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[lordcooper]

Stem cells for the ultimate win

[ChairmanPoo]

Kind of old, but yes, a nice -if impractical- proof of concept. Sangamo developed some interesting AIDS gene therapy treatments based on that

[Sirus]

Is that really Yahoo? The vast majority of comments are overwhelmingly positive, rather than being full of trolls trolling each other. I'm suspicious.

[UltraValican]

Is that really Yahoo? The vast majority of comments are overwhelmingly positive, rather than being full of trolls trolling each other. I'm suspicious.

You're thinking of Yahoo answers.

[MetalSlimeHunt]

We can't actually use this to cure HIV/AIDS. In most victims the virus has progressed beyond the Blood/Brain Barrier, and thus gene therapy like this will only reduce the HIV count, not eliminate it completely.

[Seriyu]

Still a step forward.

[MetalSlimeHunt]

This has been around for almost twelve years now. Not a new step forward.

[ChairmanPoo]

... the word is still out on whether it would work or not. I'd think that even if some remnant of the virus remained latent in the brain it could still work as a functional cure. Of course, Sangamo's (early) trials did not achieve complete wipeouts with their method, but the word is still out on the exact reasons, and on whether it could potentially achieve such a thing.

(the reason this particular version of the method is not practical is that it's not feasible to do allo-transplants to every single HIV-infectee. Even if you reduced it to selected cases we'd still be talking about a very aggressive procedure versus the much milder effects of antirretroviral drugs)

Edit: twelve years? This was done in 2007, and it was published later. I think it became more widespread in 2010 or so.

[MetalSlimeHunt]

As I heard it, the HIV virus will reemerge from the Blood/Brain Barrier and reinfect the indvidual in question if any exists past that point.

[ChairmanPoo]

But the individual would be resistant, hence the infection wouldn't be possible.

[MetalSlimeHunt]

But gene therapy is temporary. It would just wait until their cell structure reverted to a vulnerable state.

[SalmonGod]

I'm more excited about this supposedly universal cure for viruses.  Cells infected by viruses -- any type of virus -- all produce a specific RNA, and a drug has been developed at MIT that can identify and destroy any cell producing that RNA.

[ChairmanPoo]

Well, what I can think of, right off the bat..:
- Gene therapy does not need to be temporary
- Even a temporary one might achieve a functional cure, even if virus remnants remained latent, it does not mean that the disease would necessarily relapse.

I guess we'll have to wait and see.

A (reasonably cheap) vaccine would still be better (if significatively less cool) in order to be able to embark in mass prevention campagins, but still..

[penguinofhonor]

edit: wrong topic

[MetalSlimeHunt]

A (reasonably cheap) vaccine would still be better (if significatively less cool) in order to be able to embark in mass prevention campagins, but still..

A vaccine, you say?