Treatment News : Virus-Free Gene Therapy for HIV Shows Promise - by Tim Horn

Treatment News : Virus-Free Gene Therapy for HIV Shows Promise - by Tim Horn

"International Workshop on HIV & Hepatitis Virus Drug Resistance and Curative Strategies" held in Sitges, Spain, June 5-8

Sharon Lewin from Melbourne, Australia, gave a plenary lecture about the different possible strategies than can be tested to reach an HIV cure. There are actually two kinds of cure, either functional (HIV remains but is undetectable without antiretroviral therapy), or sterilizing (HIV no longer detectable and the patient becomes seronegative against HIV).

The So Called HIV Cured "Berlin" Patient Still Has Detectable HIV in His Body

The So Called HIV Cured "Berlin" Patient Still Has Detectable HIV in His Body

Bummer. Literally.

UNC Research Team Takes Steps Toward Possible HIV Cure - Chapelboro.com

UNC Research Team Takes Steps Toward Possible HIV Cure - Chapelboro.com - although this is touted as possible cure research, it seems to me to be more about value-of-early-antiretroviral-therapy research, particularly as it relates to preventing the infection of latent (resting) T-cells.

Last hour in Melbourne

 A short elegy for the 12 or so years I've spent in Victoria. It has been a great time but it's time for a new challenge. Look out Brisbane - here we come, ready or not.

AIDSmeds - Top Stories : New Studies Under Way of Sangamo's Possible 'Functional Cure' Gene Therapy: "January 10, 2012

New Studies Under Way of Sangamo's Possible 'Functional Cure' Gene Therapy
Sangamo BioSciences has begun new clinical studies of its promising gene therapy SB-728-T, a potential “functional cure” for HIV infection, according to a January 9 announcement by the company.

SB-728-T is a zinc finger DNA-binding protein transcription factor (ZFP TF). It disrupts the gene responsible for making CCR5 co-receptors on the surface of CD4 cells, to which HIV bonds. When CD4 cells can’t produce functional co-receptors, it is much harder for HIV to infect them.

The aim of SB-728-T therapy is to grow a new population of CD4 cells that are resistant to HIV infection, and thus make antiretroviral (ARV) therapy unnecessary."

'via Blog this'

AIDSmeds - Top Stories : Study Shows High Satisfaction and Success With Internet-Based HIV Care

AIDSmeds - Top Stories : Study Shows High Satisfaction and Success With Internet-Based HIV Care: "A group of HIV-positive people who received their health care via the Internet from a Barcelona HIV clinic felt that their care was comparable with—and potentially superior to—standard in-person care. These findings, published January 21 in the online journal PLoS One and reported March 21 on the website Computerworld, could offer hope to select patients in rural settings who must often travel great distances to receive specialty HIV care."

AIDSmeds - Top Stories : Experts Propose Transmissible Gene Therapy to Halt the HIV Epidemic

AIDSmeds - Top Stories : Experts Propose Transmissible Gene Therapy to Halt the HIV Epidemic

Researchers have outlined an intriguing model that could help slow the spread of HIV better than test-and-treat models or a modestly effective HIV vaccine. Their theory, published online March 17 in the journal PLoS Computational Biology and reported by aidsmap, details how a gene therapy that curbs HIV production could be given to people with HIV. If these people were to have unsafe sex with someone else, they would pass along the gene therapy, essentially limiting the effects of HIV if the virus were to take hold in their sex partner.

AIDSmeds - Top Stories : Berlin Patient Follow-Up 'Strongly Suggests' HIV Cure - by Tim Horn

So. A cure.

AIDSmeds - Top Stories : Berlin Patient Follow-Up 'Strongly Suggests' HIV Cure - by Tim Horn