Tuesday, 29 January 2013

Cases Presented At 19th Annual International AIDS Conference Two more men with HIV now virus-free. Is this a cure?

Maggie Fox (NBC News)
WASHINGTON, Jan 27 : Two men unlucky enough to get both HIV and cancer have been seemingly cleared of the virus, raising hope that science may yet find a way to cure for the infection that causes AIDS, 30 years into the epidemic.
The researchers are cautious in declaring the two men cured, but more than two years after receiving bone marrow transplants, HIV can’t be detected anywhere in their bodies. These two new cases are reminiscent of the so-called “Berlin patient,” the only person known to have been cured of infection from the human immunodeficiency virus.
These two cases, presented as a ‘late-breaker’ finding on Thursday at the 19th annual International AIDS Conference in Washington, DC, are among the reasons that scientists have been speaking so openly at the event about their hopes of finding a cure.
“Everyone knows about this ‘Berlin patient’. We wanted to see if a simpler treatment would do the same thing”, said Dr Daniel Kuritzkes of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, who oversaw the study. The widely publicized patient, Timothy Brown, was treated for leukemia with a bone marrow transplant that happened to come from a donor with a genetic mutation that makes immune cells resist HIV infection. The transplant replaced his own infected cells with healthy, AIDS-resistant cells. He is HIV-free five years later.
AIDS patients are susceptible to cancers, but they usually stop taking HIV drugs before receiving cancer treatment. “That allows the virus to come back and it infects their donor cells,” Kuritzkes said.
About 34 million people are infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, globally; 25 million have died from it. While there’s no vaccine, cocktails of powerful antiviral drugs called antiretroviral therapy (ART) can keep the virus suppressed and keep patients healthy. No matter how long patients take ART, however, they are never cured. The virus lurks in the body and comes back if the drugs are stopped. Scientists want to flush out these so-called reservoirs and find a way to kill the virus for good.
Brown, and now these two other men, offer some real hope.
Dr Timothy Henrich and colleagues at Brigham and Women’s Hospital launched a search about a year ago for HIV patients with leukemia or lymphoma who had received bone marrow stem cell transplants. Bone marrow is the body’s source of immune system cells that HIV infects and it’s a likely place to look for HIV’s reservoirs.
“If you took an HIV patient getting treated for various cancers, you can check the effect on the viral reservoirs of various cancer treatments,” Kuritzkes, who works with Henrich, said. They found the two patients by asking colleagues at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston which, like Brigham and Women’s, is associated with Harvard Medical School.
Both men had endured multiple rounds of treatment for lymphoma, both had stem cell treatments and both had stayed on their HIV drugs throughout. “They went through the transplants on therapy,” Kuritzkes said.
“We found that immediately before the transplant and after the transplant, HIV DNA was in the cells. As the patients’ cells were replaced by the donor cells, the HIV DNA disappeared,” Kuritzkes said. The donor cells, it appears, killed off and replaced the infected cells. And the HIV drugs protected the donor cells while they did it.
One patient is HIV-free two years later, and the other is seemingly uninfected three-and-a-half years later.
“They still have no detectable HIV DNA in their T-cells,” Kuritzkes said. In fact, doctors can’t find any trace of HIV in their bodies — not in their blood plasma, not when they grow cells in the lab dishes, not by the most sensitive tests.
Can the patients be told they are cured?
“We’re being very careful not to do that,” Kuritzkes said.
For now, both men are staying on AIDS drugs until they can be carefully taken off under experimental conditions. “We are not saying, “You are like the Berlin patient’.”
Although the men are HIV-free, Kuritzkes says it’s been an arduous experience for them. After being diagnosed HIV-positive, one underwent rounds of chemotherapy for Hodgkin’s disease, a kind of lymphoma, before receiving the final bone marrow transplant, called an allogeneic bone marrow transplant. It is not an easy treatment to endure.
The men, one from Boston and one from New York, were not initially told their HIV had seemingly disappeared. When researchers realized news media would cover the report, they were informed.
Neither man is being identified for privacy reasons but one is in his 50s and has been infected since the beginning of the AIDS epidemic in the early 1980s. The other man, in his 20s, was infected at birth.
The findings may not apply to all patients. Both men were a little unusual in that they had a genetic mutation that can make immune cells resistant to infection by HIV. Their new immune cells, however, which came from the donors, are fully susceptible to the virus.
“We’re never really going to be able to do bone marrow transplants in the millions of patients who are infected,” Kuritzkes said. “But if you can stimulate the virus and eliminate those cells, we can protect the remaining cells from being infected.”
Separately, two other studies presented at the conference have scientists optimistic about a cure. In one, a cancer drug called vorinostat flushed out latent HIV from a handful of patients, offering the possibility of killing these latent reservoirs. In another, about 15 French patients who got HIV drugs very early after their infections were able to stop treatment and don’t show any symptoms years later, even though they are still infected.
Organizers of the conference say the findings provide an argument for treating patients early. “(These studies) give us reason for enthusiasm, that ultimately we are going to get to where we needed to go, which is to cure people with HIV infection,” said Dr. Steven Deeks, an HIV expert at the University of California, San Francisco.
28-Jan-2013 / 01:40 AM / Agencies / 0 Comment

