    Tim Bergling @Avicii
     via :

    Avicii: "If you put me in a room with someone like Mike [Einzinger] or an amazing singer, I have the melodies in my head and I know exactly where to take everything, but I’m not able to do it myself, I’m not able to sing. So when I’m with someone who does sing and all these acoustic instruments, I know exactly what to do with it," he said. 

    Born 8 September 1989, known professionally as Avicii (pronounced ə-VEE-chee), is a Swedish DJ, remixer, and record producer.[2] Avicii ranked No. 6 on the Top 100 DJs list by DJ Magazine in 2011,[3] and ranked higher in 2012, coming at No. 3 on the Top 100 DJs list by the publication.
    In 2011, his collaboration track, "Sunshine", with David Guetta was nominated for a Grammy award under the category for Best Dance Recording.

    In 2011, Avicii released "Levels", which reached the top ten in India, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands and the United Kingdom, and topped the charts in Hungary, Norway and Sweden.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avicii 





  2. So great to see you man. Thanks for letting me hang. You and and were killin' it.

    I'm proud to know musicians of your caliber all my life. I love being able to go into the studio and make records on a whim


    1. Last night was fun. That's what the record making used to be like. Maybe we can take the good from the past and leave the bad? xx
    2. Had a great time meeting and hanging with & last night! Lots of fun :)

       KING @weareking Paris, Amber, & Anita present KING. Got a story to tell. Management: Kiran Sharma


      BorneoBert 9h
      This blog has appropriately extreme levels of flailing about collab! Yesssss!


      Pic of ADAM LAMBERT at Saint Felix in Hollywood last night via @monikasantucci: My man Adam @ Saint Felix Hollywood> It was Danielle Stori's Birthday. Adam also had dinner with Nile Rodgers and went to Bootsy Bellows:

      http://instagram.com/p/YpCkpCguqF/










Sunday, April 28, 2013

RANDOM ADAM


Enhanced pic of Adam and @DayBeatG

Arriving at Bootsy Bellows Sat night, April 27 for Danielle's birthday party. Neil and Leila were there, Sauli, too. Guy in red looks like Terrance's boyfriend:












JUST JARED>>





 FROM JANUARY 19:


Adam Lambert's Glam Is Glowing! (PHOTO)

Adam Lambert's glam is so powerful that IT GLOWS.


If any of you Glamberts have wondered what it'd be like to spend an evening ou t with Adam Lambert (WE WONDER THIS EVERY SINGLE NIGHT), please enjoy this fantastic photo of Adam WERQUING some flashy heart-shaped glasses while out with his BFFs. Besides the obvious note that Adam looks good in any pair of shades , we've just been handed some breaking news: Adam's glam is so powerful that it glows! Those shades are pulsing at 100 Glam-a-Watts of pure sexiness! (Which is now officially a legit measurement of energy soon to be taught in every science class.)
The "Ray Of Lig ht " singer shared his photo on Instagram with the caption, "Back in Japan...," and we are IN LOVE with Adam's attempt at being goofy with that "Derp" face. (LOL! Nice try, Adam, but your "neck porn " and leather pants will forever outweigh any attempts at being dorky.) But we're mostly loving that our Prince of Glam never misses a chance to remind the world to have fun, be yourself, and to not give an EFF what anyone thinks. While some people hit up the club acting like VIP big deals, Adam ain't got time for that -- PUH-LEASE. Adam's all, "Haters can hate, but I'm ALWAYS gonna illuminate."

 http://buzzworthy.mtv.com/2013/04/29/adam-lambert-heart-sunglasses-japan-photo/


 MY EDIT:




First edit was by TaraS101:

 


Pauley Perrette, lightened to show Sauli in bg on A's side