Castration and AIDS

[vesal_mas (imported)]

An interesting article I read. .

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/236488.stm

Chemical castration could help in the fight against Aids

Temporary chemical castration could boost the immune system and help fight disease, according to new research.

Australian scientists have found that a gland which produces immune-boosting cells can be regenerated through chemical castration.

The thymus gland, one of the areas of the body which produces T cells, shrinks in puberty and its internal structure becomes disorganised.

Scientists had thought it ceased to function at this stage.

But, according to the New Scientist, researchers Richard Boyd and Jayne Sutherland at the Monash Medical School in Melbourne have found that the gland remains active in adult mice.

They injected a dye into the gland that showed up immature T cells and traced their movement into the mice's bloodstream.

Youthful appearance regained

They found that the thymus was still active, although it only produced about a tenth of the cells it does in a young mouse.

When the researchers physically castrated some of the mice, they found that the thymus regained its youthful appearance within a month and T cell production increased to pre-pubertal levels.

"It was astonishing. The minute we released the sex steroid brake, we got complete regeneration," said Mr Boyd.

They say that drugs which suppress the production of sex steroids could help boost the immune system of patients with Aids or transplant patients who have been given immunosuppressive drugs.

The virus which leads to Aids attacks the immune system, lowering T cell counts, and leaving a person open to a variety of infections which can prove life-threatening.

Patients given transplants often do not survive the operation because the immunosuppressive drugs they take to help their body accept the transplanted organ make them vulnerable to infection.

Sex hormones

Richard Boyd and Anthony Schwarer, head of bone marrow transplants at the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne, are now planning to test whether a hormone which stops the production of sex hormones will also help regenerate the thymus of adult mice.

The Australian research is backed by an American study published in Nature magazine.

A team of scientists at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas found that the human thymus gland continues to function after puberty.

Their research measured levels of a genetic by-product of the release of T cells by the thymus gland.

They also suggest that the increase in T cell numbers caused by combination drug therapy for Aids is partly a result of the thymus gland's production of T cells.

They say this means that boosting the thymus could help in the fight against Aids.

Greetings.

Vesal!

[DonFL (imported)]

if i ever got aids i would have myself completely castrated, i wouldn't be able to handle the thought if i passed it to someone else.....

[liz (imported)]

What about castration to prevent AIDS in the first place???

I've been reading about the epidemic in South Africa. AIDS is killing more than 2 million people per year and is said to be out of control there. Casual sex is common, and men often do not want to wear condoms. Men are routinely promiscuous there. A eunuch campaign could save alot of lives and heartbreak.

[genderless (imported)]

Very interesting; if only castration would restore youthful appearance to the whole body and not just the thymus gland. Wouldn't that be something?

[jemagirl (imported)]

What about castration to prevent AIDS in the first place???

I've been reading about the epidemic in South Africa. AIDS is killing more than 2 million people per year and is said to be out of control there. Casual sex is common, and men often do not want to wear condoms. Men are routinely promiscuous there. A eunuch campaign could save alot of lives and heartbreak.

I don't think that would work. India has a very large population of eunuchs and a very large problem with AIDS.

[Roxanne (imported)]

A few years back, I unsuccessfully studied to become a castrating physician (med school is just too hard). Dr. Spector said that castration is a good way to prevent someone from infecting someone else with HIV. However, if it is surgical, it must be done carefully as not to produce an infection in the AIDS patient.

[A-1 (imported)]

Well,

...the simplest answer is to shoot anyone who has sex...

...then, if you shoot enough people, AIDS can be completely eradicated...

...consider the possibilities, and bullets are cheap!

[Paolo]

Yeah, we'll get right on that.

Wanna have lunch, A-1?

[Eunuchist (imported)]

Thanks.

Here's another thread of relevance (also includes a link to an interview with Dr. Boyd and Dr. Jacques Miller about their research regarding the restoration of the thymus gland):

http://www.eunuch.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=10027

[ramses (imported)]

We here, I believe, represent a small minority of people that look at castration or testosterone ablation as a good thing. It would never fly with most guys and they'd probably fight to the death to save their manhood. If it were just for prevention, a ureathral rerout would be a much better solution. If you didn't have bodily fluids shooting out of your penis, the only thing you could catch/pass would be herpes. Of course you'd have to squat to piss but 50% of the people on the planet do that already. Only other drawback would be the mess every time you cum...