Remarkable new research on treating HIV: scientists may be on the trail of a method to suppress the virus without having to take pills every single day.
For now, it’s highly preliminary. Thirteen people stopped taking their daily cocktails, and instead got an antibody called 3BNC117. That treatment was able to prevent HIV from reaching dangerous levels for over a month. In fact, some of the patients saw their viral loads stay low for two months.
This treatment is a bit of a shift from the drugs we’re used to. It uses the body’s own immune system to fight infection. One possible advantage of using antibodies instead of antiretrovirals (or in concert with them) is that it may prevent stronger, more destructive strains from “hiding” in the body and then making a surprise appearance.
They’re calling the approach “kick and kill,” which is maybe a little graphic but okay. The idea is that they’ll kick the virus out of the hard-to-treat areas of the body, and while it’s exposed, kill it. By discontinuing the antiretrovirals, the tougher strains may be lured out of hiding. From there, the antibodies can be used to identify those viruses and expose them to destruction by the body’s immune system.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
A similar approach has been attempted to treat certain cancers.
The antibody used in this study has an interesting source: rather than being fabricated entirely in a lab, it was harvested from a human donor. Some people are able to naturally resist HIV more strongly than others, and so researchers took samples from a person with an unusually resilient immune system. Because it’s a naturally-occurring substance in human bodies, there’s a better likelihood that it will be safe to use.
This may not be a cure … yet. For now, the next step is to determine whether it could function as an inoculation. Preliminary study showed that it might prevent infection, similar to PrEP. The goal for now is to engineer the substance to last in the body for at least three months.
Brian
HIV does not cause AIDS. HIV is a marker virus, not a causal virus. Imagine how much money Big Pharma has made from people buying its drugs to treat HIV? Billions.
Scientists funded by Big Pharma have been complicit in this.
Stache
@Brian: and you’re just a shithead troll that takes sick pleasure in saying dumb BS for shock value without any facts.
Stache
This could be the holy grail of treatments. If you could draw the virus out then you could destroy it. Sounds promising.
curan
This technique likely uses monoclonal antibodies, where human memory B cells are fused with mouse cancer cells. The resulting immortalized hybrids are farmed for antibody production.
One big problem with the process is that it is expensive and difficult. Standard treatments are far more cost-effective.
Another major problem is that the drugs are quite perishable, and must be kept refrigerated and used before an expiration date.
The technique is used for a number of pharmaceuticals, and drugs ending with the letters “mab” all share these properties.
Kangol
Sounds like good news! Thanks for posting, Queerty.
He BGB
Wonder if the world will hear about important stories like this and that Stonewall end was just declared a National Monument? Will they be on the CBS News tonight? Thank you, queerty, and other gay news outlets.
Dave084
This sounds all good and may prove to be great. But for now, merely keeping the virus from reaching dangerous levels is not good enough. The virus has to be kept at undetectable levels
youarekiddingme
@curan: You got your information from your “Googled” article and fouled it up when you transposed it into your quote above. Here’s the actual article: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v522/n7557/full/nature14411.html
Nothing about “mouse cancer cells” in that journal or any other study. This therapy was study in mice however. No where do they discuss refrigeration and even if it does…we don’t live in the 19th Century, refrigerated drugs do not represent a huge cost over nonrefrigerated drugs. What are you talking about?
Realityis
I hate Big Pharma and most of the Health Care Industry as much as I hate HIV, and I vehemently hate HIV.
Dam, I hate these articles that provide a glimmer of HOPE but also a glimmer of FAILURE.
STOP DANGLING CARROTS!
BRING ME A CURE AND SHUT THE F-CK UP ALREADY!