Castration and AIDS
Posted: Sun Jul 22, 2007 5:35 am
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!
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!