Approximately 37 million people worldwideTrusted Source are currently infected with HIV, and HIV has killed nearly 35 million since the virus exploded in the 1980s. Each year, nearly 1 million people die from HIV-related causes.
As of now, the only way to effectively treat HIV is via antiretroviral drugs that suppress the virus.
“Current antiretroviral therapy is safe and effective at suppressing HIV to undetectable levels, preventing HIV transmission, allowing restoration of immune function often to normal levels, and can allow people to achieve normal life expectancy,” McGowan noted.
Those with the virus must take the drugs their entire life. This is incredibly challenging for individuals in third world countries, the research team said.
Looking forward, researchers hope to use these two cases to find new strategies for treating HIV.
“[The case] creates a huge amount of momentum around both the idea of ending the epidemic and around eventually finding a cure,” Warren said.
Many new treatment options are already being explored. One option may be gene therapy, which could potentially edit the CCR5 receptor in individuals with HIV. Neutralizing antibodiesTrusted Source against the virus is another route being evaluated, according to Warren.
All in all, these new findings will surely direct much of the future research around treating and curing AIDS at a much larger scale.
The bottom line
A man in London is now the world’s second known patient to be cured of the AIDS virus. Researchers hope to use this case to identify a more large-scale cure.
As of now, the only way to effectively treat HIV is via antiretroviral drugs that suppress the virus.
“Current antiretroviral therapy is safe and effective at suppressing HIV to undetectable levels, preventing HIV transmission, allowing restoration of immune function often to normal levels, and can allow people to achieve normal life expectancy,” McGowan noted.
Those with the virus must take the drugs their entire life. This is incredibly challenging for individuals in third world countries, the research team said.
Looking forward, researchers hope to use these two cases to find new strategies for treating HIV.
“[The case] creates a huge amount of momentum around both the idea of ending the epidemic and around eventually finding a cure,” Warren said.
Many new treatment options are already being explored. One option may be gene therapy, which could potentially edit the CCR5 receptor in individuals with HIV. Neutralizing antibodiesTrusted Source against the virus is another route being evaluated, according to Warren.
All in all, these new findings will surely direct much of the future research around treating and curing AIDS at a much larger scale.
The bottom line
A man in London is now the world’s second known patient to be cured of the AIDS virus. Researchers hope to use this case to identify a more large-scale cure.
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