A team of scientists from University of North Carolina, University of Oxford and University College London has done a remarkable research on HIV/AIDS that the result would get them closer to find HIV cure.
The researchers studied a 59-year-old London man, HIV patient with 'elite controller'. According to Dr. Ravi Gupta, the patient's immune system is rare because it allows him to live without treatment for a longer period of time than of those who don't have the 'elite controller'.
The single-patient study identifies the immune cells responsible for fighting HIV infection
The rare individual will someday need the treatment since HIV is slowly hitting on immune systems but the ability to have 'elite controller' will delay the infection process. The UCL News reported that the subject also has bone marrow cancer, myeloma, that is said to lower down the immune system levels after being removed. Using stem cell transplant, the HIV level turns out to decline.
Furthermore, Gupta explains that albeit interpreting from a single person study, it is the rare patient that helps them the most in understanding the disease and finding the possible cures. The study author, who previously spoke to Reuters of the expensive price of second-line drugs, expressed his concern on the available medications. They might have more side effects for the HIV patients.
The study also finds that human's immune system can be as potent as drug cocktails. Although the quest to find HIV cure is still long, the team believes that this study leads to the right path. They have learned that vaccine will respond to a typical immune cell - which the medication should be induced in.
Dr. Nilu Goonetilleke from the University of North Carolina explained how HIV-1 is controlled using immune system. The response of the immune system types will determine where the vaccination should be targeting.
The team has not concluded the research yet since the result is still questionable; whether it can kill the virus in some ways. Nevertheless, the promising result is translated to optimism for HIV patients albeit another decade to perfect the result.
