AIDS cure found

[K.I.L.E.R]

LINK

I know it's not a cure, I just threw it into the headline because it's fun.

 

[PC-Engine]

It would be nice to take this drug while waiting for a cure. BTW wouldn't this drug help WBCs so that they can seek and destroy the virus?

 

[HaLDoL]

It would be nice to take this drug while waiting for a cure. BTW wouldn't this drug help WBCs so that they can seek and destroy the virus?

The virus resides within the WBC. Destroy virus -> destroy WBC.
The approach for a drug is to prevent the virus from entering WBC. Once it's inside you can't get it out.

 

[blakjedi]

Is this for real?

 

[digitalwanderer]

What is it? I need a soundbite...

 

[PC-Engine]

It would be nice to take this drug while waiting for a cure. BTW wouldn't this drug help WBCs so that they can seek and destroy the virus?

The virus resides within the WBC. Destroy virus -> destroy WBC.
The approach for a drug is to prevent the virus from entering WBC. Once it's inside you can't get it out.

Ok but wouldn't this drug also prevent the virus from entering a WBC? :?

 

[blakjedi]

It would be nice to take this drug while waiting for a cure. BTW wouldn't this drug help WBCs so that they can seek and destroy the virus?

The virus resides within the WBC. Destroy virus -> destroy WBC.
The approach for a drug is to prevent the virus from entering WBC. Once it's inside you can't get it out.

Ok but wouldn't this drug also prevent the virus from entering a WBC? :?

i think it prevents the virus from entering whatever cells the virus attacks (T cells?) by blocking the protein connector.

 

[PC-Engine]

It would be nice to take this drug while waiting for a cure. BTW wouldn't this drug help WBCs so that they can seek and destroy the virus?

The virus resides within the WBC. Destroy virus -> destroy WBC.
The approach for a drug is to prevent the virus from entering WBC. Once it's inside you can't get it out.

Ok but wouldn't this drug also prevent the virus from entering a WBC? :?

i think it prevents the virus from entering whatever cells the virus attacks (T cells?) by blocking the protein connector.

Then does that mean the WBCs will be able to destroy the viruses since they'll be immune to them under this drug?

 

[ninelven]

erased

 

[jvd]

depending on how affective it is , it could be used as a vaccine or perhaps for those who have hiv or aids but its in remision . This could prevent it from coming back

 

[Thowllly]

depending on how affective it is , it could be used as a vaccine or perhaps for those who have hiv or aids but its in remision . This could prevent it from coming back

It won't work as a vaccine, it works by clogging up the CCR5 receptors on the T-cells, just taking it once would not protect you since new T-cells are produced all the time.

But for those who are already infected it will prevent the virus from infecting new T-cells, as long as you keep taking it.

BTW, there is a fairly common mutation in the CCR5 gene (called CCR5-delta32) that causes malformed CCR5 receptors, if you have this mutation you'll have some protection from HIV, if you have two of it (one from each of your parents), then you're virtually immune to HIV. About 1% of caucasians have this immunity.

 

[FX5900]

even if a cure was found, i don't think the FDA would release it to the public...if they did, the companies making aids medicines would lose profits..

 

[Sage]

if the virus cant infect new cells then wont it eventually die in the infected organism once all of the infected cells have died?

 

[London Geezer]

if the virus cant infect new cells then wont it eventually die in the infected organism once all of the infected cells have died?

In theory yes. The problem with HIV is that it's ever-changing, so finding the right drug to create that situation is tricky, and eventually the virus would mutate, making those drugs almost useless.
Thank god we have quite a lot of "choice" now so that when someone becomes immune to some sort of tratment, he can switch to another one and have an almost normal life. It's not as nice and painless as it sounds, but in most rich countries this works fairly well compared to a few years ago.

 

[PC-Engine]

if the virus cant infect new cells then wont it eventually die in the infected organism once all of the infected cells have died?

That's what I'm thinking too. All cells die so if you keep taking this medication eventually all the infected cells would die.

 

[Sage]

That's what I'm thinking too. All cells die so if you keep taking this medication eventually all the infected cells would die.

...assuming that the virus doesnt mutate to infect the cell a different way... which i think would be much much harder than it mutating to avoid atack

 

[K.I.L.E.R]

So virtually speaking it is a cure? Unless the HIV can find a new source of sustinance or it can outlive a human.

if the virus cant infect new cells then wont it eventually die in the infected organism once all of the infected cells have died?

That's what I'm thinking too. All cells die so if you keep taking this medication eventually all the infected cells would die.

 

[_xxx_]

Virii can spend years in a latent state, so I guess stopping the infection would not make you virus-free.

 

[London Geezer]

There is already the danger that HIV positive people with hardly a trace of the virus (thanks to medication) feel like they're cured and infect other people... Having a low viral count doesn't mean that HIV is beaten. The virus is still very much there and only waiting for you to do something stupid to spread some more.

But at least new medication and hopefully this new thing will make it even harder to degenerate into AIDS (which happens when the viral count surpasses a certain number which i cant remember now).

 

[K.I.L.E.R]

Will it ever be possible in my time that we could send probes into a human body and kill the specific HIV cells?