Page Title

F O C U = S

Vol. 8, Issue 9, May 1, 2012

<= span lang=3Den-US style=3D'font-size:7.6949pt;font-family:Verdana;language:en-= US'>Your email will NEVER be sold or provided to groups outside= of GMTF. Questions/comments or to be removed f= rom our mailing list, please email us at fdh@mtgayhe= alth.org or call (toll-free) 888-713-4683. Check out our website at: www.mtgayhe= alth.org. FOC= US is made possible through fu= nding provided by the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Service= s (DPHHS), HIV/STD Prevention Section

GMTF Members:

Jace Dyckman (Billing= s)

Steven Barrios (Browning)

Brian Flikkema (Bozeman)

Frank Gary (Butte)

Corey Gross (Great Falls)

Tom Gocksch (Helena)

Eric Hall (Polson)

Brad Nelson (Kalispell)

MpowerMT (Core group):

Brady Rowe (Missoula)

Nathan Sherrod (Billing= s)

Our Staff (Missoula):

David Herrera — Director

Jon Freeland — Associate Dir.

Chantz Thilmony — Outreach / MpowerMT Super= visor

May

5 — The 2nd Annual Copper Cotillion! Shine your shoes and join BASS for a evening of music & dancing a= t the Finlen Hotel from 7 - 10pm. [Butte]

18 — 20 —= Rising Hope: HIV+ & Partne= rs Retreat. A retreat for HIV+ men & women and their partners (spouse, family= member, friend, etc). For more info email FDH<= /a>. [Helena]

25 — We Can Turn Back Time: A drag show/fundr= aiser! Join Rosalinda De La Luna and Miss Jade as they host a special fundra= iser at the Jolly Corks from 10pm — 2am. Theme of the night is 80s and proc= eeds benefit the Elks Youth Scholarship and the De La Luna Foundation. [Missoula]

26 — Prom Do-over. At the = Hilton Garden Inn. This is a safe secure and private party for anyone and e= veryone (18+) who wants to give prom one last chance. Tickets required and = are $10 or $15 for two. For info email: Cole= , Morgan or Allison at YAP<= /a>: 245-2029. [Billings]

For more events, cl= ick here!

A new study offers insight into why an HIV vaccin= e failed to protect most people who received it, but it also points to prom= ising new targets for future vaccine efforts.

Scientists believe an HIV vaccine, designed to pr= event infection with the virus that causes AIDS, is still several years awa= y. Tests of experimental vaccines have largely been failures so far.=

Nevertheless, the prospect of a vaccine remains t= antalizing because it could make a major dent in the spread of HIV and AIDS= around the world.

The new research "gives us a handle on how t= he immune system deals with the virus and is affected by a vaccine," s= aid study lead author Dr. Barton Haynes, director at the Duke Human Vaccine= Institute at Duke University in Durham, N.C. "It gives us clues and a= firm direction to look into."

The study is based on work by more than 100 scien= tists from 25 institutions, and appears in the April 5 issue of the New Eng= land Journal of Medicine.

Haynes and his colleagues examined the results of= a 2009 study of an HIV vaccine in Thailand. In a trial involving more than= 16,000 people, the vaccine appeared to cut the risk of infection by only 3= 1 percent. That was still considered a major advance over previous vaccines= that didn't work at all, Haynes noted.

The vaccine, called RV144, wasn't ready for prime= time because it didn't protect enough people, Haynes said. "You want = to get it above 50 percent," he said, and some scientists believe the = rate should be even higher than that.

Despite the vaccine's failure, the authors of the= new study were able to use the data to learn more about how the immune sys= tem deals with HIV and how the vaccine changes the "big picture" = of the body's response to the virus.

The new research is an "exhaustive molecular= analysis," said Dr. Lindsey Baden, an associate professor of medicine= in the infectious disease division at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Bost= on who co-wrote a commentary accompanying the study.

Haynes said one surprising finding is about an an= tibody -- a soldier of the immune system -- that helps protect against infl= uenza infection. Ironically, the antibody appears to boost the likelihood o= f HIV infection, he said.

To view the complete article, CLICK HERE!<= /p>

From a Failed Vaccine, New Insights Into Fighting HIV

Scientists are sifting the data to see w= hat elements of RV144 inoculation worked

By Randy Dotinga ~ April 4, 2012