A IMMUNIZATION SHOT FOR AIDS???

Subject: A IMMUNIZATION SHOT FOR AIDS???
From: SINSULL
Date: 22 Feb 01 - 10:06 AM

Some hope on the horizon:
Merck Reportedly Tests HIV Vaccine The Associated Press Feb 22 2001 9:50AM

NEW YORK (AP) - Pharmaceutical manufacturer Merck & Co. has begun a small-scale human trial of a new experimental HIV vaccine, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. The vaccine has been able to prevent laboratory monkeys exposed to an extremely virulent strain of the disease from contracting it, the newspaper quoted sources as saying.

The company would not discuss details of the laboratory trials, but said it began testing the vaccine in healthy, uninfected volunteers last week.

At least a dozen companies are experimenting with possible HIV vaccines.

Merck officials said they plan to present their findings at a scientific forum in April. They already presented data to a closed-door session with the National Institutes of Health advisory committee on AIDS vaccine and another session with AIDS activists, the newspaper said.

David Baltimore, Nobel-winning scientist who heads the NIH committee, said, ``After the presentation, members of the committee were excited.'' He said he could not give details.

Subject: RE: A IMMUNIZATION SHOT FOR AIDS???
From: katlaughing
Date: 22 Feb 01 - 10:21 AM

Maybe good news, depending on whether you believe that AIDS is what causes HIV, etc. My book is packed away, but there is some interesting reading at www.virusmyth.net/aids.

I have a friend who works at Pfizer and I am cynical enough to believe the drug companies will not come up with anything that won't make them a ton of money and they are not about to give up a cash cow.

Sorry, Sins, I have too many questions based on what I've read from dissenting scientists. Thanks for posting this, though.

kat

kat

Subject: RE: A IMMUNIZATION SHOT FOR AIDS???
From: SINSULL
Date: 22 Feb 01 - 10:32 AM

Don't apologize Kat. We all know that the drug companies won't do anything without a profit. That's what they are in business for.
I saw a horror story on TV last week about how "sleeping sickness" is treated in parts of Africa. The injection series is excruciatingly painful - grown men were being held down screaming. And 5% of the patients die from the treatment vs. 100% from the untreated disease. There is a simple, painless cure available in the West but (big surprise) it is not available because there is no money in it.

Subject: RE: A IMMUNIZATION SHOT FOR AIDS???
From: Wolfgang
Date: 22 Feb 01 - 11:24 AM

Two interesting pages on AIDS:

A Review from 1995

Some up to date data and many links

Wolfgang

(kat, who believes that AIDS is what causes HIV? grin)

Subject: RE: A IMMUNIZATION SHOT FOR AIDS???
From: Mrrzy
Date: 22 Feb 01 - 11:25 AM

I was jsut talking about living with AIDS last night, and I am under the impression that with the cocktails, people with AIDS now have nearly normal life expectancies? What IS the current life expectancy now, assuming you have access to the cocktail?

Subject: RE: A IMMUNIZATION SHOT FOR AIDS???
From: Gypsy
Date: 22 Feb 01 - 11:56 AM

Hmmmm.....haven't heard about the cocktails in my area. The longest living friend i had with AIDS died after 10 years. Most of my friends have died within 5. The bitch is, somehow, people act as tho it is contagious...including not phoning, acknowleging from across the street, etc. The same reaction occurs with cancer victims, i've noticed. How awful to be abandoned at the point where you need support most!

Subject: RE: A IMMUNIZATION SHOT FOR AIDS???
From: Morticia
Date: 22 Feb 01 - 01:53 PM

Mrrzy's talking about anti-retroviral therapy, combinations of drugs which can and do lead to greater life expectancy.However, and it's a big however, the drugs can cause seriously debilitating side effects all by themselves and people with HIV are still prone to opportunistic secondary infections. How much longer they live, well, we don't know as yet, it's still early days. IT's also worth remembering that HIV has developed into several strains now, making it much harder to treat. With respect to a 'vacine', well, I'm with Kat on this one. I see the drug companies making money hand over fist on this horrible illness and they don't have any incentive to find a vaccine or a cure.

Subject: RE: A IMMUNIZATION SHOT FOR AIDS???
From: katlaughing
Date: 22 Feb 01 - 02:27 PM

Sorry about that, thanks for catching it Wolfgang, should be "that HIV is what causes AIDS"

Subject: RE: A IMMUNIZATION SHOT FOR AIDS???
From: SINSULL
Date: 22 Feb 01 - 02:41 PM

And my title should read "An Immunization" not "A".

Subject: RE: A IMMUNIZATION SHOT FOR AIDS???
From: Max
Date: 22 Feb 01 - 02:58 PM

The Day They Found A Cure For Aids - by Dan Bern

The Day they found a cure for aids
The Day they found a cure for aids
Everybody took one little pill and was OK
The Day they found a cure

The Day they found a cure for aids
Everybody took one little pill and was OK
I slept with Cindy and Martha and Sue
I slept with Judy, Melissa and Kate
The Day they found a cure

The Day they found a cure for aids
Everybody took one little pill and was OK
The people who have plotted to get rid of all the gays
Admitted their guilt and then everything was fine
Everybody else said "I didn't know!"
The Day they found a cure

For six months no one went to work they all had orgies
Morning after pills were sold in Grocery stores and Gas Stations

The Day they found a cure for AIDS
Everybody took one little pill and was OK
We rented dirty movies And ordered out for food
For three solid weeks everyone I met was nude
I slept with July, Melissa and Jake
No body was afraid

The Day they found a cure
The Day they found a cure
The Day they found a cure for AIDS

Subject: RE: A IMMUNIZATION SHOT FOR AIDS???
From: Jeri
Date: 22 Feb 01 - 05:24 PM

From Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's website:
Vaccine trial in Thailand
and
more info on the same trial.

This is a very scary thing to test. The only way to ensure effectiveness of a vaccine is to give it to people, then expose them to the virus and see if they catch it. Because they can't do that with HIV, they probably have background statistics on how many new cases there are in a population, and they'll compare rates in the vaccinated folks. Still scary.

Subject: RE: A IMMUNIZATION SHOT FOR AIDS???
From: Gypsy
Date: 22 Feb 01 - 11:30 PM

As the brilliant husband sez "there will be no cure for life ending diseases. After all, would you want to work yourself out of a job researching?"