A French teenager is on remission from Aids for 12 years now. She no longer shows signs of the infection after her treatment ceased a dozen years ago. Scientists and experts hailed this as a potential success for the trial that aimed that finding cure for HIV.
Researchers from the Institute Pasteur in Paris who conducted this trial presented findings at the 8th International AIDS Society (IAS) Conference, but are still wondering what was the specific reason of the remission despite the fact that the patient ceased taking treatment for a long time.
The French girl acquired HIV at birth and underwent treatment until she was six. It was unknown why she stopped taking the treatment and doctors lost track of her for around one year, Dr Francoise Barre- Sinoussi, the Nobel Prize-winning scientist who discovered that Aids is caused by HIV, said. When doctors finally found her again, they were puzzled because her blood no longer had Aids virus, which was unusual for a person who stopped taking the treatment. Since then, experts have been keeping their eyes on her to see if the virus resumes its activity.
While the virus is still detectable in the girl's system, it is already dormant and no longer needs drugs to remain normal. Accorring to Barre-Sinoussi, this is a clear evidence that "starting treatment as soon as possible" benefits a patient.
Drugs made by can reduce the virus that causes Aids to undetectable levels but do not completely clear it. The virus hides out in reservoirs in the body, avoiding eradication by the medications -- and usually comes roaring back if treatment is stopped.
While the drugs manufactured by Gilead Sciences and GlaxoSmithKline have been found to minimize the HIV virus, nevertheless, they cannot eliminate it. Scientists, however, believe that an early and aggressive treatment using HIV drugs can weaken the virus before they overcome the body.
A group of 14 French adults also manifested similar case to the in an earlier study. They got treatment at the onset of the infection and they later showed no sign of virus even after the therapy ceased.
