Montreal researchers make breakthrough discovery in fighting HIV
CTV
Researchers in Montreal have made a breakthrough discovery in HIV research by finding a way to expel the virus from its hiding places and destroy it.
Researchers in Montreal have made a breakthrough discovery in HIV research by finding a way to expel the virus from its hiding places and destroy it.
The elimination of these "reservoirs" is probably the last hurdle still to be overcome before we can hope to defeat the disease, but it's a major challenge, warned Professor Eric Cohen, whose team at the Montréal Clinical Research Institute (IRCM) is behind this breakthrough.
"This is the new frontier in HIV research," he said. "HIV is no longer a fatal disease, it's a chronic disease that can be managed with lifelong treatment, but the new frontier is really about finding ways of eradicating the infection, of curing [infected people] so that they no longer have to take medication."
Taking antiretroviral drugs allows people with HIV people to lead essentially normal lives, but only for as long as they take their medication regularly. If the medication is stopped, the virus comes out of hiding and the disease returns with a vengeance.
The presence of these reservoirs is also associated with chronic inflammation, leading to a number of comorbidities, such as cognitive impairment, cardiovascular problems and certain cancers.
To complicate matters further, researchers know that the cells in which HIV resides are highly resistant to cell death.
As a result, researchers have been trying for many years not only to find out where the virus is hiding, but above all to develop a strategy that would enable it to be eliminated once and for all.
