Natural Resistance to HIV???

Is this possible that infact some people naturally resists HIV and or the symptoms?

Is the virus dying or is our immune systems are just getting stronger?

Researchers are launching a project to discover how certain people, dubbed “elite controllers”, are successfully able to fend off the HIV virus without using drugs.

Source

[edit on 9-9-2006 by Master_Wii]

I couldnt find any other thread reguarding this. I find it amazing there are people just walking around with HIV or AIDS feeling and appearing normal.

Elite controllers are people infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) whose bodies have kept the microbe at undetectable levels in their bloodstreams without treatment. They probably account for about 1 out of 300 people infected with HIV but have been largely invisible to AIDS researchers because they do not get sick, do not qualify for clinical studies and in many cases have very little contact with the health-care system.

Source

There is a recent thread reguarding 2 Chinese women with HIV- immune gene. I dont find that amazing considering now they say 1 in 300 HIV infected people are somewhat immune.

IMO there have to be a link here.

Recent Thread

Evolution is a wonderful thing. Pick any disease or condition, and there are people who are immune, or at least able to resist the effects to the point where it presents a negligible threat to their existence. Lifestyle obviously plays a huge role, but some folks are just born lucky.

I must say though, my eyebrows certainly came up a bit at the title given to these people. Elite controllers, eh?

We talk a lot about them on ATS - and the conversation certainly isn't restricted to HIV.

Pretty strange nomenclature, but I can understand the reason for the title. Still, it does strike me as odd and a bit creepy.

Master Wii, I saw a show about this on, I think, the DiscoveryChannel. It was about an African woman, and her extended family.

Originally posted by WyrdeOne
Evolution is a wonderful thing.

Isn't it, though?!

Still, it does strike me as odd and a bit creepy.

Same here.

Originally posted by HarlemHottie
Master Wii, I saw a show about this on, I think, the DiscoveryChannel. It was about an African woman, and her extended family.

Originally posted by WyrdeOne
Evolution is a wonderful thing.

Isn't it, though?!

Still, it does strike me as odd and a bit creepy.

Same here.

Agreed. It seems like these "elite controllers" have been around alot longer than we thought. Would these people be immune to any other diseases? Kinda reminds me of the super-humans Adolf Hitler was trying to create or clone.

Source

I have heard over the years that there are a number of people who have been exposed to HIV and never caught it, the answer was a natural resistance. I know there was even a study done in Africa with prostitutes a few years back but I'm way to tired to go looking for it! A number of them had been repeatedly exposed and remained HIV free.

There is also another reason that people may not be getting as sick if they do become infected. A virus is kind of a parasite in the body, the virus only lives as long as the host. Evolution would suggest that the virus over time will evolve to a less lethal form in order to guarantee it's own survival.

Originally posted by stanstheman
I have heard over the years that there are a number of people who have been exposed to HIV and never caught it, the answer was a natural resistance. I know there was even a study done in Africa with prostitutes a few years back but I'm way to tired to go looking for it! A number of them had been repeatedly exposed and remained HIV free.

There is also another reason that people may not be getting as sick if they do become infected. A virus is kind of a parasite in the body, the virus only lives as long as the host. Evolution would suggest that the virus over time will evolve to a less lethal form in order to guarantee it's own survival.

Actually my last post speaks of these women who have these resistant genes

Delta-36 is the Gene I suspect, saw a show on this and how it blocks the Black Plague, same mechanism is used by both diseases to enter the white cells. It's higher in the population that comes from survivors of the Black Plague because they initially survived it and passed the gene on to their decendants.

Several years ago I worked with an HIV infected man. He took two handfulls of pills every day and was in debt well over $10,000.00 for this medication. The side effects of the meds were things like chronic fatigue and chronic diarrhea. After much thought and ignoring doctor's protests he decided to quit taking his medications. Shortly after doing this he became healthier than he had EVER been. His immune system went wild and his CD counts were well above average. He has been symptom free for several years now and has not touched a medication.
I have since heard many other stories like these. Is this another example of human guinnea pigs and Drug Companies killing people for profit?

Originally posted by Master_Wii
[

Actually my last post speaks of these women who have these resistant genes

I thought you were refering to project that you described in your OP which was just being launched. I was talking about a study that had already been done, years ago with the prostitutes that lived along the truck routes. Your OP comes off as this being new news, which it isn't.

