

HIV flushed out by cancer drug - kungfudoi
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-33720325

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hebdo
It is worth to remember that there is a way to completely cure HIV, but it is
very dangerous, requires a very specific bone marrow match, and does not
erradicate all subtypes of the virus. Still, it is interesting:

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hematopoietic_stem_cell_transp...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hematopoietic_stem_cell_transplantation#HIV)

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ekianjo
> It is worth to remember that there is a way to completely cure HIV

N size on that kind of experiment is VERY limited, so I would be very careful
in making such claims.

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hebdo
Yes, but the underlying mechanism - the deletion in the CCR5 receptor coding
fragment - is a known source of HIV immunity in humans.

The bigger problem here is that bone marrow transplant is by itself more
dangerous than an antiretroviral-controlled HIV infection. Not to mention that
CCR5 deletions are quite rare.

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x5n1
It probably still does not activate 100% of the virus. Some still remains and
reactivates later.

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danieltillett
This is not the problem since you can chase out any remaining virus just by
extending the treatment time. The real problem is viral reservoirs that the
treatment does not reach (eg behind the blood brain barrier).

Having said this if I was infected with HIV this is exactly what I would be
doing (ie treating with drugs that suppressed viral replication while chasing
the latent virus out of hiding).

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iloveyouocean
I wonder how the blood brain barrier is affected by the recent discovery of
the linkage of the lymphatic system and the brain?

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danieltillett
The lymphatic system is a return (drainage) system. What is more interesting
is that it has been recently found that ultrasounds can make the blood brain
barrier leaky allowing you to get drugs into the brain that normally are
blocked.

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bmir-alum-007
It would be interesting if a similar approach might be applied to flush out
latent Chickenpox virus (VZV) from people whom experienced active disease
because of the massive risk of Shingles' long-lasting, debilitating symptoms
later in life.

Interestingly, a similar approach has been tried to flush out the related
HSV-1 [http://www.reuters.com/article/2008/07/02/us-herpes-
treatmen...](http://www.reuters.com/article/2008/07/02/us-herpes-treatment-
idUSN0229815620080702)

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pontifier
I like this "kick and kill" plan. This is the sort of technique that I'm sure
I will use to solve a problem in a totally unrelated area some day.

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fourstar
Here we go. Curing HIV again.

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fransr
"The team at the UC Davis School of Medicine investigated PEP005 - one of the
ingredients in a treatment to prevent cancer in sun-damaged skin."

PEP005 upside down is "SOOd3d".