http://www.thesangaiexpress.com/tseitm-23188-cases-presented-at-19th-annual-international-aids-conference-two-more-men-with-hiv-now-virusfree-is-this-a-cure/ 

Monday, 28 January 2013

Meet moots framing of State policy on reproductive health rights

IMPHAL, Jan 28: The need to formulate an exclusive State policy and plan on sexual reproductive health rights so as to spread awareness among the youth was mooted during a Coalition Meeting held today at Hotel Nirmala here.
Representatives of CSOs who participated in the technical CSO discussion programme on Action Project implemented by Social Awareness Service Organisation; AASHA, Imphal East and FDDUO, Imphal West under India HIV/AIDS Alliance, strongly felt the necessity to sensitise the youth on sexual reproductive health rights.
The Action Project, which has been aimed to spread awareness on sexual reproductive health rights among the youth, was for the first time implemented in the State in 2010.
The primary target group under the Action Project was the sex workers, IDUs and MSMs. The secondary target group included policy makers, health service providers, teachers, parents and religious leaders.
The project has been implemented in Imphal East and Imphal West districts, each divided into four segments. The three-year project ends January this year.
Around 37,000 youths were sensitised on sexual reproductive health rights under the project using various forms of media.
Addressing the meeting, general secretary of Manipur Network of Positive People, Salam Uditta said ignorance of the youths on sexual reproductive health rights led to occurrence of various sexual crimes among the youth in the State. Various family problems erupted due to underage marriage and premarital sexual relation, Udita said while adding parents also need to be aware of the sexual reproductive health rights.
Udita further maintained that the Govt and its various departments should consider framing a State policy on the matter in order to spread awareness among the youth of the State.
General secretary of SASO, Sashikumar said awareness on sexual reproductive health rights has been reached to several youths under Action Project. He said the implementation of the programme would not be a success unless a follow-up programme in the form of framing state policy on sexual reproductive health rights is taken up by the Government.
State Nodal Officer of NRHM, Dr Ibemcha said that adolescent clinic has been started at CHCs and selected PHCs under NRHM in the State. However, due to lack of awareness, only few visited the clinic, Dr Ibemcha said while adding that adolescents could consult their problems relating to sexual reproductive health rights at the clinics.
Sharing experience, Project Manager of Action Project conveyed the need to include sex education in school curricula.

http://www.thesangaiexpress.com/tseitm-23209-meet-moots-framing-of-state-policy-on-reproductive-health-rights/ 

