PEOPLE with HIV have a surprisingly active thymus, an organ at the base of
the neck that sends out immune cells but winds down with age.
Researchers assumed that anyone with HIV would have an inactive thymus due to
attack by the virus and normal ageing. But when Michael McCune of the University
of California at San Francisco examined 99 adults with HIV, 47 had abundant
thymus tissue (Journal of Clinical Investigation, vol 101, p 2301).
An active thymus may help the immune system rebound after antiviral therapy.
“I think it provides hope that immune reconstitution is going to be possible,”
says McCune.
