|
INFECTIOUS DISEASES: THE AIDS SAGA |
|||
|
Although headlines about AIDS and its cause, the HIV retrovirus, no longer appear daily on the front pages of newspapers or as segments on the nightly TV news, make no mistake-AIDS remains a devastating epidemic compared by some to the Black Plague of the Middle Ages. Statistics do not accurately reflect the massive human suffering caused by HIV/AIDS, but they do serve as a global reality check. HIV has infected more than 47 million worldwide (21 million in Africa alone), costing the lives of nearly 14 million adults and children. In the U.S., more than 410,000 people have died from AIDS, including more than 5,000 children under the age of five. An estimated 40,000 more Americans will become infected with HIV each year for the foreseeable future. Characterized by severe suppression of the immune system, HIV/AIDS makes an individual susceptible to a host of often normally manageable infections, cancers, and other diseases. A relatively small virus, HIV has only 10 genes and about 10,000 nucleotides, or DNA "letters"; the smallpox virus, for example, has about 20 times more genetic information. However, HIV mutates extremely rapidly and has an astounding capacity for evading host resistance. Because it uses a cell's biological makeup to reproduce itself, HIV is also difficult to detect and to eradicate with drug therapy. Like all scientific and technological challenges, HIV/AIDS research requires both new discoveries and a methodical development process. Since the first reports of HIV/AIDS in the U.S. in 1981, research has grown from several million dollars invested by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) during the early 1980s to the $1.4 billion effort today. As a result, great strides have been made in understanding the basic biological aspects of HIV, leading to earlier diagnosis and more effective preventive measures and therapies, like multi-drug "cocktails." Much of the current research focuses on what has become the "Holy Grail" of AIDS research-a vaccine to slow the infection rate. Tonight's mini-medical faculty have been on the front lines of the HIV/AIDS battle for many years-tracking the disease's important epidemiological aspects, clarifying the molecular mechanisms of drug-resistance to HIV variants, and conducting clinical research of drug therapies and vaccines. Students will also hear from patients, who will present a first-hand account of coming face-to- face with this modern-day plague. |
|||
|
Associate Professor of Medicine and of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology
|
|
||
|
Dr. McMahon, whose primary interests are the treatment of HIV/AIDS and HIV clinical trials, has been the medical director of the Pitt Treatment Evaluation Unit (PTEU) since 1987. PTEU was the first clinical trials center for HIV in Pennsylvania and remains the most comprehensive clinical center for HIV/AIDS treatment in western Pennsylvania. Dr. McMahon is also project director of the Pitt HIV Early Intervention Project-which enhances HIV primary care services at UPMC and is funded through the Ryan White Act, Title III-and is the principal investigator of a clinical study to determine the effectiveness of CrixivanŽ (a protease inhibitor) combined with AZT and 3TC for controlling infection in patients with early HIV. A native of Latrobe, Pennsylvania, Dr. McMahon received her B.S. in biology from Seton Hill College, which awarded her a Distinguished Alumni Award in 1997, and her M.D. from Temple University School of Medicine. She came to Pitt in 1985 as a fellow in infectious diseases and joined the faculty in 1988. Dr. McMahon teaches fourth-year medical students about the pharmacotherapy of AIDS and has lectured extensively to both professional and public groups on new therapies and drug resistance. |
|||
|
Professor of Medicine and of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology
|
|
||
|
Director of the Pitt Treatment Evaluation Unit, Dr. Mellors is renowned for his research on the resistance of HIV to current drug therapies and on the importance of viral load as a predictor of clinical outcome for people with AIDS. His interests in antiviral therapy of HIV infection include the evaluation of new antiretroviral compounds, both in vitro and in clinical trials. His studies of antiviral drug resistance seek to overcome this major obstacle to effective long-term treatment of patients with HIV by elucidating the mechanisms of drug action and drug resistance, identifying alternative drug therapies for resistant virus, and helping devise strategies to prevent the development of drug resistance. Dr. Mellors received his B.A. (magna cum laude) from Dartmouth College and his M.D. from Dartmouth Medical School, which awarded him the Dean's Medal. He completed his residency at Yale-New Haven Hospital and was an infectious disease fellow at Yale University. Dr. Mellors, who joined Pitt in 1991, holds joint appointments in the Graduate School of Public Health and the School of Medicine. He is director of the HIV/AIDS Program at Pitt and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases. In 1999, he received a prestigious Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation Unrestricted Infectious Diseases Research Grant. |
|||
|
Professor and Chairman of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology and Professor of Pathology
|
|
||
|
Dr. Rinaldo has studied HIV/AIDS since 1983 when he established a Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS) site called the Pitt Men's Study, which investigates the natural history of AIDS in homosexual men. Over the past ten years, Dr. Rinaldo's research into the relationship of disease progression to reactivity of killer T lymphocytes against HIV has shown that this form of immunity is central to control of HIV infection in long-term nonprogessors. His recent research has focused on the role of dendritic cells in HIV, specifically, how these cells process HIV and then activate the T cell immune system to act against the virus. Dr. Rinaldo, who received his A.B. from Syracuse University and his Ph.D. from the University of Utah, joined Pitt's School of Medicine and Graduate School of Public Health in 1978. He led the University effort to establish a National Institutes of Health-supported training grant, Support for HIV/AIDS Research at Pitt (SHARP), which provides funds for training predoctoral and postdoctoral students. In 1996, he helped garner support from the National Cancer Institute to establish a new, AIDS-Related Malignancy Program at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute. Dr. Rinaldo and colleagues have also partnered with the gay community to promote AIDS prevention and were instrumental in establishing the Pittsburgh AIDS Task Force. |
|||
|
The Body: An AIDS and HIV Information Resource - A comprehensive set of information and site listings on AIDS, HIV testing, safe sex and prevention, AIDS vaccine research, dictionaries and drug glossaries, and books. http://www.thebody.com/basics.html#safe The Division of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (DAIDS) - The home page of this division of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases contains links for news, research information, and publications about HIV/AIDS. http://www.niaid.nih.gov/research/daids.htm HIV Positive - A comprehensive HIV/AIDS resource that's focused, understandable and easy to navigate. Go to the "main menu" and you'll find links on nutrition, treatment, pain, opportunistic infections, testing for HIV, women and children with HIV, drug advisories, money matters, and more. http://www.HIVpositive.com/ NOVA: Surviving AIDS - Web site includes information about the search for a vaccine and the global magnitude of AIDS. Site includes great photos, a quicktime movie on the life cycle of the HIV virus, and interesting maps showing the spread of HIV worldwide. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/aids/ |
|||
|
American College of Physicians Home Care Guide for HIV and AIDS. Peter S. Houts (Ed.). (American College of Physicians, 1998). AIDS and HIV-Related Diseases: An Educational Guide for Professionals and the Public. Josh Powell. (Insight Books, 1996) The Encyclopedia of AIDS: A Social, Political, Cultural, and Scientific Record of the HIV Epidemic. Raymond A. Smith (Ed.). (Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 1998) The Guide to Living with HIV Infection. John G. Bartlett, M.D. and Ann K. Finkbeiner. (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998) Sexual Ecology: AIDS and the Destiny of Gay Men. Gabriel Rotello. (Dutton, 1997) Strong Shadows: Scenes from an Inner City AIDS Clinic. Abigail Zuger, MD. (W.H. Freeman & Co., 1995) Surviving the Fall: The Personal Journey of an AIDS Doctor. Peter A. Selwyn. (Yale University Press, 1998) Vamps, Virgins and Victims: How Can Women Fight AIDS? Robin Gorna. (Cassell, London; 1996) |
|||
