Researchers Look to Daily Pill to Avert H.I.V.

NY Times ^ | August 4, 2008 | LAWRENCE K. ALTMAN

[neverdem]

Vertical transmission of what? HIV or AIDS? I'd expect the former, but it would be interesting to see the stats on the latter.

The only people who are HIV positive that don't get AIDS have a genetic deletion for the chemokine receptor CCR5. "In epidemiological studies, the allelic frequency of the CCR-5 gene deletion was 10-20% among caucasians, particularly amongst those of Northern European descent with 1% homozygosity." The gene for the chemokine receptor CXCR4 has a number of mutations called single nucleotide polymorphisms that also effect the development of HIV/AIDS. These receptors are co-receptors for HIV. If you want to understand it, then read the following paper at the first link. I can't help it if it is heavy on immunology, genetics, etc.

Chemokines and chemokine receptors in HIV infection: Role in pathogenesis and therapeutics

Prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV: treatment options.

Enter perinatal HAART and HIV vertical transmission into PubMed's query box, if you want more articles. The newest, i.e. first, articles dwell on adverse drug reactions. The many older ones show the effect of these drugs in preventing vertical transmission.

Duesberg can afford to be cavalier with his hypothesis. He's not a physician. Find me a physician who believes like Duesberg and still practices medicine. They will be doing it without a license.

[GodGunsGuts]

That all sounds well and good. But to my knowledge, there has not been a single study conducted to determine how many HIV-positives stay healthy. Nor will such studies ever be allowed, so long as the AIDS establishment is in charge IMHO.

[Mr Ramsbotham]

That all sounds well and good. But to my knowledge, there has not been a single study conducted to determine how many HIV-positives stay healthy.

And even if there are such studies, they're conducted on people who are known to be HIV positive, which means they're probably being treated with antiretrovirals, with all that that implies.

[GodGunsGuts]

You are absolutely correct...AIDS chemo drugs, or lack thereof, would definitiely need to be controlled for.

[Mr Ramsbotham]

Find me a physician who believes like Duesberg and still practices medicine. They will be doing it without a license.

There is a world of meaning in that statement.

[neverdem]

That all sounds well and good. But to my knowledge, there has not been a single study conducted to determine how many HIV-positives stay healthy. Nor will such studies ever be allowed, so long as the AIDS establishment is in charge IMHO.

Why don't you look at mortality statistics before 1987 when AZT was first approved in this country. There was nothing before AZT. You can limit the years in which you are interested at PubMed.

""Current data," Dr. Windom said, "indicate that about 32,000 persons have been afflicted with AIDS in the United States, with about 14,000 of them still living."

Their T "helper" CD4 positive cells were selectively destroyed and they died unless they had unique genetics that prevent entry of that virus.

[GodGunsGuts]

Interesting. That was the same year that HHS sent out the following memo re: Duesberg’s first challenge of the HIV/AIDS hypothesis. Pay particular attention to the last paragraph. They don't exactly come off as the dispassionate practitioners of the scientific method that we've all been taught to believe:

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES
Office of the Secretary Washington D.C.
April 28, 1987

MEDIA ALERT

An NCI grantee scientist, Dr. Peter Duesberg of California/Berkeley, has published a paper in a scientific journal which concludes that the HTLV-III/HIV virus identified by Dr. Gallo and Dr. Montagnier is not the cause of AIDS and that the disease is caused by “a still unidentified agent” which may not even be a virus.

Inexplicably, the paper was published in the March 1 addition of Cancer Research, and gives a non-specific credit to Dr. Robert Gallo and others, but nobody within the Department or the news media seems to have been aware of it until it was disclosed Monday, 4/27, by a gay publication in New York City.

Dr. Duesberg has been an NCI grantee doing research in retroviruses and oncogenes for 17 years and is highly regarded. He is the recipient of an “outstanding researcher” award from the Department. The article apparently went through the normal pre-publication process and should have been flagged at NIH. Failing that, it should have caused a splash on publication nearly two months ago.

Playwright, gay activist and Department critic Larry Kramer is currently bringing it to the attention of the media, but it really hasn't taken off yet. I know for instance he has talked to Tom Brokaw about it. There has been one call to CDC from Newsday and none to the press office so far.

This obviously has the potential to raise a lot of controversy (if this isn't the virus, how do we know the blood supply is safe? How do we know anything about transmission? How could you all be so stupid and why should we ever believe you again?) and we need to be prepared to respond. I have already asked NIH public affairs to start digging into this.

Chuck Kline

cc:

The Secretary
The Under Secretary
Chief of Staff
Assistant Secretary for Health
Surgeon General
Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs
The White House

[neverdem]

This obviously has the potential to raise a lot of controversy (if this isn't the virus, how do we know the blood supply is safe? How do we know anything about transmission? How could you all be so stupid and why should we ever believe you again?) and we need to be prepared to respond. I have already asked NIH public affairs to start digging into this.

Do you think the U.S. Armed Forces is playing games?