HIV Eradication Now and Then - Time to Take Action Toward an HIV Cure

When HIV/AIDS first began infecting people the likelihood of a cure seemed out of reach. Patients were treated and learned to live with the fact that they had a disease with no hope of restoral to health. Their illness was terminal and they faced a certain death from complications associated with the disease. In 1996, antiretroviral drugs were a new hope, not for a cure but to suppress the disease and give people a chance to live a longer more productive life with the illness. Researchers have discovered new treatments and have made strides when comparing the possibility of HIV Eradication Now and Then.

The promising outlook of successfully treating with antiretroviral drugs was short-lived as researchers discovered that what they called ‘reservoirs,’ which are places where the lingering virus lies in wait and emerge when the patient discontinues the drugs. The virus is then ready to flourish again attacking the CD4 immune cells. Research continues and the future looks a little brighter when comparing HIV eradication now and then, as the International AIDS Society and others have joined together once again in a renewed effort to find a cure for HIV/AIDS. The IAS continues to seek funding and support for cure-related science to continue.

The most recent research has brought about hope in the form of a functional cure, which means the virus is not totally eradicated from the body, but permanently suppressed. To suppress the virus would mean to stop replication and reduce the reservoirs, so that long-term remission of patients is possible. The IAS strategy is to raise awareness and obtain widespread support globally for the new research to address HIV persistence in some patients and further studies on the reservoirs. With a global outreach and support the realization of a cure or suppression is more promising when comparing HIV Eradication Now and Then.

Three main objectives exist in the research for HIV/AIDs. These objectives include recognition of the need for a safe HIV/AIDS therapeutic and preventive plan to help control the continuing AIDS epidemic, commitment to encourage a combination of both international and multidisciplinary research for an AIDS cure and encourage contributions for research from organizations, stakeholders and international leaders. With a combined effort and continued research the goal of ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic seems more in reach when comparing HIV Eradication Now and Then. It will take an ongoing combined effort, but with continued research a cure could be near.

Media Contact:
Alain Lafeuillade
AVPS
83100 Toulon, France
33-4-94616340