Reason: HIV Cure Stays Elusive

Fresh study focuses on why the researchers have missed out on developing a cure and new treatments for HIV.

In the report, an Australian scientist explained how he used computer simulations to discover that a population starting from a single human immunodeficiency virus can evolve fast enough to escape immune defenses.

About HIV Clinical Features
Encyclopedia section of medindia gives general info about HIV Clinical Features

These results are novel because the discovery runs counter to the commonly held belief that evolution under these circumstances is very slow.

"I believe the search for a cure for AIDS has failed so far because we do not fully understand how HIV evolves," said Jack da Silva, Ph.D., author of the study from the School of Molecular and Biomedical Science at the University of Adelaide in Adelaide, Australia.

"Further insight into the precise genetic mechanisms by which the virus manages to so readily adapt to all the challenges we throw at it will, hopefully, lead to novel strategies for vaccines and other control measures."

AIDS/HIV Treatment - Drugs - Proteas Inhibitors - NRTIs - NNRTIs
Encyclopedia section of medindia explains in brief about the treatment for AIDS/HIV

To make this discovery, da Silva used computer simulation to determine whether, under realistic conditions, the virus could evolve as rapidly as had been reported if the virus population started from a single individual virus.

This was done by constructing a model of the virus population and then simulating the killing of virus-infected cells by the immune system, along with mutation, recombination and random genetic changes, due to a small population size, affecting viral genes.

Lab Test for AIDS/HIV
Describes how screening for HIV is performed in a laboratory.

Results showed that for realistic rates of cell killing, mutation and recombination, and a realistic population size, that the virus could evolve very rapidly even if the initial population size is one.

"A cure for HIV/AIDS has been elusive, and this report sheds light on the reason," said Mark Johnston, Ph.D., Editor-in-Chief of the journal.

Screening for HIV/AIDS Infection
Efficient screening and better drugs help reduce the prevalence of HIV infection. A number of tests like ELIZA & Western Blot are used for screening HIV.

"Now that we know HIV rapidly evolves, even when its population size is small, we may be able to interfere with its ability to evolve so we can get the most out of the treatments that are developed," Johnston added.

The study has been published in the journal Genetics.

Source-ANI