HIV BREAKTHROUGH: British scientists on brink of extraordinary cure as sufferer 'RECOVERS'
BRITISH scientists could be on the brink of a cure for HIV after a patient showed no signs of the deadly virus following groundbreaking treatment.
Scientists may have found a cure for HIV
NHS doctors treating the 44-year-old man were left stunned and are now hopeful of a breakthrough in what is described as “one of the first serious attempts at a full cure for HIV”.
The patient, who remains anonymous, is the first of 50 people to complete a trial using a two-stage attack on the deadly disease.
The research, being carried out by five top British universities with NHS support, combines antiretroviral drugs with a drug that reactivates dormant HIV and a vaccine that induces the immune system to destroy the infected cells.
Doctors are using a kick and kill method
This is a huge challenge and it's still early days but the progress has been remarkable
Mark Samuels, managing director of the National Institute for Health Research Office for Clinical Research Infrastructure, said: "This is one of the first serious attempts at a full cure for HIV. We are exploring the real possibility of curing HIV.
"This is a huge challenge and it's still early days but the progress has been remarkable."
Although it is too early to confirm that the treatment has worked, recent blood tests by the trial patient showed no detectable HIV virus present.
The new therapy tests a “kick and kill” technique to first expose and then destroy the virus.
It aims to overcome a major barrier to clear the virus from a patient’s body that has challenged researchers for decades.
Antiretroviral therapies (Art) are currently used, but do not actually rid the body of HIV because the virus can hide outside of the drugs’ reach in the immune’s system T-cells.
There are 37million people living with HIV worldwide
NHS Doctor explains symptoms and treatment of HIV
The new treatment, by Oxford and Cambridge universities, Imperial College London, University College London, and Kings College London will use a vaccine to find the infected T-cells, as reported by The Times.
This is then followed by a course of Vorinostat drugs, which awaken the dormant T-cells to produce HIV proteins that act as a homing beacon for the immune system.
There are around 37million people living with HIV worldwide and around 35million people have died from the virus.
The treatment will use a vaccine to find the infected T-cells
Professor Sarah Fidler, consultant physician at Imperial College London, said there was “good evidence” the treatment worked in the laboratory.
But she added: “We must stress we are still a long way from any actual therapy.”