Think i read a advanced news letter that stated they would need a combination of specialized drugs doing different tasks to possibly cure or help the immune system rid the virus from the body although some argue a virus can never truly be ridden from the body. I think of the process like a red flag or like putting a laser on a target then hitting it with guided precision weapons.

One of the drugs would have to activate all DORMANT variations of the virus. Another drug targets HIV protein as they are being integrated into the cell...the "dicer" mechanism within the cell then recognizes HIV and chops up the foriegn recognoized RNA strands into useless bits of junk for digestion. This process is called "RNAi" or "RNA Interference".

Here is an article on RNAi from the N.I.H.

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1282568

This is the closest and most advanced thing we have to a possible cure that i am aware of or have read about so far.

Yes, this way out of the scope of the project. Our job here is just to process work units to hopefully find drugs that will more EFFECTIVELY bind with the HIV protease if i'm understanding it right. As always drug resistance is a constant problem with the virus and the body.

I think of a treatment like plugging holes in the bottom of a boat...everytime you plug on hole then two more holes pop up. All this really does is buy valuable time at a great cost in both money, resources and even on the human body. Not to mention that most drugs loose effectiveness as evolution takes place in the virus and as the antibodies in the human body learn to attack the drugs as a foriegn substance thereby having to increase dosages or rotating the drugs used and destroying vital system organs longer term as toxicity builds up.

I believe we have every responsibility to try and push HIV to the ends of the earth in pursuit of more EFFECTIVE treatments and more importantly a possible CURE. I don't believe this cure would come easy or anytime in the near future with our current and maybe future knowledge about viruses...but,to me a cure is something that lets someone live a normal, healthy life with the least amount of drug dependency possible and the individual never experience any significant or noticable symptoms of the disease even if they lived to be 70 or 80 and died of other natural causes which weren't related.

If we ever got anything beyond that and drug dependency become a thing of the past then there might be a great debate as to what a cure really is and if the person is still a possible carrier or not....I'm sure there might be fear the virus would be dormant or hiding...the fear might be justified in some cases even if they test negative for longer periods without drugs.

Yes, I believe "Active" and "Passive" drugs and the immune system need to work together to achieve this state. In all reality a virus is the great equalizer...viruses keep the population in check...the more the population grows the more viruses naturally evolve. However, i believe we are given a higher order of intelligence for a reason. And this intelligence should not and cannot be wasted by sitting around....our true nature isn't to be erradicated but to learn lessons and gain knowledge for when we reach for the stars and achieve a greater purpose. We will have no time for viral illness by then.


In either case i figure we should do what we can to save, improve lives and build our knowledge of the great universe in which we live. Our goal here should be to evolve and adapt as well and to never stop learning in any shape or form.


Thats my daily tangent or insanity for the day...now off to school :p

Thinking back over the history of medicine, we have only ever been able to totally eradicate a disease by a concerted, global vaccination program. And in nearly all cases, not even then.

Even if we do reach the "Holy Grail" of an AIDS vaccine, there are a number of problems facing us. First, AIDS mutatates rapidly. Fighting it may well prove to be as hard as fighting the common cold, or flu. Then there's the social aspect. Many people who consider themselves to be not at risk may refuse the vaccine - even at-risk people may refuse it to avoid the stigma.

Smallpox is viral. It can be done.