Scientists Neutralize HIV At Last

Ever since I was in graduate school many, many years ago, science has "cured" HIV/AIDs in vitro and in animal models. This is good news if you're a lab animal, but not for patients suffering from the disease.

This is why this news is particularly good. Prof. Jens Lundgren of the University of Copenhagen and colleagues have successfully neutralized the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in patients by using combination therapy:

With the latest advances in treatment, doctors have discovered that they can successfully neutralise the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The so-called ‘combination therapy’ prevents HIV from mutating and spreading, allowing patients to rebuild their immune system to the same levels as the rest of the population.

To date, it represents the most significant treatment for patients suffering from HIV.

Link - Thanks becky :) !


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Wow, headlines like this, and the poor reporting of the article it links to--dispel my confusion of why the myth that having sex with a virgin cures AIDS (and other, related myths) are so prevalent in some places.
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Ummm...that BBC article states that "It was thought that exposure to HIV on a regular basis created immunity". In the USA, this has never been the case. There are known "immune" cases. It is a partial immunity (they lack certain surface molecules needed for sexual or M-tropic type HIV to infect cells) in that they can still get T-tropic type infections (transmitted by blood). Those African prostitutes likely had this mutation, but were eventually exposed to the blood of infected people and not just semen.

Combination therapy is the standard of care in the US for HIV infections composed of 2 NRTI's and 1 PI. Yes, it works well, but all HIV+ patients eventually succumb to infection.
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Well in regards to Retrokatze's post, I remember a documentary that was on one of those PBS channels. It was about a gay man in san francisco, and how he survived the AIDS epidemic while everyone around him died from the dreadful disease. He didn't take any special precautions in terms of safe sex, etc., yet he never got sick. They analyzed his DNA, and compared it to the DNA from the bones of those who were not afflicted by the bubonic plague during the black death of europe. Both DNA were a match, suggesting that this individual, who seems to be immune from the AIDS virus, got his ability from his ancestors all the way in europe.
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