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(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Blood types may help determine whether a person can build resistance to contracting HIV or increase their chances of avoiding the virus altogether.
An international team of Canadian and Swedish scientists discovered patients who produced an excess of a carbohydrate-containing antigen known as the Pk blood group had a reduced sensitivity to HIV infection. The researchers also found a subgroup of patients who did not produce any Pk to be much more susceptible to the virus.
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"This study is not suggesting that your blood type alone determines if you will get HIV, however, it does suggest that individuals who are exposed to the virus, may be helped or hindered by their blood status fighting the infection," Donald Branch, Ph.D., lead author and scientist at the Canadian Blood services in Ottowa, Ontario, was quoted as saying.
Other researchers add this discovery paves the way for novel therapeutic approaches to induce HIV resistance, as well as create a better understanding of the pandemic.
SOURCE: Blood, published online January 12, 2009
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