Montreal research rescues T cells
MONTREAL — Scientists have found a flaw in the immune system that allows HIV to shut down virus-fighting T cells — and a way to fix it. Dr Rafick-Pierre S�kaly and his team from the University of Montreal discovered that blocking a protein called PD-1 — found in higher concentrations in infected T cells — restored their ability to fight the virus. Teams from Harvard and the National Institute of Health reproduced the much-lauded findings, throwing down the gauntlet for new therapeutic strategies. The study appeared in Nature Medicine online on August 20.

New ways to fight an old foe
TORONTO — The 16-member USA Panel of the International AIDS Society has announced updated guidelines for HIV treatment. The recommendations, published in JAMA on August 16, focus on when and how to start therapy and what to do if it fails. Among the highlights are a new viral load target of 50 copies/mL in patients who don't respond to first-line drugs and details of new therapeutic choices now available to clinicians. Physicians must continually remind patients that strict adherence to the regimen is crucial to good outcomes.

Health workers underreport HIV
TORONTO — Many more Canadian healthcare workers may be infected with HIV than government figures indicate. Over 8% of nurses have been exposed to HIV-positive blood during their careers, while almost 1% of surgeons have been exposed within the last year alone, according to a survey conducted by a team from the University of Western Ontario. Prior studies have shown that about 0.3% of those exposed contract HIV, which would amount to dozens of infections. But the Public Health Agency of Canada's latest report shows no cases among those exposed to the virus between 2000 and 2004.

Obama supports grannies that care
NAIROBI — US Senator Barack Obama spent the last week of August visiting his father's native Kenya, including a stop-off at CARE, an international relief organization that supports grandmothers who look after children orphaned by the AIDS epidemic. Travelling with his own Kenyan grandmother, Mr Obama donated over $13,000 US to the outfit. He and his wife also took an HIV test (both were negative) to help dispel the disease's stigma. His trip followed a three-day meeting of the Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign at the International AIDS Conference in Toronto, which also helps grannies care for AIDS-orphaned children.