Word: virality
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Unlike alpha interferon, AZT can pass through the blood-brain barrier and counteract HTLV-III viruses that have invaded the brain. This may be vital to any successful anti-viral substance that is developed, Hirsch says, because otherwise the virus will simply sequester itself in the brain, the spinal cord, and the peripheral nerves. However, he says that alpha interferon--which is known to be useful in combatting some AIDS-related cancers--may prove valuable in combination with other anti-viral drugs. "[AZT] may turn out to be more useful," he says, "although I don't think we should jump...
Still other problems plague the researchers in their quest for an effective and non-toxic anti-viral drug--some of them not involving science. Groopman has encountered peculiar problems in the AZT study. "There is tremendous political pressure," Groopman says. He only has room for 20 patients while 60 AIDS and ARC patients want to take part in the experiment. So he will choose patients only on a "first-come, first serve basis...
Hirsch adds that it is possible that the virus is carried to brain by the macrophages, but is unsure how this will effect the search for a treatment. "Macrophages can support the replication of this virus," he says. "Whether this will affect the future of anti-viral studies, it's too early to tell...
...gene may also prove useful in diagnosing the stages of AIDS--a disease which has killed more than 11,300 Americans. Diagnostic tests screen the blood for antibodies to different parts of a virus and predict the progress of a disease. The art-gene produces a viral protein which researchers may be able to use in these sorts of tests...
Chemically creating a drug which stops a specific viral function, a method called rational drug design, is not the only way researchers go about looking for a chemical cure for AIDS. Haseltine's lab is also helping to design a drug screening program...