Wednesday, 23 January 2013

Inspector Ranjit transferred for not following official norms: SP, Imphal West

The Superintendent of Police, Imphal West District Police has clarified that Inspector of Special Intelligence Unit, K Ranjit, who led the team behind the seizure of a large haul of smuggled tablets at Imphal Airport, was transferred as he ignored official norms which resulted in the smugglers making good their escape.
In a clarification to the news items carried in local dailies, a statement from the police released on Tuesday stated that the SIU was primarily formed with the personnel drawn from different units of Imphal West District Police as an internal administrative arrangement of the district police to facilitate in carrying out drives against offenders of vehicle thefts and fake document and certificate and counterfeit currency rackets. It added that in cases related to contraband drug cases and other contraband products, the task are normally entrusted to Narcotic Cell, which is another unsanctioned unit of the state police department.
Normally, whenever there is any intelligence input pertaining to any such crimes is received by the Narcotic Cell or SIU, the information is immediately passed on to the SP, under whom the units functioned directly. The SP in turn directs the concerned police station to tie-up with the Narcotic and SIU and investigate the case jointly, the statement added.
However, during the seizure of contraband drugs from the airport on January 11, the SIU team under the command of Inspector Ranjit acted independently without informing the SP although he was available for correspondence. The statement noted that had the SIU team informed the SP or the concerned police station, the owners of the seized drugs would also have been captured on that day itself.
It added that because of the hectic efforts put by the officer-in-charge of Narcotic Cell, Imphal West and Singjamei Police, one of those involved in the racket, Md Rajauddin, 29, son of Md Riyazuddin of Lilong Sambrukhong was arrested on January 18 after the SIU was winded off.
The statement further clarified that the detection of smuggling of drugs transported through air cargo is a difficult task as the identities of both the senders and receivers are usually fictitious. It added that despite the odds, the district police have been able to detect and identified the owners of the drugs transported through air cargo in a number of cases.
The issue of using fictitious name by drug smugglers in transportation of the cargo have been taken up seriously by DGP himself and had already taken up the case with the appropriate authorities under the Narcotic Control Bureau, New Delhi and Bureau of Civil Aviations, New Delhi, the statement added. After the transfer of Inspector Ranjit, the same function of the SIU is being continued by the Narcotic Cell, Imphal West, it added.

http://thepeopleschronicle.in/?p=10408




Woman nabbed along with heroin


IMPHAL, Jan 22: A team of Narcotics and Affairs of Border personnel arrested a woman drug peddler along with 27 gram of banned heroin powder today from Hao Keithel area here.
According to a statement issued by the OC of NAB, a team of its personnel led by Inspector RK Bikramjit rushed to Hao Keithel this morning around 8.50 following specific inputs.
A lady was spotted moving around the market area very suspiciously at around 9.30am at Hao Keithel parking area, on BT road in front of Pragyati pharmacy, said the statement.
The NAB personnel, including lady police personnel detained her. On checking her body, 27 gram of banned Heroin powder tightly packed in a white plastic container with green cap branded as Man Prasand and kept concealed in her undergarments was recovered, it stated.
The woman has been identified as Kshetrimayum Ibemhal Devi (51) w/o (L) Ksh Manibabu Singh of Kakching Khunou Thongam Leikai, Thoubal district and presently staying at Moreh Ward No 2.
She was arrested immediately along with the seized item.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the seized Heroin powder was brought from Moreh and destined to spread in the Markets of the State, it said.
At the same time, the NAB appealed the general public not to indulge in such illegal trafficking and stay alert against such dealings. Informing that such raids would be continued, the NAB officer urged all concerned to extend cooperation to the police so as to stop the illegal practice as well as drug menace in the State.



 http://www.thesangaiexpress.com/tseitm-23071-woman-nabbed-along-with-heroin/



Revive Special Intelligence Unit

IMPHAL, Jan 21: Making it clear that they suspect a conspiracy behind the abrupt transfer of SIU OC K Ranjit to CAR and subsequent abolition of SIU in the aftermath of the seizure of drugs worth Rs 1.4 crores from Tulihal Airport on January 11, 12 different civil society organisations have jointly submitted a memorandum to the Governor, the Chief Minister, the Deputy Chief Minister and the DGP.
The memorandum jointly submitted by CADA, Nupi Samaj, UPF, NIPCO, AMSU, Tammi Chingmi, Macha Leima, MAPI Council, ANUL, EECHAL, TDWDO and UPACO while conveying their suspicion of the involvement of some high ranking officials in smuggling drugs into the State, demanded revival of the abolished SIU as well reinstatement of K Ranjit to his former post.
Pointing out that civil society organisations, Meira Paibis, local clubs and NGOs have been trying their best to uproot drug menace from the State since the past many decades, the memorandum noted that illicit drugs continue to pose stiff challenges for the past 20 years during which widows, orphans and people living with HIV/AIDS have multiplied manifold.
The memorandum also demanded disclosure of the particular smuggler whose drugs were seized from Imphal airport.
The civil society organisations further urged the Government to fulfil all their three demands by January 27.

http://www.thesangaiexpress.com/tseitm-23028-revive-siu/