Cancer Drugs Force HIV to Mutate to Death- Voice of America News (08.24.10):: Joe DeCapua

Existing drugs approved to treat cancer and tested for anti-HIV activity proved potent in a new study, researchers report. After treatment, HIV mutated itself to death - and did so fairly quickly.
"Well, we were specifically looking for drugs that had already been approved by the [Food and Drug Administration] for other purposes," said study co-author professor Louis Mansky, director of the Institute for Molecular Virology at the University of Minnesota. "And we were screening to look for ones that may have been overlooked in the past for anti-HIV activity."
"HIV has this propensity for rapidly mutating and evolving," Mansky said. "And this is really in a lot of ways the main reason why there hasn't been an effective vaccine developed and why there's continual problems with drug resistance."
With a combination of cancer drugs decitabine and gemcitabine, Mansky and colleagues reported they were able to reduce HIV infectivity in tissue samples by 73 percent, though at concentrations that showed minimal antiviral activity when each drug was used alone. "Decreased infectivity coincided with a significant increase in mutation frequency and a shift in the HIV mutation spectrum," they reported.
"The drugs do not directly inhibit the virus from replicating," Mansky said. "What they do is to basically cause the virus to elevate its mutation rate. And through that process, allow it to continue to replicate and basically kill off its infectivity by this process of lethal mutagenesis, which is elevating the mutation rate to the point where the virus is no longer infectious."
Further research will involve animal studies, Mansky said, and proving that the drugs are not only efficacious but also safe. In addition, the cancer drugs, which are given intravenously, would need to be formulated as a pill.
The full study, "Exploiting Drug Repositioning for Discovery of a Novel HIV Combination Therapy," was published in the Journal of Virology (2010;84(18):9301-9309).

BEHIV Celebrates 20

At a private home in Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood recently, donors and supporters marked the 20th anniversary of Better Existence with HIV. Executive Director Eric Nelson said that despite the poor economy and scarcity of state funding, BEHIV is moving forward with plans to assist new clients: "We've added three new housing units for HIV patients. There are more people who have needed help than ever before." Founded in 1989, BEHIV helps people with HIV/AIDS by providing prevention information, testing, case management, housing assistance, and other services. For more information, visit www.behiv.org.

Windy City Times (Chicago)     (08.04.10):: Mason Harrison

'Self-monitoring device' for HIV

People living with HIV could soon monitor their own condition at home using a hand-held device, similar to ones used by diabetics .

• Scientists at three of London's largest research centres have been granted £2m to develop a hi-tech, finger prick blood-testing gadget.

• The device's tiny mechanical sensors - microcantilever arrays - measure HIV levels to warn of impending flare ups.

• A display then alerts the user if there is any need for them to visit a doctor.

• Investigator Dr Anna-Maria Goretti, an NHS consultant and co-investigator based at the Royal Free Hospital, said: "If patients neglect to take their treatments or need prompting to see their GP the device will provide a simple way of letting them know.

• "It will really empower HIV patients to keep a close eye on their health and their treatments."

• Instead of routinely seeing a specialist every three or so months "just in case", they would only need to see their doctor when things were going wrong

• As well as reducing visits to the doctor, it could also be of real benefit in developing countries where rapid and affordable ways to monitor HIV patients are urgently needed, say the researchers.

• The microcantilever arrays are each coated with substances that stick to the HIV and other proteins, which are markers associated with disease progression.

• Accommodating these markers causes the highly-sensitive sensors to bend like a diving board and this bend indicates the level of virus in the body, explained lead investigator Dr Rachel McKendry of University College London and the London Centre for Nanotechnology.

• "We have used microcantilever arrays to investigate drug resistance in superbugs such as MRSA, and are excited by the opportunity to extend this approach to detecting HIV markers," she said.

• Dr McKendry is working with Imperial College London, Cambridge Medical Innovations, Sphere Medical Ltd and BionanoConsulting on the three-year project to develop the prototype hand-held device for clinical trials.

• Lisa Power of the Terrence Higgins Trust said: "This is certainly a very good idea. If you have diabetes you can check your blood sugar levels.

• "Similarly, it would be very useful if HIV patients could check their own viral measures, say, once a month."

• "It would not replace specialist advice, but it would be a way to reduce a patient's dependence on doctors."