SAN FRANCISCO CITY CLINIC COHORT STUDY
Research Questions:
- What puts men at risk for becoming HIV infected and developing AIDS?
- What are the underlying biological mechanisms that protect against HIV disease progression?
Study Design
The San Francisco City Clinic Cohort Study grew out of studies of hepatitis B infection in 6,704 men who have sex with men from 1978-1981. In collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control, we contacted men from the original study to participate in this study, the longest-standing of its kind.
From this cohort, we identified a group of long-term non-progressors (LTNP). LTNP are people who are HIV infected, but have limited disease progression without using anti-HIV medication.
This study examines how the bodies of LTNPs work to fight the disease, to see if their immune responses can be mimicked in drugs or vaccines, in order to benefit others.
The results suggest a combination of both genetics and immune response are at play. Gaining further insight into these protective immune responses may help inform how effective HIV vaccines are designed in the future.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |