The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology devotes special issue to AIDS

Philadelphia – 31 July 2008 – The editors of The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology are pleased to announce the July issue, highlighting AIDS and AIDS research. The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (http://www.jacionline.org/) is the official journal of the American Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, and is published by Elsevier.

The issue coincides with the XVII International AIDS Conference, taking place at Centro Banamex, Mexico City, August 3 to 8, 2008. Donald M. Leung, Editor-in-Chief said, "AIDS is a topic of global importance and we believe that this collection of articles, written by some of the leading figures in HIV and AIDS research, will be of great interest to the many researchers and clinicians gathering in Mexico City."

Key papers include a review article by Barton F. Haynes from Duke University and Robin J. Shattock from St. George's University of London that summarizes some of the hurdles that researchers face in developing an HIV vaccine. Additionally, a mechanistic review by Susan Moir and Anthony S. Fauci from the National Institutes of Health's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases looks specifically at B-cell abnormalities associated with HIV, in the hopes that – as the authors state in their article – "A better understanding of the pathogenic mechanisms of B-cell abnormalities […] can potentially lead to new strategies for improving antibody responses."

Also, a Rostrum article by Lin Shen and Robert F. Siliciano from Johns Hopkins University argues that highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) must be combined with new techniques to attack the viral reservoirs that remain even after viral replication has been stopped.

Other issue highlights include original research from a National Institutes of Health multi-center group that finds an increased rate of asthma in HIV-infected children who are being treated with HAART; the report of genetic variations in the innate immune mannose lectin-binding pathway that changes the rate of HIV disease progression; and the laboratory advancement of measuring naïve and late activated cytotoxic T lymphocytes as a simpler method of measuring thymic function.

Subscribers can access the full content of each issue of The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology at the journal web site, www.jacionline.org. Institutional subscribers can access the journal through ScienceDirect, http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00916749.

Visitors to the XVII International AIDS Conference in Mexico City are encouraged to stop by the Elsevier display (Booth #503) to see the special AIDS issue and to learn how to subscribe to The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology subscriber.

The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, the official publication of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology (AAAAI), provides timely clinical papers, cutting-edge research, and comprehensive reviews in the fields of allergic disease and clinical immunology. The Editor-in-Chief is Donald YM Leung, MD, PhD. More information about the journal can be found online at http://www.jacionline.org/.

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