HIV is one of the most deadly diseases feared by many people. Now there is one bright spot, thanks to the invention of the first drug that can kill HIV cells.
HIV is a disease that attacks the body's immune system. All tissues, organs, and cells that serves to maintain our immune system will be attacked when the HIV virus enters the body.
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| Antibody treatment reduced levels of HIV in study participants for 28 days. (Picture from: http://bit.ly/1PmK8Bh) |
The approach, called passive immunization, involves infusing antibodies into a person's blood. Several trials are under way in humans, and researchers hope that the approach could help to prevent, treat or even cure HIV. The work is a milestone towards those goals, says Anthony Fauci, director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in Bethesda, Maryland. "his is an early study, but it’s a study with some impressive results," he says.
Antibodies named '3BNC117' this could kill the HIV virus, not just suppress growth. The good news, this drug also has been tested right now to humans. Researchers tested four different doses of an HIV antibody called 3BNC117 in 29 people in the United States and Germany. Seventeen of the participants had HIV, and 15 of those were not taking antiretroviral (ARV) drugs at the time of the study. One infusion of the highest dose of antibody, given to 8 participants, cut the amount of virus in their blood by between 8 and 250 times for 28 days.
In two weeks, the HIV virus in the patient's body has been reduced to 300 times less. Although this is very encouraging news, scientists do not want to fall asleep. They are still investigating whether the effect of this drug is a long-term effect or only a temporary effect. Hopefully this effect can last for a long time that people with HIV can be cured. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | NATURE]
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