Cancer patients have been left free of the disease after being treated with a new drug which harnesses the power of their own immune cells.

Four of 38 patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma have seen the disease complete regressions following treatment, while five others saw reductions of 50 per cent in their tumours.

While the trials were only carried out on patients with blood cancer, it is hoped the methods can be adapted to tackle other cancers

The drug, which could prove cheaper than other therapies that try to achieve the same effect with cells, works by activating the body's own defences to attack the cancer.

The results have been described as an "exciting" and "significant" development in the use of immunotherapy, the process of using the body's own immune system to fight disease.

While the trials were only carried out on patients with the blood cancer, it is hoped the methods can be adapated to tackle other cancers...

...Earlier this year doctors announced that a patient with advanced skin cancer was free of the disease two years after they injected him with billions of his own immune cells using a different method. However, experts warned at the time that the process could prove extremely expensive.

The development of the drug could prove a much cheaper alternative way of providing immunotherapy treatments.

The treatment works like a vaccine and could be available within five years. Cells would be taken from the body, altered, and injected back into the affected joint.

A team at Newcastle University will now test the vaccine on volunteers with the disease...

...The vaccine works by reprogramming the body's own immune cells.

Using chemicals, steroids and Vitamin D, the team has devised a way to manipulate a patient's white blood cells so they surpress, rather than activate, the immune system.

It is thought the cells will then act as a brake on the over-reacting immune system and stop it attacking its own joints.

Although a similar technique has been used in cancer research, this is the first time it has been adapted to rheumatoid arthritis.

Prof Silman said the treatment may prove expensive as each patient would have to have their own cells taken and manipulated rather than a drug which can be made in bulk and prescribed to all people with a condition.

He said it would be unlikely that the vaccine could be offered in normal local hospitals because of the expertise necessary to manipulate the cells in the laboratory.

Researchers have announced that very early studies of the seizure medication valproic acid indicate the medication may help "flush out" HIV from remote areas in the body that are difficult to reach with conventional therapies. The very small trial combined conventional HIV medications with the seizure medication valproic acid.

For years, scientists have tried without success to attack the HIV hidden deep in the DNA of human cells. This latent (not presently active) HIV lays in wait for an opportunity to multiply and flourish, usually in the absence of effective HIV treatment. Scientist theorize that if they could eliminate this collection of latent HIV, the possibly then exists that HIV could be totally cleared from the body. Simply put, scientists believe if the latent HIV can be attacked, the potential for a cure is greatly increased.

A woman who has never shown symptoms of infection with the AIDS virus may hold the secret to defeating the virus, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.

Infected at least 10 years ago by her husband, the woman is able somehow to naturally control the deadly and incurable virus -- even though her husband must take cocktails of strong HIV drugs to control his.

She is a so-called "elite suppressor," and studies of her immune cells have begun to offer clues to how her body does it, the team at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore said.

"This is the best evidence to date that elite suppressors can have fully pathogenic virus," said Dr. Joel Blankson, who led the study...

... Both the man and the woman, who are from Baltimore, were diagnosed 10 years ago, Blankson said. The husband is a former injecting drug user.

Tests showed that immune cells known as CD8 T-cells from the wife stalled HIV replication by as much as 90 percent, while the husband's T-cells stopped it by only 30 percent, Blankson's team reported in the Journal of Virology.

Her virus has also mutated in apparent response to this immune attack, becoming weaker, while her husband's virus has remained strong.

"Elite suppression offers clues to vaccine researchers on many fronts: how CD8 killer T-cells can attack HIV and how a stronger immune response can force HIV into a permanent defensive state," Blankson said.

"We are trying to figure out exactly how the T-cells work in her to inhibit viral replication," he added. "We are just trying to see what kind of cytokines they make."

According to Chinese authorities, preliminary tests of its first AIDS vaccine indicate it could protect people against the HIV virus.
The State Food and Drug Administration says of the 49 healthy men and women, aged 18-50 who took part in a first phase trial, none experienced severe adverse reactions.

The participants were divided into eight groups and were sampled 5 to 10 times during the 180-day period of the trial after taking both low and high dosages.

The researchers say they showed a reasonably positive immune response towards the virus, and the higher the dosage, the better their reaction.

The group also received DNA fragments of HIV-1 and according to the research team, some developed immunity to HIV-1 two weeks after being vaccinated; this they believe indicates that the vaccine stimulates the immune system.

The researchers are still analysing the trial results before making a decision on whether further tests should be carried out.

The vaccine has been tested on children in Africa who died and is being tested on children in the U.S. right now. The fate of other "volunteers" is not known, having been kept as a virtual state secret by the health establishment.