Hiv cure-aids cure updates-news-facts-history-hiv blog-free blog

I have been interested in this topic since school but more so now for there  are so many people out there infected with this deadly virus and spreading so fast daily, also in baby's that is what hit me , being born with HIV, what a tragedy, I am so sorry to everyone with this but now we can pay attention to the new research Dr are working on about this... Thank you for sharing my blogs with all your friends..I really hope this helps, god bless us all....Maria
1-18-14
NEW Evidence folks you can now start to relax a bit!!!!

There is currently no cure for AIDS or HIV infection. Although antiretroviral treatment can suppress HIV – the virus that causes AIDS – and can delay illness for many years, it cannot clear the virus completely.

However, there is hope and optimism around the possibility of a genuine cure for HIV being developed within the next few decades. The launch of a new strategy to develop a cure, involving scientists, policy makers, funders and people living with HIV, in July 2012, marked an increased focus on the development of a cure as a potential approach to curbing the HIV and AIDS epidemic.1

Why is it so difficult to cure HIV and AIDS?

Curing AIDS is generally taken to mean clearing the body of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. The virus replicates (makes new copies of itself) by inserting its genetic code into human cells, particularly a type known as CD4 cells. Usually the infected cells produce numerous HIV particles and die soon afterwards. Antiretroviral drugs interfere with this replication process, which is why the drugs are so effective at reducing the amount of HIV in a person’s body to extremely low levels. During treatment, the concentration of HIV in the blood often falls so low that it cannot be detected by the standard test, known as a viral load test.

Unfortunately, not all infected cells behave the same way. Probably the most important problem is posed by “resting” CD4 cells. Once infected with HIV, these cells, instead of producing new copies of the virus, lie dormant for many years or even decades. Current therapies cannot remove HIV’s genetic material from these cells. Even if someone takes antiretroviral drugs for many years they will still have some HIV hiding in various parts of their body. Studies have found that if treatment is removed then HIV can re-establish itself by leaking out of these “viral reservoirs”.

A cure for HIV must either: 1) remove every single one of the infected cells (known as a sterilising cure or eradication) or 2) control HIV effectively by keeping the virus dormant, after the discontinuation of treatment (known as a functional cure).2

Reputable research on curing HIV and AIDS

The possibility of ‘a functional cure’

The results of a study involving fourteen French people living with HIV are one indicator that a ‘functional cure’ for HIV may be possible. The people involved, known as the ‘Visconti cohort’, started taking antiretrovirals very soon after they became infected. After three years of medication, they stopped taking ARVs, which would usually result in the HIV-infection resurging. However, on this occasion they were able to stop taking the medication and yet remain with low levels of virus in their systems for an average of seven years.3 

Purging the HIV reservoir

Many researchers believe the best hope for eradicating HIV infection lies in combining antiretroviral treatment with drugs that flush HIV from its hiding places. The idea is to force resting infected CD4 cells to become active, where upon they will start producing new HIV particles. The activated cells should soon die or be destroyed by the immune system, and the antiretroviral medication should 'mop up' the released HIV. Chemical agents used to activate resting cells are called antilatency agents.

Early attempts to employ this technique used interleukin-2 (also known as IL-2 or by the brand name Proleukin). This chemical messenger tells the body to create more CD4 cells and to activate resting cells. Researchers who gave interleukin-2 together with antiretroviral treatment discovered they could no longer find any infected resting CD4 cells. But interleukin-2 failed to clear all of the HIV; as soon as the patients stopped taking antiretroviral drugs the virus came back again.4 5

There is a problem with creating a massive number of active CD4 cells: despite the antiretroviral drugs, HIV may manage to infect a few of these cells and replicate, thus keeping the infection alive. Scientists are now investigating chemicals that don’t activate all resting CD4 cells, but only the tiny minority that are infected with HIV.

One such chemical is valproic acid, a drug already used to treat epilepsy and other conditions. In 2005 a group of researchers led by David Margolis caused a sensation when they reported that valproic acid, combined with antiretroviral treatment, had greatly reduced the number of HIV-infected resting CD4 cells in three of four patients. They concluded that:

“This finding, though not definitive, suggests that new approaches will allow the cure of HIV in the future.”6

Sadly, such optimism was premature; studies later suggested that valproic acid has no long term benefits.7 8

Another option being investigated to 'activate' resting HIV-infected cells is the use of histone deacetylases (HDAC) inhibitors. Histone deacetylases are enzymes that control the proteins involved in binding DNA. They effectively 'silence' groups of genes, including some HIV genes. Stopping them from doing this would allow for those resting HIV-infected cells to be reactivated. Agents that aim to stop histone deacetylases from 'switching off' or 'silencing' genes are called histones deacetylase inhibitors. SAHA (vorinostat) is a potent histone deacetylase inhibitor which is being tested in cell cultures for HIV.9

Any antilatency agents combined with ART aiming to 'reactivate' resting HIV-infected cells and then 'purge' these cells should reach all HIV-infected cells, including those in the difficult to reach areas like the gut-associated lymphoid tissue and the brain.10 However, this is where the real difficulty lies. Some researchers argue that this 'complete reactivation' could be unnecessary because those cells that are really hard to reach may be so dormant that the body will be able to control them anyway.11 However, whether or not this is true is unknown.12