Originally posted by Thinker_1
Several years ago I worked with an HIV infected man. He took two handfulls of pills every day and was in debt well over $10,000.00 for this medication. The side effects of the meds were things like chronic fatigue and chronic diarrhea. After much thought and ignoring doctor's protests he decided to quit taking his medications. Shortly after doing this he became healthier than he had EVER been. His immune system went wild and his CD counts were well above average. He has been symptom free for several years now and has not touched a medication.
I have since heard many other stories like these. Is this another example of human guinnea pigs and Drug Companies killing people for profit?

There are a group of people who get treated when the virus is new to the body, prior to any onset of symptoms (which is when alot of people get diagnosed). In some of these people, the virus load can be significantly reduced with treatment and remain so even when treatment is discontinued. This happens fairly frequently with babies born HIV positive. Once places like NY started testing all pregnant Mom's for HIV, the babies born to the positive mothers received treatment immediately following birth. Many of these kids are leading normal lives and even though they are born HIV positive, they are now HIV negative.

Originally posted by stanstheman

Originally posted by Master_Wii
[

Actually my last post speaks of these women who have these resistant genes

I thought you were refering to project that you described in your OP which was just being launched. I was talking about a study that had already been done, years ago with the prostitutes that lived along the truck routes. Your OP comes off as this being new news, which it isn't.

Actually if you checked the source for the post prior to yours, you would have saw the project with the prostitutes and the man behind it, ( who felt reluctent to come forward due to redicule).

You are probably right about this not being "new news". The Washington Post and other reputable newspapers/agencies, feel the people are misinformed (possibily by the drug compaines) about these "elite controllers" and complexity or simplicity of HIV.

Another recent article about these "elite controllers".

[edit on 10-9-2006 by Master_Wii]

[edit on 10-9-2006 by Master_Wii]

Originally posted by WyrdeOne
Evolution is a wonderful thing. Pick any disease or condition, and there are people who are immune, or at least able to resist the effects to the point where it presents a negligible threat to their existence. Lifestyle obviously plays a huge role, but some folks are just born lucky.

When you said that yesterday about how lifestyle plays a "huge role" in how people resists diseases such as HIV. Intially I agreed to that statement, if u stay away (illicit) drugs, eat healthy, exercise I would assume you are more likely to be a "elite controller" to compared to someone who lives a risky lifestyle.

I came across this June 4th Boston Globe article about a woman named Pamela Neely who contracted HIV but never exhibited symptoms.

Neely, 47, has the virus, too. She first tested positive on April 29, 1993, and figures she caught the bug sometime in the '80s, when sorrow over her mother's death caused her to seek the illusory comfort of coc aine and heroin.

But Neely has never had a single symptom. Not one. And her immune system remains doggedly robust — all on its own, without the help of medication.

So HOW does lifestyle plays a role in exhibiting symptoms? Pamela Neely has been a crack and smackhead in the projects since contracting the disease in the 80's, and I'll bet my last dollar shes still walking to this day in those same projects with her pipe and smack. This is interestingly nevertheless. You are right, some people must be born lucky.

Boston Globe Article

[edit on 10-9-2006 by Master_Wii]

[edit on 10-9-2006 by Master_Wii]

About the prostitutes that never caught HIV. I remember reading a story about it. They said that because they were always in the company of HIV positive men, each HIV strand fought eachother in a constant struggle. So as long as they kept on having sex with men with HIV and putting a new strain in, she would be HIV negative.

Maybe theres a new treatment?

Originally posted by WolfofWar
About the prostitutes that never caught HIV. I remember reading a story about it. They said that because they were always in the company of HIV positive men, each HIV strand fought eachother in a constant struggle. So as long as they kept on having sex with men with HIV and putting a new strain in, she would be HIV negative.

Maybe theres a new treatment?

I think the bigger question is by mixing up all these HIV strains, could it possibly mutate to a super strain of HIV? Is that farfetched? Instead of HIV killing you in 7-10 years it will be only 6 months.

New treatment? Something in the future will happen very very soon IMO, not sure it will be what we expect. A more lethal strain of HIV and a vaccine?

[edit on 10-9-2006 by Master_Wii]

Does anyone remember the news report about the English gentleman who claimed his doctor said he had the HIV virus in his first examination and then during his second examination, the doctor said the virus was no longer present? The news report was presented early this year, but I haven't seen any updates to the further evaluation of the investigation.