about HIV and AIDS then.<<

They seemed to have some success ..

They should have removed the .. iron .. then they would have .. had
even more success ..

Iron balance and iron-regulatory system alterations correlate with HIV
and TB disease progression
Virus Weekly via NewsEdge Corporation :.
2006 JUL 25 - (NewsRx.com) -- Iron balance and iron-regulatory system
alterations correlate with the progression of HIV and tuberculosis
disease.

According to a recent review from England, "There are many lines of
evidence illustrating that iron plays a pivotal role in modulating the
battle for survival between mammalian hosts and their pathogens.  Each
displays considerable genetic investment in a wide range of mechanisms
for acquiring and maintaining iron.

"These competitive mechanisms are highly complex, existing within an
interacting matrix of absorption, transport, storage and detoxification

systems, each of which are iron-responsive and thus able to adapt to
the different phases of infection.".

"Considerable genetic polymorphism in some of these systems, with
signals of geographic selection in the hosts, and niche selection in
the pathogens, indicates that they are critical for species survival,"
J.M.  McDermid and colleagues at the University London, London School
of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine wrote.

"In this review," said the authors, "we briefly summarize the role of
iron in host immune function before reviewing the available evidence
that iron modulates susceptibility and disease outcomes in HIV and TB
(tuberculosis).

"We then examine the putative role of iron-related host genes by
focusing on two candidate genes, haptoglobin and NRAMPI, for which
there are common polymorphic variants in humans with strong evidence of

functionally distinct biochemical phenotypes that would be predicted to

influence the course of HIV and TB infections.".

"Finally," McDermid continued, "we examine the limited evidence so far
available that nutrient-gene interactions are likely to influence the
way in which gene variants can protect against infection.".

Scientists concluded that there "a wealth of evidence associating
alterations in iron balance and in iron-regulatory systems with disease

progression, but that many issues related to the direction of
causality, mechanisms of action and sensitivity to pharmacological
intervention remain to be elucidated.

"Since iron is probably the most widely prescribed compound throughout
the world, used in both preventative and treatment regimens, a deeper
understanding of the host-pathogen interactions relating to iron
constitutes an important area for both basic and clinical research.".

McDermid and colleagues published the results of their research in
Clinical Science (Iron and infection: effects of host iron status and
the iron-regulatory genes haptoglobin and NRAMPI (SLCIIAI) on
host-pathogen interactions in tuberculosis and HIV.  Clin Sci (Lond),
2006;110(5):503-524).

For additional information, contact A.M.  Prentice, University of
London London School Hyg & Trop Med, Medical Research Council,
International Nutrition Group, Keppel St., London WC1E 7HT, England.

The publisher of the journal Clinical Science can be contacted at:
Portland Press Ltd., Third Floor, Eagle House, 16 Procter Street,
London WC1V 6 Nx, England.

Keywords: London, England, HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, Iron Regulatory
Genes, Host Immune Function, Iron Balance.

This article was prepared by Virus Weekly editors from staff and other
reports.  Copyright 2006, Virus Weekly via NewsRx.com.

<<Virus Weekly -- 07/26/06>>.

Iron Chelation as Therapy for HIV and Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Co-Infection Under Conditions of Iron Overload.
Meyer D
Curr Pharm Des. 2006; 12(16): 1943-7

Iron chelators, as treatment for conditions of iron overload, have
implications for AIDS and tuberculosis (TB) since excess iron in the
system assists HIV and Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb)
multiplication. Excess iron, especially due to dietary habits, is
almost as common in sub-Saharan Africa as infections by the two
organisms. That HIV and M.tb influence each other's replication during
co-infection is well established, but in vitro evaluations of
concurrent infection of the two under conditions of iron overload and
determining whether chelators reverse the effect, are limited. This
review provides brief commentary on the possibility of iron chelators
presently in clinical use influencing simultaneous HIV-M.tb infections
during iron loading and the feasibility of evaluating this in vitro

The association of serum ferritin and transferrin receptor
concentrations with mortality in women with human immunodeficiency
virus infection.
Gordeuk VR, Onojobi G, Schneider MF, Dawkins FW, Delapenha R, Voloshin
Y, von Wyl V, Bacon M, Minkoff H, Levine A, Cohen M, Greenblatt RM
Haematologica. 2006 May 16;

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Whether degree of iron stores influences
progression of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease is
controversial. We studied the relationship of indirect measures of iron

stores with mortality in highly active antiretroviral therapy
(HAART)-naïve participants from the Women's Interagency HIV Study.
DESIGN AND METHODS: One hundred and fifty-eight HIV-infected women who
died before July 1996 were individually matched by CD4+ cell count
(within +/- 50 cells/microL) and HIV RNA level (within +/- 0.50 log10
copies/mL) to 154 controls. Serum ferritin and transferrin receptor
concentrations were measured in 151 pairs of women. RESULTS: Using
multivariable conditional logistic regression models that were adjusted

for self-reported antiretroviral therapy use, age, smoking status,
ethnicity, hemoglobin concentration, C-reactive protein and aspartate
amino transferase, a log10 increase in baseline serum ferritin
concentration was associated with a 1.67-fold increase in the odds of
death (95% CI: 0.98, 2.86) and a one-unit decrease in transferrin
receptor to log10 ferritin ratio was associated with a 1.12-fold (95%
CI: 1.01, 1.23) increase in the odds of death. INTERPRETATION AND
CONCLUSIONS: In this study, higher indirect measures of iron status
were associated with reduced survival among HAART-naïve HIV-infected
women. Additional prospective studies with data on direct measures of
iron status along with randomized trials are needed to elucidate the
current equipoise over whether iron supplementation is beneficial by
preventing anemia or harmful by increasing iron stores in HIV-infected
women.

Who loves ya.
Tom

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