A study of research on AIDS by the National Institutes of Health says there is new hope for developing a vaccine against the disease and that the effort should be intensified.
The study, by the Institute of Medicine, also called for an increase in basic research and spending, a fine-tuning of the NIH management organization directed toward AIDS and development of a five-year plan.Recent advances in research on human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, that causes AIDS "give considerable cause for optimism about the prospects for an HIV vaccine, although many scientific obstacles remain to be overcome," the study said.
To speed the progress, the report said the NIH "should expand its vaccine research program and furnish strong support for agents that show promise."
It called for an agencywide panel of top scientists to monitor progress and identify research needs.
The report said more work is needed in basic research in areas such as immunology, virology and molecular biology, all of which would contribute to understanding and combating AIDS and "other diseases of the present and future."
The study called for a closer coordination and communication between various research units.