Could probiotics help HIV patients?
16-Jan-2013 - Antiretroviral (ARV) drugs are the first line therapy for patients with HIV; however,
ARV-treated, HIV-infected individuals still have a higher mortality rate than uninfected individuals. During the course of
infection, HIV patients develop inflammation that damages the walls of the intestines, known as the gut mucosa,
allowing intestinal microbes to escape and enter the blood stream to cause a life-threatening systemic
infection. The health of the gut mucosa is significantly influenced by the complement of bacteria in
the gut and there is mounting evidence that probiotic supplements benefit patients intestinal
disorders, such as irritable bowel syndrome, C. difficile infection, and inflammatory bowel disease.
In this issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, researchers led by Jason Brenchley at the National Institute of
Allergy and Infectious Disease, demonstrated that probiotic supplementation may also be beneficial for ARV-treated HIV patients.
Brenchley and colleagues treated SIV-infected macaques (a model of human HIV-infection) with either ARV alone or ARV in
combination with a mixture of probiotics. Macaques treated with probiotics had enhanced gastrointestinal immune
function and decreased inflammation compared to macaques treated with ARV alone. In a companion article,
Judith Aberg and colleagues at New York University School of Medicine discuss how these findings could benefit HIV patients.
###
TITLE:
Probiotic/prebiotic supplementation of antiretrovirals improves gastrointestinal immunity in SIV-infected macaques
AUTHOR CONTACT:
Jason M. Brenchley
NIAID NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA
Phone: 301-496-1498; E-mail: jbrenchl@mail.nih.gov
View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/66227?key=1cff041937d9040dfed7
ACCOMPANYING THE ATTENDING PHYSICIAN
TITLE:
Clash of the microbes: let's bring back the good guys
AUTHOR CONTACT:
Judith Aberg
New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
Phone: 2122637300; Fax: ; E-mail: judith.aberg@nyumc.org
View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/66736?key=64b158b04e2a168811a3
Contact:
Jillian Hurst
press_releases@the-jci.org
Journal of Clinical Investigation
Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-01/joci-cph010913.php
For more HIV and AIDS News visit...
Positively Positive - Living with HIV/AIDS:
HIV/AIDS News
|
