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What Is HIV/AIDS?
HIV/AIDS is a deadly virus which has already claimed so many lives worldwide. HIV/AIDS is an acronym for Human immunodeficiency virus and Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome respectively. HIV affects the human body by attacking the white blood cells that is naturally supposed to fight infections in the body.
However, it is possible for someone who is HIV positive to be AIDS negative on the other hand; anyone who has AIDS already has HIV. One of the ways of contracting HIV is through unprotected sex with HIV positive person, sharing of sharp objects, infusing HIV infected blood etc
Treatment - The Antiretroviral Drugs
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Antiretroviral Drugs are medications used purposely for treating viral infections. Unlike other types of drugs (like antibacterial drugs), antiretroviral drugs does not offer a cure rather it is a medication that is taken to help in suppressing the AIDS Virus to a stage in which the virus is less detectable. When trying to describe the outcome of using the antiretroviral drug, one can use the word “dormant”, this is because the antiretroviral drugs keeps the virus dormant in the affected person’s immune system as long as he or she is persistent enough to take the drugs.
This also means that the moment the infected person stops taking his or her medication then the virus slowly energizes and in full force attacks the immune system. So far, beside a miracle from God and the antiretroviral drug used for suppressing the virus, the has not been any known cure for HIV/AIDS worldwide.
Year in year out, we hear different people from different part of the world who claim that they have found a cure for the deadly virus but I feel that “no one appreciates bad health condition and as such, if such a cure existed, then no one would be using the antiretroviral drug again.
According to research, researchers are on the verge of introducing another kind of drug which leads us to the topic of this write up. Without wasting much time again, let’s consider the next sub-topic.
A Functional Cure for HIV/AIDS
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A functional cure is an experimental treatment regimen which is being developed that could offer HIV positive people something similar to a cure. In other words, infected people won’t have to take the antiretroviral infections everyday rather they would be given a specific dose or shot which would last for a specified period before taking another shot.
According to Dr. Dan Barouch:
“the objective of our study was to identify a functional cure for HIV, not to eradicate the virus, but to control it without the need for (antiretroviral therapy)… we are trying o develop strategies to achieve ART-free (antiretroviral therapy- free) long term viral suppression.” Source
The functional cure is a drug called Entyvio. According to Euronews, the drug is an antibody engineered to attack a specified protein known generically as Vedolizumab, it is approved in more than 50 countries for Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn’s disease.
Entyvio was discovered by Dr. Anthony Fauci to be a functional cure for HIV. He is an American immunologist who has dedicated his life to studies as regarding HIV/AIDS. Though in his research, he has only tested it on monkeys alone was said to be able to suppress the virus in eight (8) monkeys for about two years.
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When Will It Be Introduced?
The drug is still under research on monkeys and won’t be in use or introduced to humans until late 2017 or early 2018 and after it has been used for the first seven people in human as a trial.
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