HIV Vaccines

To notify the truth, no successful HIV vaccines have been invented yet, to cure the deadly disease of AIDS. A death toll of over 25 million since 1985 has created an urgency to take over a rigorous research for developing HIV vaccines. All research, with the help of monoclonal antibodies, concluded, that there are possibilities to defend and treat HIV partially, with the help of vaccines. Another alternative of HIV vaccines, is called HAART (Highly Active Antiretrovial Therapy). Though, this therapy does not cure the person from HIV, it stabilizes the patient's symptoms.

There have been several studies to develop HIV vaccines. But most of them were incompetent. Each phase of research introduced a new approach to transit into another research. However, they could not be successful. The reason was, all those vaccines were not broad enough to account for the genetic divergence of HIV.

Nevertheless, vaccines were developed which may be classified under:

1. Therapeutic HIV vaccines: This vaccine controls or treats those patients who are already detected as HIV positive. Preparing therapeutic vaccines is the biggest challenge being faced by the scientists today and none of the formulae has been completely approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Therapeutic vaccines do not assure complete recovery from HIV. To make the matter worse, it often curtails time off treatment and increases viral loads. The ALVAC 1452 vaccine yielded even worse side effects. The paradox of these vaccines were, instead of producing anti-HIV CD 8 cells that destroy HIV infected cells, it produces more of CD 4 cells, that rather supports the generation of more HIV virus.

   Due to all these reasons, research for therapeutic vaccines have been a complete failure. There are no reliable vaccines, which can be termed as the solution for this disease.

2. Preventive HIV vaccines: It aims to set precaution amongst the HIV negative people, so that they do not fall prey to HIV. These vaccines adapt our immune system is a way, so that it attacks the HIV microorganisms the moment they feel their presence. The success rate of preventive HIV vaccines has been far more appreciable than therapeutic vaccines, as it modifies our immune system much before the contraction of HIV. This means no fear of getting affected with HIV at all.

   Types of preventive HIV vaccines:

   • Subunit HIV vaccine- It enables the body to produce an anti-HIV immune reaction, when this vaccine enters the body. However, being the first successful preventive HIV vaccines, it may not always be very effective.
   • Recombinant Vector Vaccines- These vaccines produce HIV check proteins that can produce anti-HIV immune responses. The rate of production of these proteins are fast and quantitative, which makes the anti-HIV response stronger than the one produced by subunit vaccines.
   • DNA vaccines- DNA materials, consisting of HIV genes are inserted into the body with the help of these this HIV vaccine. Our cells react with these DNAs to produce HIV proteins, to further produce anti-HIV immune responses.

Most of the HIV vaccines come under preventive HIV vaccines, so that it can reduce the transmission of the disease. However, for those who are already infected with the disease, are given antiretroviral therapy, which is considered more effective than therapeutic vaccines. Yet, none of these methods have completely brought a definite solution to this epidemic.