Gene Therapy for Controlling HIV Shows Early Promise

Published on: 8:27 AM

Gene Therapy for Controlling HIV Shows Early Promise

Small study hints treatment could someday help patients fight AIDS virus without drugs

WebMD News from HealthDay

By Amy Norton

HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, March 5, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- In an early step toward drug-free HIV therapy, researchers are reporting the first success in genetically "editing" T-cells in patients' immune systems to become resistant to the virus.

The findings, published in the March 6 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, are based on only 12 patients. But experts were cautiously optimistic about what the study accomplished.

Specifically, researchers were able to take T-cells from the HIV patients' blood, then "knock out" a gene known as CCR5, which controls a protein that allows HIV to enter a cell.

The scientists then infused the genetically altered T-cells back into patients' blood, where they expanded in number. What's more, a few patients were taken off their HIV drugs temporarily and saw their virus levels decrease.

"This is impressive," said Rowena Johnston, director of research for amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research.

The altered T-cells "actually seem to be doing exactly what [the researchers] wanted them to," said Johnston, who was not involved in the study.

Still, she said, there are plenty of questions left and much research ahead. The investigators on the study agreed.

"This was a first-in-human study," said researcher Bruce Levine, an associate professor of cancer gene therapy at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, in Philadelphia.

That means the trial was designed to see whether it's even safe to use this approach in people with HIV -- and not whether it's an effective therapy.

The T-cell infusions did appear safe in the short term: Of the 12 patients, only one had a temporary reaction -- developing fever, chills and joint pain within 24 hours of the infusion.

"Right now, we're at the point where we've demonstrated safety and feasibility," Levine said.

Ultimately, scientists want to develop a "functional" cure for HIV -- where people's immune system cells are resistant to the virus, and they can stop taking the lifelong, daily drug regimens currently used to suppress the infection.

Those drugs have turned HIV into a manageable chronic disease for many. But, Levine said, they are costly, cause side effects, and for some people, eventually lose their effectiveness.

No one knows whether the technology used in this study will eventually offer a functional cure. But Levine said there were "hints" that, with further refinement, it could.

One month after the T-cell infusion, half of the study patients stopped their regular HIV drug regimen for up to 12 weeks. Initially, the patients' "viral load" increased, but for the four who were able to stay off their medication for the full 12 weeks, the viral load declined toward the end.

There were also signs that some of the modified T-cells were resistant to HIV: When patients stopped their medications, the infused T-cells did decline in number -- but not to the extent that their unmodified T-cells did.

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Yoga May Help Breast Cancer Patients During Radiation Therapy

Published on: 10:42 AM

Yoga May Help Breast Cancer Patients

Study found it lowered levels of stress hormones, reduced fatigue, improved quality of life

WebMD News from HealthDay

By Kathleen Doheny

HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, March 4, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Women with breast cancer who practiced yoga had lower levels of stress hormones and reported less fatigue and better quality of life, new research shows.

"Yoga is having an impact on subjective well-being, as well as better regulation of cortisol, a stress hormone," said study co-author Lorenzo Cohen, director of the integrative medicine program at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, in Houston. "Better regulation of stress hormones has been linked with better survival and longer survival."

The study is published in the March 3 online edition of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Other research has found yoga helpful for cancer patients, Cohen said, but some of those studies have looked at small numbers of patients and others have not compared the yoga group to a "control" group to measure results.

For the new study, Cohen assigned more than 160 women with breast cancer who were undergoing radiation therapy to do either yoga or stretching up to three times a week for an hour each session. Those two groups were compared to a control group that received no instruction in either yoga or stretching.

The women reported on their quality of life, including how fatigued or depressed they felt, and described their daily functioning. They gave saliva samples at the study's start, the end of treatment, and at one, three and six months after treatment, so cortisol could be measured.

Women in the yoga group had the greatest reduction in cortisol levels across the day, which reflected the ability of yoga to help regulate stress hormones, the study authors noted.

After finishing radiation treatment, which is linked with fatigue, only the yoga and stretching groups reported feeling less tired, the findings showed. The yoga group had more benefits in physical functioning than the other two groups.

No differences were found between the groups for mental health and sleep quality. That may have been because all the women were doing fairly well on those measures at the study's start, Cohen said.

Previous studies have linked exercise with better well-being and less fatigue among cancer patients, said Dr. Joanne Mortimer, director of women's cancer programs and co-director of the breast cancer program at City of Hope Cancer Center in Duarte, Calif.

Recommending exercise to a cancer patient who is already tired may sound counterintuitive, Mortimer said, but research suggests that's not so.

"This study supports that the more you do, the better off you are," Mortimer explained.

Cohen put it this way: "I think it's important for breast cancer patients to engage in some sort of activity to buffer [dealing with the disease]."

Yoga, he said, provides an important mind-body approach to help patients get physical activity, relax and calm their mind.

While yoga class offerings are widespread, Cohen pointed out that "it's important to find the right kind of yoga teacher. It's about doing a gentler form of yoga."

He suggested women with breast cancer ask their doctor first if they can participate in yoga, then find a yoga instructor with experience leading a class that includes cancer patients.

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Music Therapy May Ease Anxiety of Cancer Patients

Published on: 2:22 AM

Music Therapy PBS Shoot-24 (Photo credit: Inkyhack)

Study Shows Benefits of Listening to Music and Working With a Music Therapist
Aug. 10, 2011 -- Listening to recorded music or working with a music therapist may reduce anxiety levels of cancer patients and have other positive effects as well, a new study shows.
Listening to recorded music, singing, playing an instrument, or otherwise participating in music making apparently also have positive effects on general mood, pain, and quality of life, according to the study.
The study is published in the August issue of Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.

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