New Drug For A.I.D.S. Patients Is ‘safe’ (Press, 8 June 1989)

On 8 June 1989, researchers announced promising news regarding a new decoy drug aimed at confusing the A.I.D.S. virus. Known as soluble CD4, this drug mimics the natural target of the virus, potentially lowering its levels in the body. Dr Ian Weller from Middlesex School of Medicine in England expressed cautious optimism about the findings, acknowledging that research is still in its early phases and the ultimate effectiveness of the drug for A.I.D.S. treatment remains uncertain. Currently, the main drug used widely against the A.I.D.S. virus is AZT, which, while able to extend the lives of those infected, does not cure the disease and has various toxic side effects. Dr Thomas Merigan from Stanford University highlighted the urgent need for alternative treatments beyond AZT. The data on CD4 and other prospective A.I.D.S. therapies were presented at the fifth International Conference on A.I.D.S., a significant annual gathering that reviews progress in combating the disease. The development of CD4 as a therapeutic option is part of a broader trend of designing medications that exploit weaknesses inherent in the A.I.D.S. virus. The drug serves as a synthetic version of CD4, a molecule found on the surface of helper T cells, which are critical to the immune system and the primary targets of the virus. The theoretical mechanism of action is based on inundating the bloodstream with these decoy molecules, leading the virus to target them instead of the actual helper T cells. In preliminary studies involving 18 participants at the National Cancer Institute, short-term treatment with CD4 was associated with about a 50 per cent reduction in the virus levels. However, Dr Robert Yarchoan, who led the study, cautioned that these results may be influenced by natural fluctuations in viral load and did not necessarily stem from the medication itself, as no patients demonstrated improvement throughout the 19-day trial. He noted the results could have been either better or worse, reflecting the unpredictability of early-stage trials.

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