TI   "Blessed With Resistance"
 AU   Caldwell, Mark
 SO   Discover (01/94) Vol. 15, No. 1, P. 46
 AB   Last June's international AIDS conference in Berlin yielded at best a
      grim outlook on the AIDS epidemic.  In the absence of therapies and
      100 percent effective preventive measures, the disease continues to
      spiral out of control and the World Health Organization predicts that
      some 40 million people will have AIDS by the turn of the century. 
      Despite this gloomy forecast, the conference brought to light some
      glimmer of hope.  A study of more than 1,500 female prostitutes in
      the slum area of Pumwani in Africa shows that a handful have
      demonstrated an apparent immunity to the AIDS virus despite
      innumerable exposures. Statistically, they should be infected, but
      are not.  This study parallels U.S. studies of gay men who, despite
      high-risk sexual behavior, have remained virus-free and of infected
      patients who have managed to stave off illness for unusually long
      periods of time.  These studies suggest that the immune systems of
      certain people are able to resist the virus, either by warding off
      infection completely or sharply curbing the progress of the disease. 
      At a time when research on antiviral drugs and vaccines has failed,
      more researchers think perhaps it is time to explore what is most
      likely the nature of the immunity of HIV survivors: a hidden part of
      the immune system that is generally ignored.

      Copyright (c) 1993 - Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD.  This
      information is provided by the Centers for Disease Control &
      Prevention (CDC), National AIDS Clearinghouse as a public service. 
      Non-profit reproduction is encouraged.

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