Discouragingly, a 2013 report following a study at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute found that the ‘reservoir’ of inactive viruses could be up to 60 times larger that previously suspected. This means that the potential for ‘reactivating’ resting HIV-infected cells could be severely limited.13

Bone marrow transplants and gene therapy

In November 2008, a pair of German doctors made headlines by announcing they had cured a man of HIV infection by giving him a bone marrow transplant.14 The transplant - given as a treatment for leukemia - used cells from a donor with a rare genetic mutation known as Delta 32 that confers resistance to HIV infection. Twenty months after the procedure researchers reported they could find no trace of HIV in the recipient's bone marrow, blood and other organ tissues. Other experts at the time called for more tests to verify the cure claim.15

In a journal article published in December 2010, the doctors concluded that the patient had indeed been cured of HIV infection. Their evidence showed a successful reconstitution of CD4 T cells at both the systemic level and in the gut mucosal immune system.16

Bone marrow transplantation is too dangerous and costly for widespread use as a cure. Many patients die as a result of chemotherapy or reactions to the transplant, which is usually a last resort in treating life-threatening diseases. As Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, put it:

“It’s very nice, and it’s not even surprising. But it’s just off the table of practicality.”17

Nevertheless the German transplant does raise hope for related approaches.18 If scientists can find another way - such as gene therapy - to confer the same sort of protection against HIV as Delta 32 provides, then they may be able to stop the virus replicating. Research in this area is in its very early stages; it may be many years before a useful treatment is found, if at all.19

- See more at: http://www.avert.org/cure-aids.htm#sthash.cPLMGzKU.dpuf

The first and only person ever to be cured of HIV/AIDS is a leukemia patient treated in Berlin with HIV-resistant stem cells.

Although the Berlin patient was treated in 2007, researchers are only now officially using the word "cure." That's because extensive tests -- including analyses of tissues from his brain, gut, and other organs -- detect no sign of lingering HIV.

Few people with HIV would want to go through the grueling and life-threateningcancer treatment that was part of this cure. And so far, the cure has not been duplicated in other HIV-positive leukemia patients who underwent similar treatment.

Yet the finding already has transformed AIDS research. What really happened? What does this mean for people who have HIV/AIDS?

Since the first drug for the treatment of HIV was approved in 1987, there has been a clear need for accurate, evidence-based information about HIV treatment. Both people with HIV and health professionals have always needed to know what to expect from drugs, side-effects and how to take the drugs. Later on, as new drugs have appeared, reliable information on choosing the appropriate drug regimen has become crucial.

HIV treatment update, NAM’s monthly newsletter, was created to help people become familiar with their treatment options and to encourage informed communication between people with HIV and doctors.

Since the first edition in 1992, HTU has been evolving and changing in response to the information needs of people with HIV. It has changed its name (originally AIDS treatment update, or ATU), changed its design to make it more engaging and easier to read, and been overseen by several editors. Now in its 208th edition, HTU continues to bring the latest developments in treatment to people with HIV and remains a source of information that thousands of people worldwide rely on to keep them informed.  

As you may have read in the June edition, there are further changes afoot for HTU. After much careful consideration, balancing up the current funding climate and the results of our readers’ surveys, HTUis to become a quarterly publication. Each edition will be expanded and it will also be publishedonline at the same time as it is printed. We remain committed to supporting readers in decisions about their health and the reduced frequency and increased content means we can continue to deliver this valuable service in these times of austerity.

So, this week, our subscribers are receiving their final monthly edition of HTU – and it is alsoavailable on our website. You can read it online, download it as a PDF, or use the ‘flipbook’ function to read the PDF online.

This month’s edition includes:

Everything okay down there?

Anal cancer is much more common (50 times) in gay men with HIV than in the general population. It is still very rare, but should we be demanding screening – and vaccination? Read on >>

Where next for HIV prevention?

There has been a huge amount of news on HIV prevention recently and, in the UK, campaigners and researchers have been debating what should happen next. Read on >>

Talking to the Lords

NAM’s senior editor, Keith Alcorn, recently gave evidence to the House of Lords Select Committee on HIV and AIDS in the UK. He hopes they can exert some pressure to revitalise HIV policy. Read on >>

There is still so much work to do

Silvia Petretti, of Positively UK, recently spoke at the United Nations High Level Meeting on AIDS, in New York. She came back more convinced than ever of the need for meaningful involvement of people living with HIV. Read on >>

News in brief

Some of the key news stories from the past month including:

• HIV drugs may have caused premature ageing
• Coffee helps hepatitis C treatment

Read on >>

What is HIV treatment update?

HIV treatment update focuses on HIV treatment and care news, latest scientific developments, and wider health, social and legal issues, with a practical take on what this all means for people living with HIV in the UK. HTU’s editor, Gus Cairns, regularly invites experts to contribute to the newsletter on their specialist areas.

How do I get a copy?

HIV treatment update is available free to people personally affected by HIV. You can subscribe to a free emailed PDF edition wherever you live. If you live in the UK, you can choose to have a print edition.