Debunking Myths About HIV Vaccine

In honor of World AIDS Day tomorrow, SRxA’s Word on Health wants to share with our readers the top 10 myths about HIV vaccine research.

With the help of our friends at the HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN), we’d like to set the record straight.

Myth # 1: HIV vaccines can give people HIV

HIV vaccines do not contain HIV and therefore a person cannot get HIV from the vaccine. Some vaccines, like those for typhoid or polio, may contain a weak form of the virus they are protecting against, but this is not the case for HIV vaccines. Think of it like a photocopy: It might look similar, but it isn’t the original. In the past 25 years more than 30,000 volunteers have taken part in HIV vaccine studies worldwide, and no one has been infected with HIV by any of the vaccines tested.

Myth #2: An HIV vaccine already exists

There is no licensed vaccine against HIV or AIDS, but scientists are getting closer than ever before.  In 2009, a large-scale vaccine study conducted in Thailand showed that a vaccine combination could prevent about 32% of new infections. Researchers around the world continue to search for an HIV vaccine that is even more effective. Leading this effort is the HVTN.

Myth #3: Joining an HIV-vaccine study is like being a guinea pig

Unlike guinea pigs, people can say yes or no to participating in research. All study volunteers undergo informed consent to ensure that they fully understand all of the risks and benefits of being in a study and those volunteers are reminded that they may leave a study at any time without losing rights or benefits.

Myth #4: A person must be HIV positive to be in an HIV vaccine study

Not so. While some research groups are conducting studies of vaccines that might be used in people who are already infected with HIV, the vaccines being tested by the HVTN are preventive vaccines which are tested on volunteers who are not infected with HIV.

Myth #5: Vaccine researchers want study participants to practice unsafe behaviors so they can see whether the vaccine really works

Not true. The safety of study participants is the No. 1 priority of HIV vaccine researchers and study site staff. Trained counselors work with study participants to help them develop an individual plan on how to keep from contracting HIV.

Myth #6: Now that there are pills that can prevent HIV infection, an HIV vaccine is no longer necessary

Although high risk, HIV-negative people can take antiretroviral medication to lower their chances of becoming infected if they are exposed to the virus, it has not yet been recommended for widespread use. This type of therapy known as  PreExposure Prophylaxis is unlikely to be an option for everyone because the pills are expensive, are not always covered by insurance, may cause side effects, and not everyone has access to them.

Myth #7: An HIV vaccine is unnecessary because AIDS is easily treated and controlled

While treatment for AIDS has dramatically improved over the last 30 years, it is no substitute for prevention.

Myth #8: The search for an HIV vaccine has been going on for a long time and it’s just not possible to find one that works

The science of HIV-vaccine development is challenging, but scientific understanding continues to improve all the time. Science has come a long way in the 30 years since AIDS was discovered. In comparing preventive HIV vaccine work to other vaccine development, the time it has taken is not so surprising; the polio vaccine took 47 years to develop.

Myth #9: Vaccines cause autism and just aren’t safe

This is not true. Numerous studies in the past decade have found this claim to be false. The British doctor who originally published the finding about vaccines and autism has since been found to have falsified his data.

Myth #10: People who aren’t at risk don’t need an HIV vaccine

Not true either. A person may not currently be at risk for HIV, but life situations can change along with disease risk.

So now you know!  By correcting these myths we hope in some small way to be able to help in the mission of this World AIDS campaign – bringing the number of AIDS deaths to zero.

A Big “Clap” for the FDA

Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) have always been a bit of a taboo subject.  Especially it seems among the FDA.   In a joint initiative with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Agency has just sent warning letters to more than a dozen companies selling non-prescription products that claim to treat STD’s such as herpes, chlamydia, genital warts, HIV, and AIDS.

Despite names such as Medavir, Herpaflor, Never An Outbreak and C-Cure, the FDA says that none of the products have been proven to prevent, treat or cure any disease.  In fact, say FDA scientists, the products are a public health hazard because patients could waste time taking them and delay seeking medical care.

A full list of the companies and products involved can be found here.

These products, sold both online and in retail outlets, often claim to be supported by research. A website for Medavir, made claims the product “has been proven effective in several official university research studies, including an official FDA trial.”

Similarly, Arenvy Laboratories’ website for ImmuneGlory touts the product as “the ultimate herpes outbreak solution” and claims the product “strengthens your immune system so that herpes or cold sores have nowhere to hide.”

However, the Agency says that is has never approved any non-prescription products for sexually transmitted diseases.  Drugs are available for herpes, chlamydia, HIV and other diseases, but only via prescription.

“These products are dangerous because they are targeted to patients with serious conditions, where treatment options proven to be safe and effective are available,” said Deborah Autor, FDA Director of Drug Compliance.

Companies cited by the FDA will have 15 days to take their products off the market. If they do not, the agency can take legal action, including seizing products and taking company officials to court.

