New Method Found to Prevent HIV from Weakening Immune System

A new method that prevents HIV from weakening a patient's immune system have been discovered by a research team.

A study by researchers at the Imperial College London and Johns Hopkins University has unveiled a new method that prevents HIV from weakening a patient's immune system.

According to the research, the overcharged initial innate immune response to HIV weakens the body's immune system and its future defences against the virus. However, that first wave of defense can be stymied by removing cholesterol from HIV's membrane. Then, the adaptive immune response, which is powered by T cells, is stronger.

"It's like revving your car in first gear for too long. Eventually the engine blows out," says Dr. Adriano Boasso, the first author of the study, published in Blood. "This may be one reason why developing a vaccine has proven so difficult. Most vaccines prime the adaptive response to