A drug, which allows to slow down the development of the HIV infection inducing AIDS, doesn’t help to prevent a damage of an organ, bolstering organism’s immune system, by a virus.

This organ, called thymus (a fork-like or crop gland located to the right and to the left from trachea), plays a vital role at the early stages of a child growth when a human immune system starts developing. This gland actively grows in young ages. It participates in a blood generation process, producing lymphocytes, controls man’s height, regulates organism’s general development, and forms immune system.

Babies, receiving a HIV-virus in a mother’s utera, are subjected to the immune system problems development owing to thymus damage.

HIV-infected pregnant mothers are often given the AZT, a drug which helps to prevent penetration of the virus in an embryo. For HIV-infected children and adults, the AZT helps to control and even stop rapid growth of the virus in a blood. The main task for scientists in the long run is to develop a therapeutical strategy of thymus protection.

Researchers of the State University of Ohio tested the AZT on a thymus of kittens infected with a FIV-virus which behaves similar to the HIV-infection and induces similar diseases in cats’ organism. Despite the AZT helped to control and even stop the FIV-virus growth in blood and thymus, the virus was still able to significantly damage thymus physically. “This disadvantage in the AZT protective function has surprised us”, said Larry Mates, the co-author of the research and a veterinary biology professor of the said University. “This tells that baby’s anti-virus therapy should be combined with a treatment with other drugs to restore thymus functionality”.

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