The Missing Link

Hoping to find the common thread among HIVers who are 'elite controllers,' researchers have announced the creation of the HIV Elite Controller Collaborative Study. The goal is to enroll up to 1,000 of these elite controllers'untreated people with HIV whose viral load is so low that it cannot be detected by standard tests'for a controlled study that may point to HIV treatments or a vaccine. The collaborative study has so far enrolled a few hundred patients, but to find shared genetic traits in a scientifically valid study, larger numbers of elite controllers are required. For study enrollment details, visit www.massgeneral.org/ aids/hiv_elite_controllers.asp.