header image

[Sign Up Now] to Receive Our FREE Daily SCVTV-SCVNews Digest by E-Mail

Inside
Weather


 
Calendar
Today in
S.C.V. History
September 18
1962 - Articles of incorporation filed for Golden State Memorial Hospital on Lyons Avenue [story]
Golden State Hospital


hhs_nih_logoAt a White House event Monday to mark the 25th annual World AIDS Day, President Obama announced that the National Institutes of Health plans to redirect AIDS research funds to expand support for research directed toward a cure for HIV. NIH plans to invest an additional $100 million over the next three fiscal years on this increasingly promising area of HIV/AIDS research.

In the three decades since AIDS was first reported, the NIH has been the global leader in research to understand, prevent, diagnose, and treat HIV infection and its many associated conditions. NIH-funded researchers — in partnership with academia and the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries — have helped develop more than 30 life-saving antiretroviral drugs and drug combinations for treating HIV infection. These antiretroviral drugs have transformed life with HIV infection for those who have access to and can tolerate the therapies. However, treatment requires lifelong access and adherence to these medications and management of treatment-related toxicities and clinical complications.

A red ribbon hangs from the North Portico of the White House on Dec. 2, 2013 to mark World AIDS Day, Dec. 2, 2013 (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)

A red ribbon hangs from the North Portico of the White House on Dec. 2, 2013 to mark World AIDS Day | White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy

Important recent advances in basic and therapeutics research aimed at eliminating viral reservoirs in the body are spurring scientists to design and conduct research aimed at a cure or lifelong remission of HIV infection. Key stakeholders from academia, government, foundations, advocacy groups and industry have concluded that developing a cure for HIV is one of the most important biomedical challenges of the 21st century. This will require an extraordinary, collaborative global effort, including public-private partnerships and innovative alliances to share scientific expertise and accelerate the search for a cure.

In a presentation at the White House event today, Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the component of NIH with the largest investment in HIV/AIDS research, discussed the public health and scientific rationale for expanded research in this area.

“Although the HIV/AIDS pandemic can theoretically be ended with a concerted and sustained scale-up of implementation of existing tools for HIV prevention and treatment, the development of a cure is critically important, as it may not be feasible for tens of millions of people living with HIV infection to access and adhere to a lifetime of antiretroviral therapy,” Dr. Fauci noted. “Our growing understanding of the cellular hiding places or ‘reservoirs’ of HIV, the development of new strategies to minimize or deplete these reservoirs, and encouraging reports of a small number of patients who have little or no evidence of virus despite having halted antiretroviral therapy, all suggest that the time is ripe to pursue HIV cure research with vigor.”

Funding for these new initiatives will come from existing resources and a redirection of funds from expiring AIDS research grants over the next three years. NIH Director Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., said, “Flat budgets and cuts from sequestration have had a profound and damaging impact on biomedical research, but we must continue to find ways to support cutting-edge science, even in this environment. AIDS research is an example of an area where hard-won progress over many years has resulted in new and exciting possibilities in basic and clinical science in AIDS that must be pursued.”

Jack Whitescarver, Ph.D., director of the Office of AIDS Research, a component of the Office of the Director of NIH, said, “We have listened very carefully to the scientific consensus of experts from within the NIH and around the world. We have been building the portfolio of HIV cure research over the past few years, and now is the time to accelerate our research focused specifically toward the goal of sustained or lifelong remission, in which patients control or even eliminate HIV without the need for lifelong antiretroviral therapy.”

It is anticipated that a significant portion of the new investment will support basic research, which will also benefit all other areas of AIDS research, as well as research on other diseases. These studies will include research on viral reservoirs, viral latency, and viral persistence, as well as studies of neutralizing antibodies. Research on animal models, drug development and preclinical testing of more potent antiretroviral compounds capable of diminishing viral reservoirs, and clinical research, including studies on therapeutic vaccines and other immune enhancers, will also be supported.

