Updated Perinatal Treatment Guidelines Released!
AIDSinfo is proud to announce that the latest update to the Public Health Service Task Force Recommendations for Use of Antiretroviral Drugs in Pregnant HIV-Infected Women for Maternal Health and Interventions to Reduce Perinatal HIV Transmission in the United States has been released. The new version includes updated information on:
- Viracept (nelfinavir) which may once again be prescribed for pregnant women and for new pediatric patients
- Intrapartum maternal and neonatal dosing of antiretrovirals, including two new tables (Tables 5 and 6)
The changes are highlighted in yellow throughout the text and tables. The updated guidelines are available for download from the Perinatal Guidelines section of the AIDSinfo Web site. You can also request to receive them by mail or e-mail from the AIDSinfo Order Publications section.
Your Feedback Is Important!
The HHS Panel on Treatment of HIV-Infected Pregnant Women and Prevention of Perinatal Transmission would like to hear your feedback on the latest revisions to the Public Health Service Task Force Recommendations for Use of Antiretroviral Drugs in Pregnant HIV-Infected Women for Maternal Health and Interventions to Reduce Perinatal HIV Transmission in the United States. Please send your comments with the subject line "Perinatal Comments" to AIDSinfoWebmaster@aidsinfo.nih.gov by July 25, 2008.
Engineered Nucleases Disrupt CCR5 Coreceptor Gene in CD4 Cells
Individuals who are homozygous for the delta32 deletion in the HIV coreceptor CCR5 are resistant to HIV infection. Recently, researchers reported that they had engineered zinc finger nucleases -- enzymes that bind to and cleave specific DNA sequences -- that are able to disrupt the wild-type CCR5 gene. This CCR5 disruption mimics the naturally occurring delta32 deletion. The researchers found that transient expression of these CCR5 zinc finger nucleases permanently disrupted 50% of the CCR5 alleles in a pool of human CD4 cells.
In studies performed in mice, HIV-infected mice engrafted with zinc finger-modified CD4 cells had lower viral loads and higher CD4 cell counts than HIV-infected mice engrafted with wild-type CD4 cells.
These data suggest that the engineered CCR5 gene disruption confers heritable and stable protection against HIV infection and may present a novel approach to HIV treatment.
More information is available:
