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TUESDAY, April 29 (HealthDay News) -- Most drugs aimed at suppressing HIV target proteins lying on the virus itself, but new research suggests that focusing on the human host's immune cells might work even better.

That's because human cells mutate at much slower rates than does HIV, so the virus would have much less chance of mutating around the drug, scientists explained.

The research is still in its early stages, but it "provides a very nice model that you can inhibit a cellular protein and affect HIV replication," explained co-senior author Dr. Pamela Schwartzberg, a senior investigator at the U.S. National Human Genome Research Institute.

Her team published the findings in this week's edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Almost all antiretroviral drugs work by targeting a viral protein. But HIV replicates continually, raising the odds for drug-resistant mutations. For this reason, HIV-positive patients must often take two or three different medications, so that if one drug fails, the others will still fend off the virus.

But there's another player in HIV infection: the human immune system T-cell, the virus' preferred host. T-cells carry their own surface proteins, but because humans replicate much less often than HIV, the odds of developing drug-resistant genetic mutations are much lower.

"If you are looking to affect a human protein, it's going to be much less susceptible to the process of developing resistance," explained Rowena Johnston, vice president of research at The Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) in New York City.

In their research, Schwartzberg and co-senior author Andrew Henderson, of Boston University, decided to focus on a T-cell protein called interleukin-2-inducible T-cell kinase (ITK). ITK is a "signaling" protein that works in a variety of ways to activate T-cells.

An activated T-cell is the ideal host for HIV, Schwartzberg pointed out, and ITK appears to be crucial to HIV's invasion and spread.

"We found that there were several cellular processes in T-cells that HIV needs to use and that ITK was important to," she said. "In fact, it seems to affect three stages in the HIV life cycle. That was a real surprise to us."

But would inhibiting ITK inhibit HIV? The researchers got help in answering that question from the pharmaceutical industry, which has been developing ITK inhibitor drugs as possible anti-asthma medications.

In laboratory experiments, Schwartzberg and Henderson used these experimental ITK inhibitors -- as well as another technique, called RNA interference -- to reduce ITK activity in HIV-infected T-cells.

"We could see rather dramatic effects on HIV replication in T-cells," Schwartzberg said.

Without active ITK in host T-cells, HIV found it much harder to enter the cell and to transcribe its genetic material into new viral particles, the team found. "The effect was quite strong over the course of a week, which was the length of time that we looked at," Schwartzberg said.

Of course, ITK is important to the proper function of immune T-cells, so questions remain as to whether its suppression might have unwanted side effects, such as a weakening of immune function. But experiments in mice suggest these effects might be minimal.

ITK-suppressed mice did have impaired immune function, but it was mostly confined to a specific type of response -- the defense the body mounts against allergies and asthma, Schwartzberg said. In other respects, ITK-suppressed cells appeared to "function in many circumstances, and they can fight off many infections," she noted.

Still, it's a long way from research in the test tube and in mice to human clinical trials. But the promise of a human cell-based HIV medication that attacks the virus at three different spots in its life cycle is hugely attractive, Johnston said.

"The virus would have to mutate in three different ways at once to overcome this ITK effect," she said. "It's not impossible, the virus can do it, but it would take a very long time."

Dampening down T-cell activity might not be such a bad idea, either, Johnston added, since HIV thrives on fully activated T-cells.

Schwartzberg said her team will continue to investigate the biological mechanisms underpinning the ITK-HIV relationship. In the meantime, she is optimistic that the drug industry will take up the gauntlet, in terms of clinical research.

"We hope that one of these companies that have developed ITK inhibitors will try and pursue this -- that would be wonderful," Schwartzberg said.

More information

For more on the fight against HIV/AIDS, head to amFAR  .

MONDAY, April 28 (HealthDay News) -- The number of women starting their pregnancies with type 1 or type 2 diabetes has doubled since 1999, but rates of gestational diabetes have stayed the same, new research finds.

In some age groups, the results were even worse. Researchers from Kaiser Permanente found that the number of teenagers who had diabetes before birth jumped fivefold.

"It's important to recognize with the increase in overweight and obesity, more women than ever will be entering their reproductive years with diabetes," said study author Jean Lawrence, a research scientist at Kaiser Permanente Bellflower Medical Center, in Bellflower, Calif.

And, she added, "having diabetes during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage early in pregnancy and the risk of stillbirth later in pregnancy. It also increases the chances of having a baby with birth defects, and it may result in larger babies and more difficult deliveries."

Results of the study are published in the May issue of Diabetes Care.

Past research has focused on the number of women who develop diabetes during pregnancy, which is called gestational diabetes, and generally disappears after the baby is born.

The new study, which included 175,249 women who gave birth from 1999 to 2005, also included women with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. All of the women in the study were treated at one of 11 Kaiser Permanente hospitals in southern California. Fifty-two percent of the women were Hispanic, 26 percent were white, 11 percent were Asian/Pacific Islanders, and 10 percent were black, according to the study.