Other high-priority AIDS research will continue to be supported. These priorities include: prevention research, including vaccines, microbicides, and other biomedical and behavioral prevention strategies, such as the use of antiretroviral drugs as prevention; research to develop better, less toxic treatments and to investigate how genetic determinants, sex, gender, race, age, nutritional status, treatment during pregnancy, and other factors, including stigma and adherence, interact to affect treatment success or failure and/or disease progression; and studies to address the increased incidence of malignancies, cardiovascular, neurologic, and metabolic complications, and premature aging associated with long-term HIV disease and antiretroviral treatment. Through all of this research, NIH is committed to the ultimate goal of a world without AIDS.

NIAID conducts and supports research — at NIH, throughout the United States, and worldwide — to study the causes of infectious and immune-mediated diseases, and to develop better means of preventing, diagnosing and treating these illnesses. News releases, fact sheets and other NIAID-related materials are available on the NIAID Web site at http://www.niaid.nih.gov.

The Office of AIDS Research, part of the Office of the Director, plans and coordinates the scientific, budgetary, legislative and policy elements of the NIH AIDS research program. Additional information, including the trans-NIH strategic plan and budget, is available at http://www.oar.nih.gov.

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation’s medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.

Comment On This Story
COMMENT POLICY: We welcome comments from individuals and businesses. All comments are moderated. Comments are subject to rejection if they are vulgar, combative, or in poor taste.
REAL NAMES ONLY: All posters must use their real individual or business name. This applies equally to Twitter account holders who use a nickname.

0 Comments

You can be the first one to leave a comment.

Leave a Comment


SCV NewsBreak
LOCAL NEWS HEADLINES
Tuesday, Sep 17, 2024
Sept. 19: SENSES Pirate Block Party
Get ready to set sail at the Pirates SENSES Block Party, presented by the city of Santa Clarita, Thursday, Sept 19 from 7-10 p.m. on main street in Old Town Newhall.
Tuesday, Sep 17, 2024
Foothill League Football Begins for SCV Teams
Six of the seven Foothill League Varsity football teams begin league play Friday night, Sept. 20.
Tuesday, Sep 17, 2024
Public Health Investigating Disease Spread from Animals to Humans
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health is investigating two human cases of a rare parasitic infection, Baylisascaris procyonis, also known as raccoon roundworm.
Keep Up With Our Facebook

