Health & Medicine
"Functional Cure" for HIV, Patients Diagnosed Early Show Low Levels of Virus in Body
Kathleen Lees
First Posted: Mar 15, 2013 10:13 AM EDT
New research shows hope for those infected with the HIV virus.
According to Reuters, treating people with HIV rapidly after they have become infected with the virus that causes AIDS may be enough to achieve a "functional cure" in a small proportion of patients diagnosed early, according to new research.
Scientists in France who followed 14 patients who were treated with prompt care after infection but stopped HIV drugs for even a period of seven years showed no signs of the virus rebounding.
Research suggests that specific treatments used early can help prevent the spreading of the virus.
"Early treatment in these patients may have limited the establishment of viral reservoirs, the extent of viral mutations, and preserved immune responses. A combination of those may contribute to control infection in post-treatment controllers," said Christine Rouzioux, a professor at Necker Hospital and university Paris Descartes. She was also part of the team who helped identify HIV 30 years ago.
"The shrinking of viral reservoirs ... closely matches the definition of 'functional' cure," she said.
A functional cure describes when the virus is reduced to such low levels that it is kept at bay even without continuing treatment. The virus, however, is still detectable in the body.
Most of the some 34 million people with HIV across the world will have to take anti-AIDS drugs known as antiretroviral therapy for the whole of their lives. These drugs generally keep the disease in check but also have side effects and a high cost impact on health systems.
Worldwide, the number of people newly infected with HIV, which can be transmitted via blood and by semen during sex, is falling.
See Now:
NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone
©2024 ScienceWorldReport.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The window to the world of science news.
More on SCIENCEwr
First Posted: Mar 15, 2013 10:13 AM EDT
New research shows hope for those infected with the HIV virus.
According to Reuters, treating people with HIV rapidly after they have become infected with the virus that causes AIDS may be enough to achieve a "functional cure" in a small proportion of patients diagnosed early, according to new research.
Scientists in France who followed 14 patients who were treated with prompt care after infection but stopped HIV drugs for even a period of seven years showed no signs of the virus rebounding.
Research suggests that specific treatments used early can help prevent the spreading of the virus.
"Early treatment in these patients may have limited the establishment of viral reservoirs, the extent of viral mutations, and preserved immune responses. A combination of those may contribute to control infection in post-treatment controllers," said Christine Rouzioux, a professor at Necker Hospital and university Paris Descartes. She was also part of the team who helped identify HIV 30 years ago.
"The shrinking of viral reservoirs ... closely matches the definition of 'functional' cure," she said.
A functional cure describes when the virus is reduced to such low levels that it is kept at bay even without continuing treatment. The virus, however, is still detectable in the body.
Most of the some 34 million people with HIV across the world will have to take anti-AIDS drugs known as antiretroviral therapy for the whole of their lives. These drugs generally keep the disease in check but also have side effects and a high cost impact on health systems.
Worldwide, the number of people newly infected with HIV, which can be transmitted via blood and by semen during sex, is falling.
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone