New HIV cure hope
The National Association of People with HIV (NAPWA) has cautiously welcomed news Melbourne researchers have made a scientific breakthrough which could unlock the cure to HIV.
Scientists at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute in Parkville announced last week they had successfully cleared a HIV-like infection from mice by boosting the animals’ immune responses with a synthetic hormone called interleukin-7 (IL-7).
The finding was published in medical journal Cell.
Lead researcher Dr Marc Pelligrini told the Star Observer although a HIV cure might still be more than 10 years away, the finding has great weight.
“I think this is the first real ray of light that gives us hope that [HIV] is curable,” Pelligrini said.
“We’ve shown for the first time that [IL-7] actually does clear a very chronic and overwhelming infection in mice, which we think is translatable to HIV, hep B, hep C and perhaps other infections.”
Pelligrini said the breakthrough finding relates to the use of the body’s immune system to fight back at viruses, rather than an antiretroviral drug approach to clearing the body of HIV infection.
“One of the problems with our current antiretroviral therapies is that there are obviously latent reservoirs of virus which hide away and aren’t really exposed to the antiretroviral,” he said.
“So whenever you stop the antiretrovirals the virus will immediately come back.”
Pelligrini said if future trials are successful it’s likely a person would only need to take short cycles of IL-7 treatment to enhance their immune response to eradicate the virus.
“As soon as the immune system has got the upper hand on the virus, then really it squashes it to the point where, even if the virus comes back in small doses from time to time, the immune system will just get rid of it.
“Much in the same way as some of the herpes viruses … there the virus will reactivate from time to time but the immune system will just get rid of it, so we would hope that maybe this would be able to effect a cure.”
Pelligrini said there is still a long way to go, however, he would expect pilot studies to start in Australia in the next 12 months.
“Obviously all these things are taken cautiously because they’re mouse models and things need to be translated,” he said.
“The one real promise is we know IL-7 can be used in humans, because there were preliminary studies to look at its ability to be used as a therapeutic.
“That’s probably why this particular discovery is most promising because it looks translatable in the near future rather than it being a drug that really needs to be tested for toxicity, specificity and all those things which take many, many years.”
NAPWA executive director Jo Watson told the Star Observer overall she is hopeful about the findings.
“It’s exciting in my opinion because it’s showing just how much we’re still learning and got to investigate about IL-7 and other strategies around building the immune system and the response,” she said.
“Their work has been focused on mice and it’ll be years before we see how that can be replicated — if at all — with humans, and the work itself was a virus like HIV, it wasn’t actually HIV.
“So you’ve got to be careful just how much of this is a working concept, a hypothesis, versus what we see in real data coming back … [but] it’s an important piece of basic science research.”
I took IL-2 for years in a study. They dumped the project eventually, because it showed no overall benefit. It did help me, it increased my cd4 up to 1300 ish 1400 ish, but eventually it would just come back down and stay around 800 to 1000 range. All it did was make me very sick for the week i took that stuff. I hope the IL-7 is tolerated better and shows better results
If Hello believes the world is suffering so badly from a excess of people that a cure for hiv would be a bad thing then I think that hello should lead by example and terminate their own life without delay.
I don’t know who in the hell is Mr. or Mrs. Hello, but I really, really hope and pray you get HIV you piece of crap. Oh Excuse me…..I just insulted the crap, obviously you are lower than crap.
How in the hell you dare to say such an ignorant and discriminating thing like that. I hope you just die in painful agony and the world gets rid of a peace of crap like you. GOD DAMMED YOU, YOU EFFING BASTARD. MAY YOU AND ALL OF YOUR GENERATION BE DOOMED FOR EVER!!!!!!
Please commercialise your product sooner and save the world
Jeff
I’m a HIV-positive male. I hope Australia could really get the HIV drug thoroughly researched and marketed soon. In fact, the disease itself is not thretening. A hopeless future and fear are the primary distressing factors. My fear always outweighs my hope. This news actually breathes life into my hope. My life counts on you guys. Yes, stigmas are always associated with HIV-patients, accussing us of no utility. But I do contribute knowledge and service to the nation. Only my persistent contribution will keep me going on. Also, I won’t let myself die so early, leaving my beloved alone :.( I hope God would give me a final chance. Amen.
Thanks.
Hope is what people require, negativity causes hurt to those inflicted with this disease, people with HIV and aids never asked for this , stigma and taboo still surround these diseases ,
It’s time every narrow minded person on this planet accepted this disease and stopped offering their negative opinions. What if it was your mother, father, daughter, son, even grandparent!!!! Start being optimistic ! They will find a cure, just give it time…
Twenty years down the line and still undetectable, my friend has overcome many hurtful jibes from uninformed likes, but she still remains optimistic.
Anyway there is a hope.
I feel sad to see that this research is claiming to have found something new. Interleaukin IL7 has been tried and tested (even in humans) before and is a very toxic drug that appeared to have more drawbacks than positive results. This isn’t a new revelation at all.
this is really promissing and hopeful not to spare no one who gives us areason to live…it’s like wing beneath my wings!
This is crazy ten years and this has be destroying human life for decades now! I feel as if its that strong then iot should be tested on humans since medications are being presicribe that are still being tested and some of them don’t even work! People are still dying! Thankful to have an almighty GOD who open your eyes to do your own research!
Hallo, think you shud be the first to die and not wish it on anybody! Hw can a sane human being be so content with other humans dying? Can’t believe u nr sane..
whoever mrs. “hello?” is…..is a retard that needs to be shot.. do u have any idea how many people suffer and have died from HIV/AIDS. these people are mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, cousins,ect.. and u have the nerve to say they got it b-cuz there are too many people on this earth!!! r u serious???????? maybe u should just die, that way u will rid the internet of ur ignorance and there will be one less person to feed on this earth!!! good-day…..dummy
doc mac he his talking about a cure 10 to 15 yrs will he still be alive by then and how old his hem now?
I don’t like this at all..
i think AIDS is in this world because this world has too many people. we have need 2.5 earths to feed every single person in this world. so that’s the reasen that there are hurricans, tsunami’s, diseases etcetc. is in this world..
Please sign these free, anonymous petitions to increase HSV research funding.
Thanks.
http://www.petition2congress.com/398…t-bavi-herpes/
http://www.petition2congress.com/387…d-cure-herpes/
http://www.petition2congress.com/373…earch-funding/
http://www.change.org/petitions/plea…search-funding
I’m actually a distant relative of Walter and Eliza Hall (on my mother’s side). It’s quite exciting to learn my family may play a part in the discovery of a cure for AIDS! Let’s be cautiously optimistic, and hope this does not turn out to be a dead end.
[…] Nеw HIV cure hope | Star Online […]
Good job guys, keep hope alive. someday HIV cure will be here for sure. you remember malaria? it took lots of lives and still does today but certainly it has an absolute cure. HIV will be history.
However the fear is? if a cure is found will those working in HIV related fields be willing to disclose it and loose the billions they are accessing??
positive news translates to positive energy, nothing was ever created with negative energy zak. when the cure comes (and we realise it was under our noses the whole time) it is then we can look back at all these “failures” and note thats what made the successful cure!
another red herring! millions have been poured into this illness and the best they can come up with are toxic drugs…this is another story about a HIV cure…people wont even remember this story in 2 months time…i wish researchers would stop raising hopes and talk when a cure is found!
Just wishing a speed positive discovery on the research
That’s very exciting. I’m glad HIV has been such a top priority for researchers.