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posted by CoolHand on Monday June 01 2015, @07:32AM   Printer-friendly
from the diabetic-diseases dept.

New strategy to halt HIV growth: block its sugar and nutrient pipeline. HIV has a voracious sweet tooth, which turns out to be its Achilles' heel, reports a new study from Northwestern Medicine and Vanderbilt University.

After the virus invades an activated immune cell, it craves sugar and nutrients from the cell to replicate and fuel its wild growth throughout the body.

Scientists discovered the switch that turns on the immune cell's abundant sugar and nutrient pipeline. Then they blocked the switch with an experimental compound, shutting down the pipeline, and, thereby, starving HIV to death. The virus was unable to replicate in human cells in vitro.

The discovery may have applications in treating cancer, which also has an immense appetite for sugar and other nutrients in the cell, which it needs to grow and spread.

http://www.northwestern.edu/newscenter/stories/2015/05/hivs-sweet-tooth-is-its-downfall.html

[Abstract]: http://journals.plos.org/plospathogens/article?id=10.1371/journal.ppat.1004864


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  • (Score: 2) by opinionated_science on Tuesday June 02 2015, @04:23AM

    by opinionated_science (4031) on Tuesday June 02 2015, @04:23AM (#191021)

    when running your expenditure determines the body's use of resources, not the other way around. However, the accumulation of lactic acid and lack of glucose, will of course, cause the feeling of fatigue. The trick is not to run so fast, and aim for 60% aerobic potential. The body is then able to gently shift from stored glycogen to ketosis. After approximately 40 mins, you can start to increase pace and find the sweet spot for your personal metabolism.

    This has all been clinically documented, only I'm in no position to find the citations right now - the study was on marathon runners and calorific consumption, but it was a while since I read it.

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