Medical expert of the article
New publications
Gene therapy will help in the treatment of HIV
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
All iLive content is medically reviewed or fact checked to ensure as much factual accuracy as possible.
We have strict sourcing guidelines and only link to reputable media sites, academic research institutions and, whenever possible, medically peer reviewed studies. Note that the numbers in parentheses ([1], [2], etc.) are clickable links to these studies.
If you feel that any of our content is inaccurate, out-of-date, or otherwise questionable, please select it and press Ctrl + Enter.
Scientists managed to change the genes in the blood cells of people infected with HIV, so that patients could better resist the virus. According to experts, genetic modification is the most effective and safe method of treatment. In the future, this method will eliminate the need to regularly take medications that contain the virus. Now scientists know for sure that in the world there are 1% of people who have copies of the defender gene from the immunodeficiency virus.
Now geneticists are trying to find ways to change the genome of this kind of genetic feature. It is known that infection with the immunodeficiency virus occurs through the surface protein CCR5 and at this stage, experts have tried to disable the genes that are responsible for the production of this protein. In one of the Pennsylvania universities an experiment was conducted, in which 12 volunteers participated. The blood of participants was filtered out and as a result, certain cells were isolated from it, to which scientists added modified genes. After that, the blood returned to the participants. A month later the drug treatment of volunteers was temporarily suspended and the immunodeficiency virus began to show activity in all but one, while scientists managed to determine that the cells had protection from the virus, their life cycle increased and they began to multiply. Experts believe that if the treated cells in the body become more, then a person can live with an immunodeficiency virus, as with a chronic disease. The only volunteer who did not activate the virus had a copy of the protective gene, so for the most part his body coped independently.
In addition, complete recovery from the immunodeficiency virus is possible, which proves the case of a small girl from America who is second in the history of medicine. Doctors knew that the child who contracted the immunodeficiency virus during the period of intrauterine development, the probability of infection is extremely high and therefore decided to conduct immune stimulation and antiviral treatment in the very first hours after birth. During the first year of life, the girl was carefully observed and as a result of recent tests, doctors can say with confidence about the girl's full recovery. According to the doctors, the decisive factor in the treatment of the immunodeficiency virus in children who became infected during the period of intrauterine development are the activities started immediately in the first hours after birth, in this case, the sooner the treatment begins, the greater the chances of success.
The first case of a complete cure for the immunodeficiency virus occurred in 2010, when physicians decided at their own risk and risk to begin treatment immediately after childbirth. A small patient in the first day of her life received intensive postpartum therapy, after which she passed a nine-month course of standard treatment for HIV and became completely healthy.
In the near future specialists intend to conduct a study involving 50 newborns with HIV.
[