doctor in the UK may be on the cusp of find a curative for HIV . A group of five universitieshas tentatively announcedthat former tests on the first of 50 patient role to undergo a raw treatment to try and completely heal the disease have found no virus in the man ’s origin , raising Bob Hope that the novel proficiency may have actually worked . It is authoritative to accent that these are very early days , and only fourth dimension will tell if it genuinely has been successful .
The new pioneering treatmentinvolves three stone’s throw . The first is using current anti - retroviral drugs to prevent thymine - cells – the cell of the resistant organization that are taint by HIV – from spewing out millions more copies of the virus , and in impression sustain it package into the cell . Next , they infect the affected role with a virus that boost the immune organization , giving it the enhanced power to find and destroy the still - infect T - cells .
lastly , they gave the patient a 2nd drug known as vorinostat that aerate the dormant T - cells , forcing them to carry HIV - associated protein and flagging them up to the enhanced immune system which can then put down them . This technique has been called the “ kick and kill ” scheme .
It is skip that the fresh treatment will remove all tracing of the virus from the organic structure , include in those cells that hold it and lay abeyant , often for years at a time . Because of this , however , it intend that Doctor of the Church will not be certain that this patient has truly been cured for a recollective clip .
“ It would be heavy if a cure has happened , ” the 44 - year - old patienttold The Sunday Times . “ My last blood psychometric test was a couple of weeks ago and there is no noticeable virus . However , that could be the anti - retroviral therapy , so we have to hold off to be sure . ”
Only one person is known to have been heal of HIV . In 2007 , the AmericanTimothy Ray Brownunderwent a full osseous tissue marrow organ transplant in Germany to plow him for leukemia , using a bestower who was immune to HIV . The stem cells transfer reconstruct his immune system from the ground up , replacing his own cancerous cells with novel I resistant to HIV . Three twelvemonth after the operating theatre , and despite no longer occupy anti - retroviral drugs , doctors could find no trace of the virus in Brown ’s rip , make him functionally cured of both diseases at once .
The difficulties relate with finding presenter who are not only resistant to HIV but also a match to the patient role mean that replacing the resistant system is not a viable alternative for standard discussion . But if doctors could process around this with other method such as the one currently being trialed , it could potentially benefit the 37 million citizenry around the world hold out with the virus . If it does body of work – and that is a large if – it will be years until it becomes usable .
