Danish scientists close to HIV cure

Danish scientists working  on techniques to  destroy HIV permanently London – Mai Mihaimeed A breakthrough in finding a cure for HIV may come “within months”, Danish scientists have claimed. The researchers are expecting results that will show that that “finding a mass-distributable and affordable cure to HIV is possible”. They are conducting clinical trials to test a "novel strategy" in which the HIV virus is stripped from human DNA and destroyed by the immune system, British newspaper The Telegraph reports. The move would prove a major step towards finding a cure for the virus which causes Aids. Researchers are presently carrying out human trials on the newly developed treatment, hoping to prove its effectiveness. The treatment has already been found to work in laboratory tests. The technique involves releasing the HIV virus from “reservoirs” it forms in DNA cells, bringing it to the surface of the cells, The Telegraph reported. Once it reaches the surface, the body’s natural immune system can work to kill the virus through being boosted by a “vaccine”. The Danish scientists are currently working to develop new, cheaper techniques to remove the dangerous virus from human DNA and destroy it permanently.  In vitro studies of the new technique proved to be so successful that in January, the Danish Research Council awarded the team £1.5 million to pursue the study further in clinical trials with human subjects. Dr Ole Søgaard, a senior researcher at the Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark who is part of the research team, speaking to The Telegraph said: “I am almost certain that we will be successful in releasing the reservoirs of HIV. “The challenge will be getting the patients’ immune system to recognise the virus and destroy it. This depends on the strength and sensitivity of individual immune systems.” 15 patients are currently taking part in the trials, and if they found to be successfully cured of HIV, the treatment will be tested on a wider scale. Søgaard stressed that the development of a cure is not the same as a preventative vaccine, and that raising awareness of unsafe behaviour, including unprotected sex and sharing needles, remains of vital importance in preventing HIV. If successful, the cure would free a patient from the need to take continuous HIV medication, and save health services billions.