The latest news on HIV/AIDS cure seems to be indicating that experts still have a long way to go in finding a cure for the disease as well as getting it under control. The reason? A new study discovered that the HIV prevention drug Truvada is not as effective in women as it is in men.
According to the latest news on HIV/AIDS cure, a study published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases by the University of North Carolina revealed that men only need two doses of Truvada weekly to protect against HIV. However, women required a daily dose, Morning Ticker noted.
Experts also said that Truvada has comforted many people into a false sense of security since the pills should be taken as prescribed to be effective. They also added that the disease may be resistant to a Truvada-based treatment in cases when they already got infected with AIDS.
Despite discovering several imperfect drugs against the HIV/AIDS epidemic, science continues to make progress in looking for new ways to battle the disease. In fact, there are many exciting developments that could pave the way for a vaccine.
University of North Carolina professor Dr. Stuart Rennie, however, said that scientists still have a lot to learn on the pathogenesis of HIV. But he stressed that funding for research that aimed to find a cure has also been increasing.
Meanwhile, another latest news on HIV/AIDS cure revealed that the virus has the capability to hide in the patient's cells as well as to mutate. Fortunately, a vaccine has been developed that can "kick out and kill" the virus, CrossMap noted.
"Our study shows that the immune system can be as powerful as the most potent combination drug cocktails," University College London's Dr. Ravi Gupta said. "We're still a long way from being able to cure HIV patients, as we still need to develop and test effective vaccines, but this study takes us one step closer by showing us what type of immune responses an effective vaccine should induce."
The recent study was helmed by a group of scientists from the University College London, University of Oxford and University of North Carolina. But, it was only based on one patient.
As science turned the HIV/AIDS infection into a manageable illness, many HIV patients can now maintain healthy lives, compared to being a death sentence in the past. And with the latest news on HIV/AIDS cure, drug resistance has become fairly uncommon, Medical Xpress reported.
