Featured news from NHIVNA
HIV-related news from NAM
Researchers step up efforts to find an HIV cure
Keith Alcorn, 2012-07-22 13:20:00
Scientists launched a road map for research into an HIV cure ahead of the 19th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2012) in Washington DC, promising international collaboration and calling for more funding to be devoted to research that can eventually deliver a course of treatment that will, at the minimum, allow people with HIV to remain off medication for life even it can’t eradicate HIV from the body.
The Towards an HIV Cure declaration marks a substantial shift in the scientific consensus regarding the feasibility of HIV cure research. Over the past four years funding has begun to flow towards small intensive studies that will contribute towards cure research. Worldwide attention has been grabbed by the case of the 'Berlin patient', Timothy Brown, who was pronounced cured of HIV infection after a gruelling course of chemotherapy, immunosuppressive treatment and a bone marrow transplant from a donor with a rare genetic resistance to HIV infection. (See here for a full explanation of this case.)
“I don’t think anyone would want to go through what he went through to get that cure, but it has inspired the field,” Dr Steven Deeks of the University of California San Francisco, told a press conference launching the International AIDS Society’s cure research strategy prior to a pre-conference symposium, Towards an HIV Cure.
Support for a comprehensive effort to cure HIV infection is also driven by the mounting long-term cost of HIV treatment. By 2015, US$24 billion will be required to provide treatment for 15 million people; at least 35 million people are estimated to be infected with HIV, and eventually all will be eligible for HIV treatment. A cure which can be feasibly delivered at a large scale in countries with weak health systems, and which is affordable, will begin to look more and more attractive to major international donors as treatment costs continue to rise.
Source:1
