For years, HIV AIDS was often regarded as death sentence. These days, however, reports about HIV AIDS are far more positive. Advances in treatment have changed the medical community’s perception of the disease regarding it as a manageable, chronic infection. However, the disease remains an devastating epidemic throughout the world, so researchers are still intent on finding a cure for HIV AIDS. In fact they may have come one step closer thanks to a patient named Timothy Ray Brown.

A Cure for HIV?

Brown, also known as the "Berlin Patient," was suffering from both HIV and leukemia when doctors performed a stem cell transplant to address the latter disease. Utilizing HIV-resistant stem cells, the procedure took place in 2007. Three and a half years later, doctors deemed Brown to be cured of HIV, as no evidence of infection has been found in his blood since the stem cell transplant took place. Furthermore, since undergoing the transplant, Brown has not taken medication for HIV, prompting doctors involved in his case to publicize their opinions about HIV AIDS being curable.

Stem Cells as HIV AIDS Treatment

In light of this news about HIV AIDS, doctors are contemplating the notion of stem cell treatment as an effective, permanent cure for the disease. The problem, of course, is that stem cell transplants carry inherent risks, including graft-versus-host disease, organ failure, and even death. As early medical intervention for HIV allows for the possibility of long-term survival for those infected, introducing such an uncertain procedure may not be worth the risk. Additionally, the success of Brown’s physicians in eliminating HIV infection is essentially a medical anomaly; while Brown himself has been cured of HIV, the same results cannot currently be anticipated in similar patients undergoing comparable procedures.

Understanding More About HIV AIDS Treatment

The medical community has known for quite some time that antiretroviral medication can slow the progression of HIV and help preserve immune system health in those infected. However, recent reports have shown that uninfected individuals who take antiretroviral drugs can reduce their risk of contracting HIV by up to 73 percent. In a trial sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases consisting of approximately 2,500 HIV-negative, high-risk gay men, it was determined that an antiretroviral pill called Truvada reduced the risk of HIV by 44 percent (1). For those who took the pill on a regular basis, the number climbed to approximately 73 percent. As there is currently no vaccine for HIV, the use of antiretroviral medication as a preventative measure represents a significant step toward HIV and AIDS prevention. As researchers learn more about HIV AIDS treatment benefits, those at risk for infection may find themselves with more options for disease prevention.

Preventing HIV

To avoid contracting HIV, those at risk must consistently use protection during all forms of sexual intercourse and limit sexual activity to a single, monogamous partner who has undergone STD testing and is confirmed to be disease-free. Frequent STD testing for HIV is recommended for men who have sex with other men as well as individuals with multiple sexual partners.

1.       http://www.niaid.nih.gov/news/newsreleases/2010/Pages/iPrEx.aspx

Doctors have recently announced that an HIV-positive Berlin man who underwent a bone marrow transplant for leukemia three years ago shows no traces of the HIV virus. Doctors have declared him cured of HIV. While this is a remarkable medical breakthrough, medical experts urge caution and stress that this is not a universal cure.

This patient’s case is unique. He received a bone marrow from a donor with a rare genetic mutation that increases immunity against the most common strain of HIV. Since this mutation is such an uncommon occurrence, this advance can hardly be viewed as a mass cure for the 33 million people currently infected with HIV worldwide.

This news is exciting, but there are a few uncertainties:

1.       Test currently do not show HIV in his system, but it may still be hiding there. As seen with patients taking anti-viral drugs, the virus has been known to disappear and reappear. More testing may need to be done on this patient to determine whether the virus has permanently disappeared.

2.       The genetic mutation used in this procedure is very rare, present in only 1% of Caucasians and 0% of African Americans. This mutation is not realistic because finding enough donors to supply the 33 million people living with HIV/AIDS is impossible.

3.       Bone marrow transplants are a very dangerous procedure. Before receiving the donor stem cells, the patient must endure strong chemotherapy to destroy their current bone marrow. This leaves them without an immune system and vulnerable to disease until the transplanted marrow can make new blood cells. Furthermore, patients risk rejecting the donor cells and about one third of patients die during the bone marrow procedure.

4.       Bone marrow transplants are very expensive and simply not an option for many people around the world with HIV/AIDS.

While this medical advancement is not a universal cure, it is a significant and praiseworthy advance in gene therapy. A widespread cure is many years off, as technology needs to be perfected and many challenges need to be addressed such as how a cure would be delivered and made available to 30 million people worldwide.

Source: http://pagingdrgupta.blogs.cnn.com/2010/12/15/why-hiv-advance-is-not-a-universal-cure/

What is drug resistant HIV?

Drug resistant HIV is the HIV strain that does not respond to typical HIV medications. The drug resistant HIV strain is more virulent and it does not get killed with the typical HIV medications. This HIV strain has developed resistance to medications so the virus can ignore the medications and simply keep infecting the patient. It is bad to have drug resistant HIV.

How can you get drug resistant HIV?

You can get drug resistant HIV from an initial infection. This means that if you contracted HIV through blood or bodily fluids from a person who already has drug resistant HIV. And now you will have the drug resistant HIV strain. Having sex with a drug resistant HIV person can transmit drug resistant HIV to you if protection is not used during sex.

Another way drug resistant HIV can be acquired is when a person with HIV has unsafe sex with another HIV person. Two HIV infected people may think that is safe to have unsafe sex since they are both infected but this is NOT SAFE at all. This is not safe because both people might have different strains of HIV and by having sex they are getting a bigger HIV infection. They can develop drug resistant HIV from having unsafe sex with another HIV positive person. The best way to prevent drug resistant HIV is to take all medications that are prescribed to you and have safe sex with EVERYONE including other HIV positive people.