Researchers are due to present a report today finding that a single infusion of HIV-fighting molecules could suppress the incurable virus to undetectable levels. Modeled after a treatment for leukemia, the approach could mark the closest researchers have come to a one-and-done treatment for the disease, but it remains years away from widespread availability.
Scientists extracted and engineered seven patients’ immune cells to carry two molecules that bind to HIV and kill infected cells. One also defends the immune cells from becoming infected. The day the cells were reinjected into their bodies, the patients stopped taking antiretroviral drugs—the standard treatment for HIV often involving multiple pills daily. (How do antiretroviral drugs work?)
Patients who began antiretroviral therapy within months of their diagnosis saw remission lasting up to 92 weeks when switching to the infusion, while those who received initial treatment later appeared to respond less effectively to the infusion.
See a map of global death rates from HIV here.