Latest Additions to SCVNews.com
A "friendies" field tournament  is being  hosted by the Saugus Instrumental Music program, with support from Valencia High, later this month. 
Sept. 21: “The All Valley Showcase” Comes to Valencia High This Month
Public, member-supported 88.5 FM The SoCal Sound, Southern California’s leading Triple-A (adult album alternative) format radio station has announced the lineup for its inaugural “Year-End Bash” taking place on Saturday, Dec. 7.
Dec. 7: CSUN Owned 88.5-FM The SoCal Sound Announces “Year End Bash” Lineup featuring Ben Gibbard
The Master's University cross-country teams continued their successful 2024 campaigns with strong finishes at the BIOLA Invitational on Friday, Sept. 13 at Craig Regional Park in Fullerton, Calif.
TMU Women Win, Men Place Second at XC Invitational
Sheriff’s Department Announces New Law Enforcement Gang Policy
Sheriff’s Department Announces New Law Enforcement Gang Policy
The biology department at California State University, Northridge has stayed committed to promoting STEM research carried out by K-12 students and teachers in the Los Angeles Unified School District.
CSUN Student Research Journal Celebrates 28 Years of Inspiring Scientific Imagination
Did you know the SCVEDC has an interactive, online tool that provides themed virtual tours of the amazing features the community has to offer? 
Take a Virtual Tour of the Santa Clarita Valley
California Institute of the Arts alum and visionary filmmaker Tim Burton (Film/Video 1979) was honored with the 2,788th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
CalArts Alum Tim Burton Receives Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
1962 - Articles of incorporation filed for Golden State Memorial Hospital on Lyons Avenue [story]
Golden State Hospital
The Santa Clarita Valley Senior Center welcomes back Jim Curry for an evening concert celebrating the music of John Denver on Saturday, Oct. 5 at 5 p.m. in the Grand Ballroom at Bella Vida.
Oct. 5: SCV Senior Center Welcomes Jim Curry ‘Take Me Home’
As part of the Santa Clarita Valley Water Agency's ongoing commitment to ensuring local groundwater quality and reliability, the SCV Water recently began construction on a new treatment facility to remove perchlorate and volatile organic compounds at Well 205 in Valencia.
SCV Water Begins New Water Treatment Project in Valencia
Get ready to set sail at the Pirates SENSES Block Party, presented by the city of Santa Clarita, Thursday, Sept 19 from 7-10 p.m. on main street in Old Town Newhall.
Sept. 19: SENSES Pirate Block Party
No. 21 College of the Canyons football team knocked off No. 5 Fullerton College 29-13 on Saturday night behind a stifling defensive effort and five field goals from Luis Rodriguez.
No. 21 Canyons Knocks Off No. 5 Fullerton 29-13
Six of the seven Foothill League Varsity football teams begin league play Friday night, Sept. 20.
Foothill League Football Begins for SCV Teams
The California Institute of the Arts will present the "NAACP Santa Clarita Masquerade Ball", Friday, Oct. 4, 7-11 p.m. at 24700 McBean Parkway, Valencia, CA 91355.
Oct. 4: NAACP Santa Clarita Masquerade Ball at Cal Arts
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health is investigating two human cases of a rare parasitic infection, Baylisascaris procyonis, also known as raccoon roundworm.
Public Health Investigating Disease Spread from Animals to Humans
1879 - First official Newhall School building erected near Walnut & Ninth streets [story]
First Newhall School
The city of Santa Clarita is hosting Make A Difference Day on Saturday, Oct. 26 and is looking for enthusiastic residents to volunteer for various projects that benefit local nonprofits, as well as the city.
Oct. 26: Volunteers Needed for Make a Difference Day
Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital and PathPoint announced the graduation of Aiden Land and Andrew Mendence from the Project SEARCH internship program.
Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital, PathPoint Celebrate Grad Interns
The William S. Hart Union High School District has announced upcoming community information meetings about Learning Post Academy Independent Study School, Thursday, Sept. 18 and Friday, Sept. 19.
Sept. 18-19: Learning Post Academy Online Information Meetings
The Santa Clarita Community College District Board of Trustees will hold a special meeting Wednesday, Sept. 18, 5 p.m. in open session to interview and appoint a new trustee for Area 5.
Sept. 18: COC Board to Interview, Appoint Area 5 Trustee
The city of Santa Clarita wants to remind residents that volunteer registration is open for the 29th Annual River Rally Cleanup and Environmental Expo scheduled for next Saturday, Sept. 21, from 8 to 11 a.m. at the William S. Hart Pony Baseball and Softball Complex, 23780 Auto Center Drive, Santa Clarita, CA 91355.
Sept. 20: Last Chance to Register for the River Rally
The California Highway Patrol is dedicating Sept. 15-21 to promoting child passenger safety across California, focusing on the protection of the state’s youngest road users.
CHP Emphasizes Child Safety for National Child Passenger Safety Week
The regular meeting of the Saugus Union School District Governing Board will take place Tuesday, Sept. 17 beginning at 6:30 p.m.
Sept. 17: SUSD Regular Board Meeting
West Ranch High School’s Studio A Jazz Band will be the opening act for the Huntertones, a Brooklyn-based sextet, who are coming to the Santa Clarita Valley for a one-night performance.
Sept 30: West Ranch Jazz Band to Open for Huntertones
SCVNews.com