HIV flushed out by cancer drug(bbc.com)
bbc.com
HIV flushed out by cancer drug
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-33720325
7 comments
> It is worth to remember that there is a way to completely cure HIV
N size on that kind of experiment is VERY limited, so I would be very careful in making such claims.
N size on that kind of experiment is VERY limited, so I would be very careful in making such claims.
Yes, but the underlying mechanism - the deletion in the CCR5 receptor coding fragment - is a known source of HIV immunity in humans.
The bigger problem here is that bone marrow transplant is by itself more dangerous than an antiretroviral-controlled HIV infection. Not to mention that CCR5 deletions are quite rare.
The bigger problem here is that bone marrow transplant is by itself more dangerous than an antiretroviral-controlled HIV infection. Not to mention that CCR5 deletions are quite rare.
Rather than thinking of this as a way to cure HIV, I think of it as a demonstration that if someone has a life-threatening blood cancer – something so acutely lethal that you will take the risk of destroying their entire bone marrow – then if you can find matched but CCR5-deficient donors, you can also potentially cure their HIV.
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It probably still does not activate 100% of the virus. Some still remains and reactivates later.
Isn't the whole medical field probability-based?
All knowledge is probability-based. The question is: are the probabilities in this case low (or high) enough to be very interesting?
This is not the problem since you can chase out any remaining virus just by extending the treatment time. The real problem is viral reservoirs that the treatment does not reach (eg behind the blood brain barrier).
Having said this if I was infected with HIV this is exactly what I would be doing (ie treating with drugs that suppressed viral replication while chasing the latent virus out of hiding).
Having said this if I was infected with HIV this is exactly what I would be doing (ie treating with drugs that suppressed viral replication while chasing the latent virus out of hiding).
I wonder how the blood brain barrier is affected by the recent discovery of the linkage of the lymphatic system and the brain?
The lymphatic system is a return (drainage) system. What is more interesting is that it has been recently found that ultrasounds can make the blood brain barrier leaky allowing you to get drugs into the brain that normally are blocked.
I almost agree. From the article:
> "This molecule has great potential to advance into translational and clinical studies."
> However, the drug has still not been tested in people who are HIV-positive.
To be sure that this new treatment is useful you must try it in a double blind experiment with many patients for many years.
Now, it's only an interesting idea with some in vitro support, but it's no a real cure. The title "HIV flushed out by cancer drug" is an optimistic exaggeration.
> "This molecule has great potential to advance into translational and clinical studies."
> However, the drug has still not been tested in people who are HIV-positive.
To be sure that this new treatment is useful you must try it in a double blind experiment with many patients for many years.
Now, it's only an interesting idea with some in vitro support, but it's no a real cure. The title "HIV flushed out by cancer drug" is an optimistic exaggeration.
It would be interesting if a similar approach might be applied to flush out latent Chickenpox virus (VZV) from people whom experienced active disease because of the massive risk of Shingles' long-lasting, debilitating symptoms later in life.
Interestingly, a similar approach has been tried to flush out the related HSV-1 http://www.reuters.com/article/2008/07/02/us-herpes-treatmen...
Interestingly, a similar approach has been tried to flush out the related HSV-1 http://www.reuters.com/article/2008/07/02/us-herpes-treatmen...
I like this "kick and kill" plan. This is the sort of technique that I'm sure I will use to solve a problem in a totally unrelated area some day.
Here we go. Curing HIV again.
"The team at the UC Davis School of Medicine investigated PEP005 - one of the ingredients in a treatment to prevent cancer in sun-damaged skin."
PEP005 upside down is "SOOd3d".
PEP005 upside down is "SOOd3d".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hematopoietic_stem_cell_transp...