New AIDS vaccine targets hidden virus

Preliminary research suggests that an AIDS vaccine in development can ramp up the body’s immune system, boosting the response to medications HIV-positive patients take. Years of research will be required to confirm that the vaccine works, and researchers don’t yet have the major funding needed to continue and push the experimental vaccine toward the market. Still, there’s tremendous potential, said study senior author Dr. Barbara Ensoli, director of the National AIDS Center at the National Institute of Health in Rome, Italy. “Although the results are from infected patients, the vaccine may be suitable for both healthy and HIV-infected patients,” said Ensoli. So far, she said, the vaccine appears to be well tolerated, with no signs of significant side effects. A vaccine has long been the holy grail of research into AIDS and HIV, the virus that causes the disease. While vaccines usually are designed to prevent infection, this one is being tried on patients...