Additionally, under the FTC Act it is illegal to make such unsubstantiated treatment claims.

“These companies are on notice that advertising health benefits that are not supported by rigorous scientific evidence violates the FTC Act,” said David Vladeck, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “They also should know that health scams that endanger public health will not be tolerated.”

While we wait with baited breath to see if the companies will comply, Word on Health cautions its readers that appropriate treatment of STDs can only occur under the supervision of a health care professional.

Homeopathy gets a Nobel nod

Dr. Luc Montagnier, the French virologist who won the Nobel Prize in 2008 for discovering the AIDS virus, has surprised the scientific community with his strong support for homeopathic medicine.

In a remarkable interview published in Science magazine, Professor Montagnier expressed support for the often maligned and misunderstood medical specialty of homeopathic medicine. Although homeopathy has been around for >200 years, most conventional physicians and scientists have expressed skepticism about its efficacy due to the extremely small and highly diluted doses of medicines used.

Montagnier disagrees. “I can’t say that homeopathy is right in everything. What I can say now is that the high dilutions (used in homeopathy) are right. High dilutions of something are not nothing. They are water structures which mimic the original molecules.”

His experimental research confirms that even after sequential dilution, electromagnetic signals of the original medicine remains in the water and can have dramatic biological effects.

Montagnier has just taken a new position at Jiaotong University in Shanghai, China where his work will focus on the phenomenon of electromagnetic waves produced by DNA in water. He and his team will study both the theoretical basis and the possible applications in medicine.

He is confident  that these new observations will lead to novel treatments for many common chronic diseases, including but not limited to autism, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and multiple sclerosis.

In the Science magazine interview Montagnier also expressed real concern about the unscientific atmosphere that presently exists on certain unconventional subjects such as homeopathy. When asked if he is concerned that he is drifting into pseudoscience, he replied adamantly: “No, because it’s not pseudoscience. It’s not quackery. These are real phenomena which deserve further study.”

This is in stark contrast to the recent statement from the British Medical Association who referred to homeopathy as “witchcraft.”

So, who’s right?  SRxA’s Word on Health wonders if it’s the case that when one goes on a witch hunt, one inevitably finds “witches!”

Let us know what you think.

Nonprofits Calls on America to Expand Health Research

Policymakers and public health experts from across the globe gathered on Capitol Hill this week to call on the United States to bolster its commitment to fighting the deadly diseases that afflict the developing world.

Organized by the Global Health Technologies Coalition, the briefing featured a panel discussion in which participants explained how vaccines, drugs, diagnostics, and devices can catalyze improvements in a country’s health infrastructure. Panelists also examined how the U.S. can assure that residents of the developing world have a voice in the development and use of new health tools.

“Thanks to U.S. investment and innovation, undeniable progress has been made in preventing, diagnosing, and treating conditions like HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, and other neglected tropical diseases,” said Jana Armstrong, Executive Director of the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative North America, “But the fight against infectious disease is by no means won. American leaders in both the public and private sectors must recommit to this fight.”

Word on Health agrees, but wonders why the pharmaceutical and biotech industry wasn’t invited to the party. The Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDs, Malaria and Tuberculosis (GBC) was created to turn business assets into disease-fighting assets and has been pivotal in joining the corporate sector, governments and civil society together in common cause. Many pharmaceutical and biotech companies are members of GBC and have done outstanding work in this area. If you work for one of them, we’d love to hear from you.

A banana a day keeps HIV away?

Yes, you read that right, and no, this isn’t our attempt at an early April Fool’s day story.  Your favorite fruit really might be even healthier for you than you thought.

Scientists have discovered that bananas may hold the key to preventing sexual transmission of HIV. Researchers from the University of Michigan Medical School have shown that a chemical found in bananas is better at preventing HIV than two current synthetic anti-HIV drugs.

The miracle substance is called BanLec, a type of lectin.

BanLec, works by binding to the sugar-rich envelope that encases the HIV virus and blocks its entry into the body.  BanLec could therefore be incorporated into a vaginal ointment and could be self-applied before sexual contact.  Researchers believe it would be much cheaper to produce and distribute than most current anti-retroviral medications which require the production of synthetic components.

One thing’s for sure: new ways of stopping the transmission of HIV are desperately needed. “HIV is still rampant in the U.S. and the explosion in poorer countries continues to be a problem” said study senior author Professor David Marvovitz, M.D.

Condoms are effective, but they are often used incorrectly or inconsistently.

Although clinical use of BanLec is probably years away, researchers believe that even modest success could save millions of lives. They estimate that if as little as 20% of the “at risk” population used a drug that is only 60 percent effective against HIV, it could still prevent up to 2.5 million infections over the course of three years.

It’s been more than two decades since HIV and AIDS began sweeping the globe, during which time hundreds of billions of dollars have been spent on research and the elusive hunt for a vaccine or a cure.  Who’d have thought  that the answer may have been literally hanging in front of us all this time?