Drug Research Leads to New Treatments.
Extensive drug treatment research has been conducted in the basic biology of HIV disease, including greater understanding of how the virus attacks the immune system and causes disease. Scientifically based HIV prevention interventions tested by NIH and CDC has been demonstrated to change sexual and drug-using behavior and reduce the risk of transmission among a number of population groups. In 1997, President Clinton challenged the nation to commit itself to the goal of developing an AIDS vaccine within the next 10 years. NIH has continued to increase support for basic, preclinical, and clinical vaccine research on candidate vaccine products. The nation's investment in HIV-related research is also improving understanding and treatment of a wide spectrum of other infectious, malignant, neurological, autoimmune, and metabolic diseases.