Last week in my Health Psychology class we discussed the topic of HIV, and I was really amazed to know that for over 25 years scientist still puzzled of how this disgusting disease works. Its 2009 and there is no vaccine developed that works. However, researcher are still working hard to understand the mechanism of AIDS in order to come up with something to stop it and prevent it.

The recent exciting news about HIV treatment comes from the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center in New York, USA. A research group led by Sandhya Vasan revealed today that delivering AIDS vaccine along with three electric shocks or pulses works much better than delivering it the normal way. The reason is because the electric shocks open the cell membrane, and that way the vaccine gets into the cell in more efficient way.

The new technique called electroporation, and it may be particularly useful in delivering DNA vaccines, which use an infectious agent’s own genetic material to elicit an immune response.

“With a brief pulse of electricity, our cell membrane temporarily opens up and allows a lot more of the DNA to get inside. The reason why DNA vaccines by themselves don’t trigger A powerful immune response is because most of it (DNA) does not get inside our cells,” Vasan said.

Vasan and her team used an HIV vaccine that developed back in 2001 but didn’t work, but when the vaccine delivered with three electric pulses the participant’s immune system got stronger.

Her study is going to start phase 2 clinical trial delivering stronger DNA vaccine through electroporation.

Via – Reuters