New Research: HIV Medicine And AIDS Treaments

By:

Published: August 2, 2007

Finding a cure for HIV and AIDS is arguably the most important scientific challenge facing the world today. While current antiretroviral treatments have increased the average life expectancy after infection to 32.1 years, they still cause many adverse side effects and are too expensive and inaccessible for millions of infected individuals.

With 46 million living with HIV today, all eyes are on pharmaceutical companies for new research.

Support Organizations

Merck Research Laboratories, one of the frontrunners, has new research suggesting the potential for integrase-inhibitors to block an enzyme responsible for HIV replication. One drug in this family has proved very successful when tested on patients with advanced HIV. After enduring ten years of regular antiretroviral medicine, patients testing raltegravir saw a 98% drop in their HIV RNA count. The new research on this drug shows great potential for future use in combination treatments.

Drawbacks to the current drug cocktail approach to HIV include the expense of mixing several drugs together and the high toxicity of such a combination. New research from the University of Minnesota's Center for Drug Design has introduced the possibility of combining the features of two separate drugs into one independent drug. This new research concept is called Portmanteau Inhibitors. More tests are underway, but scientists suggest that this drug may replace cocktail treatments in the future.

Unfortunately for researchers and patients alike, HIV genes are highly prone to mutation, leading to some drug-resistant strains. New research has produced a less time-consuming, more user-friendly and effective test capable of detecting drug-resistant strains of HIV. The specific strains a patient is infected with, new research indicates, should have profound implications on the methods of treatments used. The scientists at Duke University Medical Center responsible for developing the test hope that, in the near future, treatments will be prescribed to patients based on the results of their diagnostic test.

While the innovative new research on the diagnosis and treatment of HIV is impressive, finding a vaccine has proved more challenging. Because of HIV mutability, only an unimaginably broad vaccine would protect against all strains of the virus. A phase II clinical trial began on a Merck vaccine in 2004. While early trials found this vaccine safe and effective in creating HIV immunity in over half the volunteers, final results of this new research are not expected until the year 2009.

In the end, new research on HIV treatments is all well and good, but what the world is truly waiting for is a cure. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, believes the wait may be drawing to a close. New research using cutting edge medicine developed by both Merck and Roche Holding Ag suggests possible eradication of all HIV RNA in patients. The cure would consist of aggressive combination treatments for at least one year, a re-test for signs of the virus, and then a discontinuation of treatments if the HIV appears to be gone. Time will tell the efficacy of this new approach.

Until then, millions of HIV and AIDS victims watch and wait, innovative scientists scramble to develop new research, and pharmaceutical companies poise to watch their stocks go through the roof. Let's hope our generation can bring this crisis to an end, or at least pave the way for generations to come.

Sources
"Early Success with New HIV Drug." BBC News. 13 April 2007. 25 July 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6548303.stm.

“HIV.” Wikipedia. 25 July 2007. 25 July 2007. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HIV#Treatment.

"HIV Vaccine." Wikipedia. 25 July 2007. 25 July 2007. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HIV_vaccine.

Lauerman, John. "Top U.S. Scientist to Use New AIDS Drugs Seeking Cure." Bloomberg.com. 15 May 2007. 25 July 2007. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&am p;sid=a.0x1mlV37Qw&refer=home

"New Test for HIV Drug Resistance." BBC News. 8 January 2007. 25 July 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6233343.stm.

"Researchers Discover New Method to Combat HIV." University of Minnesota. 23 July 2007. Science Daily. 25 July 2007. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/07072 3160034.htm.

Treatment for HIV and AIDS. AIDSMeds.com. 2007. Smart and Strong. 25 July 2007. http://www.aidsmeds.com/list.shtml.