Way Found To Monitor Aids Virus

Northwestern University researchers have developed a technology that directly measures the level of AIDS infection in patients and could improve therapy.

Using advanced techniques for analyzing the condition of human cells, researchers believe they can tell how many cells in a patient’s body are infected with the human immunodeficiency virus that causes AIDS.

And, they said, doctors don’t need a specialized lab to do it.

“We have never been able to easily measure it before,” said Bruce Patterson, a Northwestern physician and virologist who led the team. “This is the first time it has been done.”

In light of their work, published recently in the Journal of Virology, it may be necessary to establish new treatment guidelines for HIVpositive patients.

Patterson and colleagues reported using a combination of methods from genetics and immunology to identify and count cells infected with the AIDS virus, thus measuring what scientists call the “viral burden” of HIV.

HIV primarily attacks T4 cells, a type of infection-fighting white blood cells, by attaching to areas on the cell surface called CD4 receptors. Once inside, the virus makes itself part of the human DNA. Eventually, the infected cell dies.

Because T4 cells are essential in defending the body against other infections, the patient’s ability to fight off diseases plummets as these cells perish.

Doctors currently monitor the danger of HIV by counting how many cells with CD4 receptors are left because the viral level cannot be measured directly.

The problem, explained Patterson, is that not all cells with CD4 receptors are infected with HIV.

Now, according to the Northwestern researchers, it is possible to assess accurately the spread of the virus in each patient, how compromised an individual’s immune system is and, thus, who is in imminent danger of getting sick.