Posted on 01/19/2013 1:03:37 AM PST by nickcarraway
Australian Researchers Believe They Have Found Cure for AIDS A team of researchers believes that they may have found a cure for HIV by A team of researchers believes that they may have found a cure for HIV by turning the virus against itself.
While treatment for HIV has become more successful than ever before at evading AIDS, AIDS remains a threat. In fact, the majority of people infected with HIV will not progress to AIDS for 10 to 15 years, according to Avert, and antiretroviral therapy can delay it even further. However, antiretroviral therapy is expensive and has a multitude of side effects. One team of researchers from the Queensland Medical Institute in Australia believes that they may have found a cure for the syndrome by turning the virus against itself.
The team focused its research on a protein called Nullbasic, which the HIV virus needs in order to replicate. They were able to modify the protein in order to significantly inhibit growth, and their findings have worked every time they have conducted the experiments. While the virus would still exist in a person's system, it would be unable to develop into AIDS and individuals could maintain a healthy immune system. The therapy would mean that HIV would never deteriorate into AIDS, spelling an end to onerous drug regimes. That, in turn, would mean that people infected with HIV would have a better quality of life and government and consumer costs would decrease.
"If this research continues down its strong path, and bear in mind there are many hurdles to clear, we're looking at a cure for AIDS," study author David Harrich said in a statement.
Animal trials of the protein are due to begin this year.
An HIV patient is believed to have deteriorated into AIDS if their CD4 immune system cells drop below 200 per each microliter of blood. The development of 22 HIV-related infections and cancers also mean that the patient is characterized as having full-blown AIDS.
34 million people were infected with HIV in 2011, up from 33.5 million cases in 2010, according to the United Nations.
The study was published in the journal Human Gene Therapy.
Um, stop screwing other men in the butt without a condom? Yeah, all sane people have known that for a while now.
PS There are people (for example blood recipients and wives who do not know they are “beards”) who suffer from AIDS and did not engaged in that behavior. However, nearly 100% of their infections can be traced to someone who has. Those innocent people are victims of political correctness run wild. I have all the sympathy in the world for them.
“However, nearly 100% of their infections can be traced to someone who has. Those innocent people are victims of political correctness run wild. I have all the sympathy in the world for them.”
And it is for those people, and others who are true victims of this (people who got it from bad blood products, improper medical procedures, etc) that I hope this turns out to be what they are saying it is.
Prevention vs. cure. There is a certain mindset among many gays, however, that getting HIV is a goal, not something to be prevented. I wonder now that if this pseudo-cure works, which prevents AIDS but not HIV, will it become a more attractive mindset to them?
The scary thing is that this tends toward a world where everyone has HIV and is dependent on this treatment to survive. Creepy.
I think I was alluding to this but you spelled it out nicely. Yes, creepy.
“The scary thing is that this tends toward a world where everyone has HIV and is dependent on this treatment to survive. Creepy.”
“I think I was alluding to this but you spelled it out nicely. Yes, creepy.”
I think it goes further than that. If everyone has HIV, then no-one can be discriminated against on the basis of having HIV - no-one can take the moral high ground and make others feel “bad”.
This tiny little article leaves me with a few questions.
It seems that they are curing AIDS but not HIV; so is the patient still able to transmit HIV?
The article says that the patient is given therapy; so does the patient need therapy for the rest of his life or only for a short time. (I don’t think of therapy as resulting in a lasting cure. Maybe I am wrong)
Pharmaceutical companies will never ever find the cure for things, only the treatments, if they found cures, their whole profit margin goes down.
It seems that they are curing AIDS but not HIV; so is the patient still able to transmit HIV?
Yes, although the virus load will probably be lower, so it will be less likely.
The article says that the patient is given therapy; so does the patient need therapy for the rest of his life or only for a short time. (I don’t think of therapy as resulting in a lasting cure. Maybe I am wrong)
If it pans out as they hope, it will be a lasting treatment not ongoing therapy. The treatment will be complicated and expensive but once it's over the person will almost certainly never develop AIDS. And when it comes to expense, it will almost certainly be less than the expected cost of a lifetime of retroviral treatments.
According to the World Health organization, condoms are not effective in stopping the spread of viral STD’s like HIV.
While the virus would still exist in a person’s system, it would be unable to develop into AIDS and individuals could maintain a healthy immune system.
Even if it works there is one small problem: The animals out there are still living the “lifestyle” that gave the virus it’s power. With their help the virus will develop around the system put in place to stop it. That is, pretty much, what viruses do 27/365.
If “cures” were found, think of how many millions of jobs and trillions of dollars would dry-up in employment, funding, sales etc. It’s a worldwide “cottage industry” mega-business. Won’t happen. You’re right.
Castrate Homosexuals?
You mean like for the polio vaccine? You’re confusing drug companies with independent researchers.
If they can only find a way to make the HIV virus itself turn gay-—that being the cells would only try and pair with similar cells but cannot reproduce. I’m being facetious (’. Cells divide and reproduce by meiosis and not by gender. Such a thing as same sex meiosis without any baby cells? Its the theatre of the absurd mind at work on this thread.
We've been fighting cancer for years with very little progress but be sure to continue to send money. It's the same for most other diseases.
What's the cure for the problems of old age?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.