Preexisting diabetes -- type 1 or type 2 -- was found in 1.3 percent of all pregnancies. In 1999, the rate of preexisting diabetes was 0.81 per 100 births; by 2005, that number had jumped to 1.82 per 100 births.

But, during that six-year period, gestational diabetes rates remained nearly unchanged. In 1999, 7.5 women per 100 births had gestational diabetes; in 2005, it was 7.4 women per 100 births.

What did change during the study period was the proportion of preexisting diabetes compared to gestational diabetes. In 1999, of all pregnancies affected by diabetes, 10 percent were due to preexisting diabetes, while 90 percent were due to gestational diabetes. In 2005, 21 percent of women had preexisting diabetes, compared to 79 percent with gestational diabetes, according to the study.

The researchers also noted some differences in race and age. Black, Hispanic and Asian/Pacific women were more likely to have diabetes before birth, and teens and women over 40 experienced dramatic jumps in their pre-pregnancy diabetes rates. Teen mothers saw a fivefold increase in preexisting diabetes, while mothers over 40 saw a 40 increase in the rate of pre-pregnancy diabetes.

Experts blame much of the increase on the rising trend of overweight and obesity.

"We saw an increase in type 2 diabetes. That's due to the increase in overweight and obesity. Also, type 2 is being diagnosed at younger ages," said Lawrence, who suggested that women do whatever they can to reduce their risk of type 2 diabetes by eating a healthful diet, maintaining a proper weight and being active. She said there's no known way to prevent type 1 diabetes.

Dr. Stuart Weiss, an endocrinologist at the New York University Langone Medical Center, said he "was surprised that the incidence of gestational diabetes wasn't up."

For women who know they have diabetes before pregnancy, Weiss advised: "Control your blood glucose levels as aggressively as possible. Control isn't easy to do, because you have to have adequate nutrition and still control your blood sugar."

But, he added, it's crucial to try, because it may help prevent some of the serious complications associated with diabetes.

More information

To learn more about diabetes and pregnancy, visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

WEDNESDAY, April 9 (HealthDay News) -- Social anxiety disorder prevents some 15 million Americans from leading normal social and romantic lives, a new survey finds.

The disorder leaves many isolated, ashamed and often misdiagnosed. Thirty-six percent of those with social anxiety disorder have symptoms for 10 years or more before seeking help, the Anxiety Disorders Association of America reports.

"Social anxiety disorder is when somebody has an intense, persistent and irrational fear of social or performance situations," Jerilyn Ross, the association's president and CEO, said during a teleconference Wednesday.

"The condition causes people to avoid common, everyday situations and even other people for fear of being judged or criticized or humiliated or embarrassing themselves," Ross said.

Social anxiety disorder can interfere with daily routines and job performance, Ross noted. "It also makes it very difficult for people to develop friends and romantic partnerships," she said.

People with this disorder recognize their fear is excessive and irrational, Ross noted. "But they feel powerless to do anything about it," she said.

Social anxiety disorder can start in the early teens, Dr. Mark H. Pollack, director of the Center for Anxiety and Traumatic Stress Disorders and a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, said during the teleconference.

"This is a disorder that starts affecting people early on," Pollack said. "The typical age of onset is early adolescence, age 12 or 13, and many individuals report a history of anxiety dating back to earlier childhood."

The disorder also has physical symptoms, including heart palpitations, feelings that their throat will close up, sweating, blushing, faintness, trembling and stammering, Ross said.

In the survey, pollsters questioned 578 people with anxiety, 276 people with obsessive-compulsive disorder, and 287 people with social anxiety disorder.

Among people with the disorder, 75 percent said the condition affected their ability to do normal activities. In addition, 69 percent said they didn't want people to think they were crazy, and 58 percent said they were embarrassed by their condition, Ross said.

However, when the condition is diagnosed and treated, many reported improvement in their lives. In fact, 59 percent who were receiving treatment said treatment had a positive effect on their ability to have a romantic relationship. In addition, 39 percent who had received treatment said knowing that treatment can be successful aided their decision to get help, Ross noted.

The disorder can be effectively treated. Among the techniques that have been successful is cognitive behavior therapy, which helps people get a sense of control over their lives, Ross said.

In addition, relaxation techniques and medications have also been effective. Combination therapy that includes behavior therapy and medications has also been effective. Commonly prescribed medications include various types of antidepressants.

Among other key survey findings were:

• Thirty-four percent reported that their condition caused serious fights with their significant others.
• Seventy-seven percent said the disorder negatively impacted their romantic relationships.
• Thirty-five percent said having social anxiety disorder made them avoid intimacy.
• Twenty-four percent reported that the disorder resulted in their significant other not respecting them.
• Fifty-five percent said they had no close friends.
• Sixty-six percent reported having misunderstandings with friends, and 50 percent said they did not tell their friends about their symptoms.
• More than 60 percent didn't keep in touch with friends or answer or return their phone calls.

More information

For more about social anxiety disorder, visit the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health.