"We can only fail if we stop too soon." Jonas Salk
The Global Consortium for Immunotherapy is a collaborative effort between the Human Futures Foundation and Human Biology Research Center at Hadassah University Hospital in Jerusalem dedicated to taking the Salk/Atlan immunotherapeutic approach in the treatment of HIV/AIDS to the HIV-infected popuation.
The research being pursued is the development of an original immunotherapeutic technique designed to treat autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes and others, including HIV/AIDS.
Therapy involving the technique centers upon manipulation of a small sample of a patient’s extracted T-cells (immune system cells which trigger immune response) which are manipulated in vitro prior to reincoculation in order to restore balance and proper function of the compromised immune system. Over time, in the course of therapy, a "post-infection vaccine effect" is sought enabling the immune system to function, in essence, as it once did prior to infection.
Currently, the laboratory in Jerusalem is the only research facility in the world applying the technique in the treatment of HIV-infected patients who do not respond sufficiently to antiviral therapy.
Phase 2 studies are underway at Hadassah and through the Human Futures Foundation/Hadassah collaboration are being extended to selected sites in South Africa and Brazil. If successful, the therapy could delay, perhaps indefinitely, the need for anti-retroviral medication in some individuals.
