
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, April 4, 1991                   TAG: 9104040238
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-9   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: BOSTON                                LENGTH: Short

RESEARCHERS: BODY FIGHTS AIDS INFECTION

The body launches a stunning counterattack in the first weeks of an AIDS infection, killing the virus by the billions, and learning to harness this power could provide new weapons for fighting the disease, researchers report.

Two teams, working independently, have found that during the initial weeks of its invasion, the virus reproduces unchecked and reaches massive levels in the bloodstream. But then the body's own defense system comes to life and drives the virus back, reducing it to minimal levels.

The intensity of this countermeasure surprises researchers, especially considering that it eventually fails. Even though the AIDS virus (HIV) is pushed into the background, it regains the upper hand years later and again grows explosively, this time killing its human host. - Associated Press

by CNB