Cells in patients’ blood infected with HIV vanish after an experimental treatment. Scientists from five different universities in the United Kingdom said that they might be close to finding the cure for HIV after an experimental drug they have used in treatment caused the HIV to disappear from the blood of a 44-year-old man. The patient revealed that he had a blood test just a few weeks ago and the virus is no longer detectable in his blood. PROGRESS TOWARDS CURE FOR HIV IS REMARKABLE The Managing Director of the National Institute for Health Research, Mark Samuels, said that they had been looking into the possibility of finding a cure for HIV.
He went on to say that while it was still a big challenge and it is still early days at the moment, the progress that has been made already is still remarkable. At the moment treatment for HIV is by antiretroviral therapy and this includes medications in a series that suppress the virus’s growth. The issue with ART is that it is not able to see the cells afflicted with HIV that are dormant, and these cells can wake up and then go on to infect the patient. A consultant from the Imperial College in London, Sarah Fidler, said that the therapy had been specifically designed to rid the human body of the entire HIV and this includes any dormant cells. NEW THERAPY IS IN TWO DIFFERENT STAGES The therapy is in two stages, and at the moment it is experimental. The first stage is because the immune therapy does not ignore HIV. Instead, it helps the reproduction of the virus, and the patient is given vaccines which go to help the body in recognizing the cells that are infected with HIV. Secondly, the drug by the name of Vorinostat is given, and this activates the cells that are dormant, and this makes them seen by the body’s immune system. HIV is continuing to be a public health issue around the world, and up to now, the illness is said to have taken 35 million lives. The man that has been cured by the new therapy is one among 50 people who have been undergoing the experimental therapy. Around 36.7 million people are living with HIV, but around only 54% of them know their status. TESTING BEING CARRIED OUT FOR ANOTHER FIVE YEARS The new results from the UK are very promising for people around the world but the T cells that are dormant may remain to lurk within the patient, so at the moment the new treatment has not gone as far as to be called a cure. Nevertheless, it is a very encouraging step forward, and it is on the right path to becoming a cure. Fidlar said that they would be continuing to make medical tests over the next five years but for the time being they do not recommend stopping the ART treatment. This may be something that will be recommended in the future, dependent of course on the test results.