Strategies for improving your immune health: The different approaches to improving your immune system

January 2007     View PDF     En español

Are immune therapies available?

The most available treatment shown to improve immune health is potent anti-HIV therapy. Studies show that its use can increase CD4+ cell counts, decrease immune activation associated with disease progression, and help the immune system control serious infections. In theory, anti-HIV therapy does this by slowing the destruction of the immune system, allowing the immune system to naturally repair and strengthen itself.

Increasingly anti-HIV therapy is being used later in HIV disease, once major damage to the immune system has already occurred. The main reason for starting therapy later is because of side effect concerns. However, some people choose to start therapy earlier in hopes of preventing the destruction of the immune system. This is reasonable, but over time there may be a price to pay in terms of side effects, drug resistance, and the impact of taking drugs on quality of life.

Other therapies that are not proven but are being studied include interleukin-2, human growth hormone and therapeutic HIV vaccines. This list is not exhaustive, nor does it include the many immune therapies that have been tested over time.

Interleukin-2
Interleukin-2 (IL-2, Proleukin) is a natural immune chemical. It greatly improves the production of CD4+ cells, increasing their number in people using anti-HIV therapy. It is the most widely studied immune therapy for HIV. Two large international studies are underway to determine if IL-2 can improve life and extend quality of life in people with HIV. Some evidence suggests that it may also extend the lifespan of CD4+ cells. For more information on IL-2, read Project Inform’s publications, IL-2 and Taking IL-2.

Human growth hormone
Human growth hormone (HGH, Serostim) is approved for treating HIV wasting syndrome and weight loss. Recent observations that it may enhance the size and function of a very important immune organ, called the thymus, have led to a study of HGH for immune restoration in people with HIV. The thymus lies behind the breast bone and in front of the heart. CD4+ cells (T cells) begin in bone marrow and then move onto the thymus where they mature. (This is why they’re called T cells; the T stands for thymus or thymocyte.) Without a properly functioning thymus, it’s doubtful that a person with a severely weakened immune system could reach full immune restoration.

Therapeutic vaccines
Several therapeutic vaccines are now in studies. A therapeutic vaccine is used for treating someone already living with HIV rather than preventing it. The goal is to teach the immune system to better recognize and destroy HIV. By giving these vaccines to people living with HIV, researchers hope to train their immune systems to better control the virus. Currently, these vaccines are being studied together with anti-HIV therapy.