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8th Annual Conference Of The British HIV Association [BHIVA]19 – 21 April 2002, University of York, York |
[AUTHOR(S):] NA Qazi1, BG Gazzard1, N Imami2
1 St Stephen's Centre, Chelsea & Westminster Hospital, and 2 Department of Immunology, Imperial College
BHIVA Conf 2002 Apr 19-21;8:O21
BACKGROUND: Recently much attention has been shifted towards the development of therapeutic vaccines in an attempt to boost the immune system's control of HIV-1. However, this has been hampered by the inability to identify conserved antigenic determinants to which responses should be directed and because in chronic HIV-1 infection antiviral immune responses remain poor. Long-term non-progressors (LTNPs) represent a group of HIV-1-infected patients who have very slow (or no) disease progression with high CD4 T-cell counts and very low or undetectable viral loads after many years of infection. Clearly these patients represent a group in whom the immune response to HIV-1 appears to be preserved. Therefore, analysis of altered viro-immunopathology in these patients becomes imperative.
METHODS: Prospective study of 41 LTNPs originally identified in 1996. Patients who were naïve to underwent analysis of CD4 T-cell proliferative responses. Comparison was made with those who progressed.
RESULTS: Of the 41 patients defined in the 1996 cohort, 35 had progressed, with 29 now receiving antiretroviral therapy. Of these 29, 23 were started on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) as they fulfilled the BHIVA guidelines of CD4 T-cell count <330 cells/µL and/or viral load >30,000 copies/mL. The remaining six patients developed recurrent infections and were recommended HAART by their regular clinic doctors. The six patients not currently on HAART have been regularly reviewed and show signs of falling CD4 T-cell counts, and are likely to need therapy in due course. By comparison, the six true LTNPs have maintained good HIV-1 specific CD4 T-cell proliferative responses to nef, tat p24 and gp120.
PRESENTING AUTHOR: NA Qazi
020419
O21
Copyright © 2002 - British HIV Association (BHIVA) Reproduction of this abstract (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the BHIVA Organising Secretariat 1 Mountview Court, 310 Friern Barnet Lane, London N20 0LD