SIU professor finds possible cure for herpes
Kari Williams
Issue date: 1/26/10 Section: News
Halford said he diluted the herpes virus in his vaccine so it does not cause complications. If the virus had not been diluted there was potential for the recipient to contract herpes instead of being cured of it.
"When a virus enters your body, there is a layer of your immune defenses that go up immediately, and it's called the interferon system because it interferes with viral replication … what I've done is gone into Herpes Simplex Virus Type Two and tweaked one of the protons that counteracts the interferon system," Halford said. "What that does is it takes the virus that in nature is very, very resistant to interferon and now it becomes very, very sensitive. So, when you infect somebody with it, their defenses go up, and the virus just quits replicating."
Because the possible cure consists of injecting a live herpes virus into individuals-a method which has only been tested on rats-skeptics arise, according to Halford.
"[The herpes virus] can literally kill people. So when you say, 'Now what I want to do is deliberately infect people with Herpes Simplex Virus Type Two'…what they hear is you directly want to infect people with Herpes Simplex Virus Type Two. So, that's where the controversy comes in because they go, 'How could that possibly be safe?'" Halford said.
Most individuals who oppose the method, according to Halford, only view the possibility from one point of view.
"My training is in virology, the study of viruses, and my other training is in the study of the host immune system. Most of the people that are critics have their training solely in virology, so they're thinking of it purely from the standpoint of the virus," Halford said.
Greenwalt said positive things will come from a cure for herpes.
"Even though most people think that herpes is non-lethal, you have worldwide deaths from herpes. If it's a bad enough infection, you can die from it. So, if herpes gets in your eyes or along your mucus membranes or anything like that it can be quite severe," Greenwalt said.
Halford said new technologies have been developed since 1970 when live vaccines were first looked into. Some scientists, according to Halford, fear using a vaccine strain of herpes could cause individuals to become infected, but said his research proves otherwise.
"We know a great deal about viruses that we didn't know before and how to do genetic engineering, and we haven't really taken advantage of that technology, and that's basically what I'm doing," Halford said. "We've been so indebted in this dogma that everyone considers it dangerous, that nobody really considers the possibility … It's sort of like an ostrich with their head stuck in the sand saying, 'So we're just not going to look at the possibility.'"
Halford said he hopes to have his finding published by August and clinical trials beginning in two to three years after presenting his finding to the Food and Drug Administration or another company in order to fund further research.
"When a virus enters your body, there is a layer of your immune defenses that go up immediately, and it's called the interferon system because it interferes with viral replication … what I've done is gone into Herpes Simplex Virus Type Two and tweaked one of the protons that counteracts the interferon system," Halford said. "What that does is it takes the virus that in nature is very, very resistant to interferon and now it becomes very, very sensitive. So, when you infect somebody with it, their defenses go up, and the virus just quits replicating."
Because the possible cure consists of injecting a live herpes virus into individuals-a method which has only been tested on rats-skeptics arise, according to Halford.
"[The herpes virus] can literally kill people. So when you say, 'Now what I want to do is deliberately infect people with Herpes Simplex Virus Type Two'…what they hear is you directly want to infect people with Herpes Simplex Virus Type Two. So, that's where the controversy comes in because they go, 'How could that possibly be safe?'" Halford said.
Most individuals who oppose the method, according to Halford, only view the possibility from one point of view.
"My training is in virology, the study of viruses, and my other training is in the study of the host immune system. Most of the people that are critics have their training solely in virology, so they're thinking of it purely from the standpoint of the virus," Halford said.
Greenwalt said positive things will come from a cure for herpes.
"Even though most people think that herpes is non-lethal, you have worldwide deaths from herpes. If it's a bad enough infection, you can die from it. So, if herpes gets in your eyes or along your mucus membranes or anything like that it can be quite severe," Greenwalt said.
Halford said new technologies have been developed since 1970 when live vaccines were first looked into. Some scientists, according to Halford, fear using a vaccine strain of herpes could cause individuals to become infected, but said his research proves otherwise.
"We know a great deal about viruses that we didn't know before and how to do genetic engineering, and we haven't really taken advantage of that technology, and that's basically what I'm doing," Halford said. "We've been so indebted in this dogma that everyone considers it dangerous, that nobody really considers the possibility … It's sort of like an ostrich with their head stuck in the sand saying, 'So we're just not going to look at the possibility.'"
Halford said he hopes to have his finding published by August and clinical trials beginning in two to three years after presenting his finding to the Food and Drug Administration or another company in order to fund further research.
Viewing Comments 1 - 5 of 7
Basimah
posted 1/25/10 @ 9:53 PM CST
I pray more and more everyday that GOD takes this virus from my friend...Im so scared because the fact that me or her don't know anything about..but the symtons. (Continued…)
SmilingOne
Basimah
posted 1/25/10 @ 9:58 PM CST
I pray more and more everyday that GOD takes this virus from my friend...Im so scared because the fact that me or her don't know anything about..but the symtons. (Continued…)
Sally Smith
posted 1/26/10 @ 11:21 AM CST
I have followed herpes related research for several years and do not believe that this article accurately represents what Dr. Halford would have said, especially in the use of the term "cure". (Continued…)
Chris
posted 2/21/10 @ 8:27 PM CST
If you are so sure god is going to send down magical cures from the sky then why ask us to contact you? Try donating to scientific institutes who actually figure things out and develop cures. (Continued…)
hassan
posted 3/14/10 @ 7:30 PM CST
herpes2
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