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In laboratory tests, the researchers found a way to jam this switch and restore T-cell function. The findings may lead to more effective treatments for HIV/Aids, BBC News reported.
Drugs not specific enough
There are already drugs available that can do this, but they may not be specific enough and could cause serious side effects, said the study authors. More research needs to be done, they said.
"One has to proceed with real caution because if you turn back on an immune system regulatory switch that the body has decided to turn off, you could trigger serious immunological problems," lead scientist Bruce Walker, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute researcher at Massachusetts General Hospital, told BBC News.
For this study, the scientists analysed blood samples from 71 people who'd recently been infected with HIV but had not yet started antiretroviral therapy. The researchers also studied blood samples taken from four HIV-positive patients before and after they started treatment. - (HealthDayNews, August 2006)
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How HIV infection begins
