THE TREATMENT OF H5N1 AVIAN INFLUENZA REPORT: RELEASED BY AETHLON MEDICAL Wednesday March 15, 4:05 pm ET SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)

aethlon_8kex99-1.txt

THE TREATMENT OF H5N1 AVIAN INFLUENZA REPORT: RELEASED BY AETHLON MEDICAL

Wednesday March 15, 4:05 pm ET

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 15, 2006--Aethlon Medical, Inc. (OTCBB:AEMD

-News), a pioneer in developing therapeutic devices for infectious disease,

disclosed this afternoon that Chairman and CEO, James A. Joyce, has authored a

report entitled; The Treatment of H5N1 Avian Influenza. The content of the

The intent of this paper is to analyze how current options for treating H5N1

Avian Flu infection may influence the commercialization of the Aethlon

Hemopurifier(TM), a therapeutic device targeted to modulate the immune response

and capture circulating H5N1 virus. In the face of an accelerating pandemic, the

present void in effective H5N1 treatments may dictate that the Hemopurifier(TM),

initially proposed as a treatment for drug resistant patients, evolves into an

important first-line treatment role. Mounting evidence explaining why H5N1 is

often fatal to those infected with the virus reinforces the opportunity of the

Hemopurifier(TM) as an essential weapon in the treatment arsenal against Avian

Scientists are increasingly worried that the H5N1 strain of Avian Flu will

mutate into a form easily passed between humans, triggering a global pandemic.

It already is unprecedented as an animal illness in its rapid expansion, and has

cost 300 million farmers more than $10 billion during its initial spread through

poultry around the world. World Health Organization (WHO) officials claim the

H5N1 strain of Avian Flu poses a greater challenge to the world than any other

infectious disease, including AIDS. WHO officials confirm that 101 of 180 people

have died H5N1 infection as of March 15(h), 2006.

In the face of such dire news, researchers are unraveling the mystery of why the

H5N1 strain of the Avian Flu virus is so lethal. It appears that H5N1

hyper-activates the immune response, a frightening trait inherent in the worst

pandemic killer known to man, the Spanish Flu of 1918, which caused the deaths

of over 40 million people. To provide perspective, it has taken 25 years for

AIDS related deaths to rise to such levels. In the case of H5N1 infection, viral

sepsis leading to major organ failure is often the cause of death. This is

triggered when the immune system over-responds to infection by releasing a

cascade of inflammatory cells and chemicals in what is known as a "Cytokine

Storm". As a result, the likelihood of death in individuals with robust immune

systems equals or exceeds the immune compromised who are normally most

susceptible to regular seasonal flu strains. Unfortunately, antiviral drugs are

unable to shut off a cytokine storm once it has been triggered.

Antiviral drugs being stockpiled as part of a global strategy to treat Avian Flu

have no therapeutic value once the cytokine storm has been triggered. At

present, only one antiviral, oseltamivir (Tamiflu) is known to offer some level

of effectiveness against the H5N1 strain of Avian Flu. However, Tamiflu is

indicated as a treatment for normal household varieties of influenza if

administered within 48 hours of first symptoms. The treatment window for an

ultra-virulent H5N1 strain is likely to narrow considerably. Reports already

indicate the potency of Tamiflu against the avian flu virus is reduced, even

when taken after 24 hours of the first symptoms of the disease. H5N1 resistance

to Tamiflu is already being reported in Southeast Asia.

Prolonged incubation combined with a short antiviral treatment window also

concerns researchers. Dr. Tim Uyeki, a medical epidemiologist with the influenza

branch of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) quoted the

following to the Wall Street Journal; "Patients aren't presenting (symptoms)

early in the illness. If the cytokine storm has already been triggered,

antiviral drugs aren't going to turn it off."

A successful global strategy against H5N1 will, at a minimum, have to rely on

therapeutics that can modulate the overproduction of cytokines. The March 2,

2006 issue of The Lancet reported that researchers at the well-regarded

Karolinska Institute in Stockholm are proposing the use of chemotherapy to kill

off excess immune cells as a means to curb the cytokine storm leading to viral

sepsis in H5N1 patients. While the concept may seem radical, researchers are

likely to agree that any treatment able to damp down the immune system might be

helpful. Unfortunately, taming the immune system without destroying defenses

against infection has yet to be demonstrated with drugs.

Until other treatments surface, health officials from the United States and

other nations continue a strategy of stockpiling Tamiflu. To date, the

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has ordered 12.4 million doses of

Tamiflu, and expects to have a stockpile of 20 million doses by the end of 2006.

Adjunctive antiviral therapies able to increase Tamiflu effectiveness will need

to surface if these stockpiles are to offer any hope of widespread benefit.

Regardless, the effectiveness of Tamiflu and other antiviral drugs ends once the

cytokine cascade is triggered.

The Hemopurifier(TM) to Treat Avian Flu

The Hemopurifier(TM) is presently the only proposed treatment for H5N1 Avian Flu

that simultaneously targets the clearance of H5N1 and the modulation of the

cytokine storm. The deployment of the Hemopurifier(TM) as a treatment for Avian

Flu is consistent with a corporate strategy to evolve the Hemopurifier as a

broad-spectrum treatment for drug and vaccine resistant pathogens. In this

context, the Hemopurifier(TM) was recently awarded the 2006 Technology

Innovation Award by global industry researcher, Frost & Sullivan. Specific to

H5N1 infection, the Hemopurifier(TM) represents a novel extracorporeal method to

mimic and boost the immune response, which should improve the effectiveness of

antiviral drugs when deployed as an adjunctive therapy. Once a cytokine storm

has been triggered, the Hemopurifier could serve as the first and perhaps only

option for treating H5N1 infected patients. Attributes and considerations for

deploying the Hemopurifier(TM) as a treatment for pandemic flu, include:

1. Rapid Clearance of H5N1 -The affinity agents immobilizedwithin

the Hemopurifier(TM) have broad-spectrum capabilities

tocapture envelope viruses by binding to glycosolated proteins

that reside on their surface. In the case of H5N1, the virus

capture is directed at two major surface glycoproteins, the

hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA), which are

availablebinding sites, even in the case of viral mutation. As

comparedto normal influenza, longer periods of incubation and

accessibility to circulating virus appear to be the norm in

H5N1 infection. The ability to clear H5N1 virus and viral

fragments prior to cell and organ infection, would

decreasecytokine production, inhibit disease progression, and

improvethe effectiveness of Tamiflu and other antiviral drugs.

2. Broad Clearance of Cytokines - The structure of

theHemopurifier(TM) vastly improves the potential to clear the

full spectrum of deleterious cytokines, as compared to