Breakthrough in fight against AIDS, scientists 'delete' HIV from human cells [View all]
Apologies if this has been threaded before, but a little bit of good news now and again can't hurt in these stressful times....
Breakthrough in fight against AIDS, scientists 'delete' HIV from human cells
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/science/Breakthrough-in-fight-against-AIDS-scientists-delete-HIV-from-human-cells/articleshow/38875772.cms
>>From there, the cell's gene repair machinery takes over, soldering the loose ends of the genome back together — resulting in virus-free cells.<<
"Since HIV-1 is never cleared by the immune system, removal of the virus is required in order to cure the disease," said Khalili, whose research focuses on the neuropathogenesis of viral infections. The same technique could theoretically be used against a variety of viruses, he said.
The research shows that these molecular tools also hold promise as a therapeutic vaccine; cells armed with the nuclease-RNA combination proved impervious to HIV infection. Worldwide, more than 33 million people have HIV.
Although highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has controlled HIV-1 for infected people in the developed world over the last 15 years, the virus can rage again with any interruption in treatment.
Even when HIV-1 replication is well controlled with HAART, the lingering HIV-1 presence has health consequences.