Sunday, January 3, 2010

HIV After 25 Years, Can it be Cured?

There has now been 25 years since the discovery of HIV/AIDS and still there is no cure for the infectious disease. Scientists have found agents that suppress the disease in the body; however, no scientist has found a definite cure. There have been 25 new agents that keep the levels of HIV down in the blood. However, when these medicines are taken away, the HIV in the body comes back in full strength. These medicines are called highly active antiretroviral therapy, or HAART, and they have given many affected patients better, longer, and more healthful lives.

However, as stated previously these medicines do not cure the disease, they just make it more manageable. Scientists are puzzled why HAART does not totally cure and get rid of the HIV. Scientists have found that the HIV is forced into some kind of hiding when a patient’s body is undergoing the HAART treatment. Scientists are trying to find a medicine that is potent enough to totally eradicate the HIV from the body. They want to find where HIV hides in the body when the body is undergoing HAART in order to totally get rid of it. This problem is what scientists have been faced with since the discovery of HIV and HAART.
HIV After 25 Years
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Posted by Student at 1/03/2010 12:20:00 PM

9 comments:

  1. AnonymousJanuary 10, 2010 at 10:02 AM

    Is it possible that the medication to totally eliminate the hiding HIV could do other damage to the patient's body? And with the HAART medication is there any way to try to save the patient after the HIV has come back in full strength or would the doctors just have to let the disease run its course?

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  2. AnonymousJanuary 10, 2010 at 1:42 PM

    I am not sure about damage to the body.
    But, if the patient continues to take the HAART medication it will most certaintly keep the HIV at bay. But if the medicine is taken away the HIV comes back at full force.

    -nate c

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  3. ilanJanuary 12, 2010 at 2:26 PM

    This is very interesting. If and when the doctors find the HIV in hiding, how will they get rid of it?

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  4. PhillipJanuary 12, 2010 at 5:16 PM

    HIV/AIDS seems like a very difficult disease to deal with. If HAART keeps the patient alive for about 5 more years then not having anythng couldn't the doctors keep giving them HAART after every four to five years so that they would always have the medicine in their system backing up their immune system?

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  5. Daniele14January 14, 2010 at 4:24 PM

    Wow, if HIV can be cured, less people could die every year.

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  6. Sami2014January 15, 2010 at 5:19 PM

    This would be a breakthrough in science and have a major effect across the globe. Many suffer from HIV, and if this vaccine can find the hiding HIV, many peoples lives would be saved.

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  7. StudentJanuary 20, 2010 at 7:44 PM

    So if the patient is taking the medicine, no symptoms show?

    Do you think HAART does not get rid of HIV because HIV is lysogenic and incorporates itself into our cell's DNA?

    -Emma G.

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  8. AnonymousJanuary 21, 2010 at 2:36 PM

    If hypothetically a cure for HIV/AIDS was found, I wonder how the global population would be affected and whether or not the amount of people living who would have died otherwise would impact the global community... the world is already reaching it's population limit as is, and I have always been curious as to what our situation would be like if diseases like cancer and HIV AIDS were cured.

    -hayes10

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  9. AnonymousJanuary 21, 2010 at 6:19 PM

    I think Hayes raises a good question as in years to comes we could enter into a completely unknown realm.
    Graham10

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