HIV-AIDS •

Antifungal foot cream to cure HIV

September 26, 2013 By Janet Vasquez Leave a Comment

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Making another major advancement in the treatment of deadly HIV/AIDS, scientists have discovered that a common drug used to treat nail fungus in feet may permanently eradicate the deadly HIV from the body.

According to the researchers, topical anti-fungal drug Ciclopirox causes HIV-infected cells by jamming up the cells’ powerhouse – the mitochondria.

Unlike current anti-HIV drugs, Ciclopirox completely eradicates infectious HIV from cell cultures, with no rebound of virus when the drug is stopped, according to researchers at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School.

Notably, the treatment of HIV patients advanced with the advent of combination anti-retroviral drugs. Although these drugs help in keeping HIV at bay, the patients are required to take them for the lifetime as they fail to eliminate the infection completely.

Scientists say, the perseverance of HIV is partially due to the ability of the virus to disable the cell’s altruistic suicide pathway, which is normally activated when a cell becomes infected or damaged.

Study

A team of researchers led by Michael Mathews and Hartmut Hanauske-Abel, previously showed that Ciclopirox, commonly used by dermatologists and gynaecologists to treat fungal infections, inhibits the expression of HIV genes in culture.

Healthy, uninfected cells examined during this study were spared. And remarkably, the virus did not bounce back when Ciclopirox was removed, researchers said.

The study was published in the journal PLOS ONE.

Fight against HIV-AIDS gaining momentum, says United Nations

September 23, 2013 By Janet Vasquez Leave a Comment

In a positive development, the United Nations has said that the global rate of HIV infection and the number of AIDS-related deaths have been dramatically reduced in the light of advanced treatment and improvement in its reach to the people.

In its annual report released on Monday, UNAIDS said, “HIV which now infects around 35.3 million people worldwide, the death rate from AIDS and HIV infection were falling, while the number of people getting treatment is going up.”

“Not only can we meet the 2015 target of 15 million people on HIV treatment, we must also go beyond and have the vision and commitment to ensure no one is left behind,” Michel Sidibé, UNAIDS’ executive director, said in a statement with Monday’s report.

According to the report, AIDS-related deaths in 2012 fell to 1.6 million, down from 1.7 million in 2011 and a peak of 2.3 million in 2005. Interestingly, the number of people newly infected with the disease dropped to 2.3 million in 2012 down from 2.5 million in 2011.

At the end of 2012, some 9.7 million people in poorer and middle-income countries had access to AIDS drugs. The report says it is an increase of nearly 20 percent in a year.

Since 2001, there has been a 52 percent drop in annual new HIV infections among children and a 33 percent reduction in newly infected adults and children combined.

Despite a flattening in donor funding for HIV, which has remained near 2008 levels, individual countries’ domestic spending on the epidemic has increased, accounting for 53 percent of global HIV resources in 2012, the UNAIDS report says. According to the United Nations, total funding for the global fight against HIV and AIDS in 2012 was USD 18.9 billion. Unfortunately, the figures are about USD3 billion to USD5 billion short of the estimated USD 22 billion to USD 24 billion needed annually by 2015.

The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) that leads to fatal disease AIDS can be transmitted via blood, breast milk and by semen during sex, but can be kept in check with cocktails of drugs known as antiretroviral treatment or therapy.

AIDS no more to remain epidemic by 2030: UN official

September 20, 2013 By Janet Vasquez Leave a Comment

After the scientists claimed to have discovered an AIDS vaccine that may completely clear the traces of HIV viruses from the body, here is another piece of good news for the world.

A top UN official has said the global AIDS epidemic could be over by 2030 amidst remarkable progress in treatment and control of the disease.

“I think that 2030 is a viable target to say that we have reached the end of the epidemic,” said Luis Loures, a deputy executive director of UNAIDS, the UN agency leading the fight against HIV/AIDS.

“HIV will continue existing as a case but not at the epidemic level we have today,” he added.

About 3 million new HIV infections are reported each year and the disease is responsible for killing 1.7 million people a year.

“We can get to the end of the epidemic because we have treatments and ways to control the infection,” said Loures while adding, “We are making progress, without a doubt.”

The treatment in the field has witnessed a significant improvement with cheaper and better medical facilities. Two decades ago the average annual cost of treatment per person with HIV was USD 19,000 while today it is USD 150 thanks to generic drugs.

Moreover, people with HIV are getting treatment earlier, which retards the disease’s development.

According to UNAIDS, the annual incidence of new infections has fallen 20 percent over the past decade, and in 25 countries, including 13 in sub-Saharan Africa, it has fallen by 50 percent.

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