British man ‘could become first person in the UK to be cured of HIV’, experts reveal
Research carried out top UK universities and NHS provide hope in the ongoing battle to defeat the deadly virus
A BRITISH man could become one of the first to be cured of HIV — using a therapy developed by five UK universities.
The 44-year-old social worker is one of 50 patients having the treatment that can kill the virus.
He is making “remarkable progress” and has no signs of HIV.
If successful the “kick and kill” treatment could provide a cure for HIV.
The patient, from London, said: “My last blood test was a couple of weeks ago and there is no detectable virus.
“We’ll have to wait to be sure.”
The trial by the National Institute for Health Research Office for Clinical Research Infrastructure comes after research from the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, Imperial College London, University College London and King’s College London.
Mark Samuels, managing director of NOCRI, said: “This is a huge challenge and it’s still early days but the progress has been remarkable.”
HIV targets T-cells in the immune system.
Currently HIV is treated with anti-retroviral therapies which hold back infection but do not destroy dormant cells waiting to spark into life.
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Under the new procedure, a vaccine first identifies HIV in dormant cells.
Then new drug Vorinostat helps produce viral proteins that “kill” the cell.
It is estimated 103,700 people have HIV in the UK and 17 per cent are unaware.
Ian Green, chief executive of the Terrence Higgins Trust, said though it is very early days, the signs are promising.
He told The Sun Online: "HIV treatment currently focuses on reducing the amount of HIV in the blood to ‘undetectable’ levels, meaning the patient stays well and the virus cannot be transmitted.
"However there is still no cure for HIV, and we welcome this ambitious study which looks to eradicate the virus completely from the bodies of people living with HIV, instead of suppressing it.
"It's very early days, but we hope the results will help future studies on the way to finding a cure in years to come.
“Until that time it is still important that we continue to work towards ending HIV transmission and encouraging regular testing as we know that early diagnosis and effective treatment mean people living with HIV can expect long and healthy lives, and won't transmit the virus to others."