Cure for HIV/AIDS on the Horizon?

In the 1980s, if a person tested positive for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), it was considered all but a death sentence for that person.  Over the last 30 years, treatments have ranged far and wide and advancements are beginning to shine through.

According to the Joint United Nations Development Program on HIV/AIDS, there were 2.3 million new infections in 2012 alone. Even with these known facts, however, recent developments in bio-medical engineering have made various cures possible.

Researchers from the Temple University School of Medicine based their system on a bacterial defense mechanism of the HIV-1 virus. HIV-1 is the more common of the two major subgroups of the human immunodeficiency virus. They have found  a way to snip the viral DNA out, creating a new opportunity for eradicating AIDS. This method evolved from ideas about ridding human cells of bacterial infection.

Another instance concerning the positive outlook for an HIV cure happened last year in Mississippi. This child received a strong dosage of powerful antiviral medications shortly within 30 hours of birth and was cured of the virus. Early blood tests did not reveal HIV but exams conducted in July found traceable levels of the virus in the child’s bloodstream.

“We’ve always known that the search for an HIV cure wasn’t going to be easy,” Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, president of the International AIDS Society, was quoted in an article by Norman Rozenberg of Tech Page One. “Cases like this are hugely important for informing researchers on where to focus their efforts.”

Continued optimism and innovations are driving research forward, and a cure could be just around the corner.

Photo Credit – Temple University

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