Danish researchers say a cure for human immunodeficiency virus, the virus that causes AIDS, is being tested on humans.
The scientists are testing a strategy in clinical trials in which the HIV is stripped from human DNA and destroyed by the immune system, The Telegraph reported.
The technique causes the virus to rise from reservoirs it forms within DNA to the surface of the cell. There, the immune system, bolstered by a vaccine, can kill the virus.
Lab tests were so successful that in January, the Danish Research Council granted 12 million Danish kroner, about $2.1 million, to finance human trials. These are under way with 15 patients taking part. A research team member, Dr. Ole Søgaard of Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark, told The Telegraph the early signs are “promising”:
“I am almost certain that we will be successful in releasing the reservoirs of HIV.The challenge will be getting the patients’ immune system to recognize the virus and destroy it. This depends on the strength and sensitivity of individual immune systems.”
British researchers at five universities have joined in similar studies, according to Medical Daily.
Current treatments allow HIV patients to live almost normal lives and lifespans, but if the medications are cut off the HIV reservoirs become active and symptoms reappear, The Telegraph said.
The cure being pursued by the Danish and British teams would free patients from having to take costly medications continuously.
Both groups are aiming at a cure for people already infected with HIV. It would not prevent HIV or AIDS.
News of the Danish study came days after U.S. government officials announced that a study involving 2,504 volunteers in 19 cities had failed to come up with a possible HIV vaccine, Medical Daily said. The National Institutes of Health announced on April 25 that the study of the HVTN 505 vaccine had been halted.
Because the potential cure is not a preventative measure, Søgaard told MedicineNet.com, people still will need to avoid unsafe behaviors, such as unprotected sex or sharing drug needles, to combat HIV.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends that everyone ages 15 to 65 be tested for HIV, even if they are not at high risk of getting it. The panel of doctors and scientists also says younger teens and older adults who at higher risk of HIV infection should be tested, and that all pregnant women should be screened for HIV.
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