Aarhus, Denmark – A HIV cure could be close, according to a team of Danish scientists conducting human trials.
Researchers at the Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark are testing what they describe as a “novel strategy,” and reveal trials so far are “promising.”
The technique, which has already proven a success in lab experiments, involves freeing the HIV virus from DNA cells, where it collects in “reservoirs.” This brings the virus to the surface of the cells, where it can be permanently destroyed by a “vaccine” that primes the body’s natural immune system.
“I am almost certain that we will be successful in releasing the reservoirs of HIV,” senior researcher Dr. Ole Sogaard told The Daily Telegraph.
The trials currently feature fifteen patients. Should they be successfully cured of HIV, the “cure” will be used on a larger test group, along with an immune system booster. Says Dr. Sogaard:
“The challenge will be getting the patients’ immune system to recognize the virus and destroy it. This depends on the strength and sensitivity of individual immune systems.”
Dr. Sogaard was quick to point out that a “cure” is quite different from a preventative vaccine. Though a HIV cure would bring hope to millions of sufferers around the world, campaigning to raise awareness of what causes HIV would continue.
The US government halted a large study of an experimental HIV vaccine last week after it was found the shots weren’t preventing infection. That trial featured around 2,500 people, mostly gay men, from 19 cities.
