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• HIV: walking toward a cure

Let’s Review

HIV is the virus that causes AIDS. It is transmitted primarily by four fluids: breast milk, blood, semen and vaginal secretions. It is highly preventable by blocking these fluids from entering our bodies through barriers such as condoms, clean injection-drug needles and, of course, education.

For those who become infected with HIV, the virus begins replicating and infecting immune system cells, decreasing their ability to fight off other infections. As more cells become infected with HIV and the immune systems breaks down, those with HIV are less able to fight off infections that make them sick.

We’ve Come So Far

Major medical strides have been made in the treatment of HIV, slowing down the progression of disease in those infected. Currently, anti-HIV medications work to lessen the replication of the virus in the body, stalling the infection of new cells. This keeps the immune system of those who are HIV-positive healthy. In effect, HIV has become a manageable medical condition (for those who have access to health care treatment and medications), and the life expectancy and quality of life of folks who receive treatment has increased dramatically.

Hide & Seek

The problem with current anti-HIV medications is that they decrease viral replication — keeping people healthy — but do not completely stop it. And HIV is smart. It hides in various cells throughout the body and lies dormant, giving the cell a “healthy” appearance to both the immune system and anti-HIV medications a person is taking. It doesn’t try to replicate in these cells so it can avoid detection by the immune system, which helps the medication target and destroy HIV-infected cells. Instead, it sits and waits. These hidden pockets of HIV cells are called reservoirs.

Current meds keep HIV at bay, but once the meds are stopped or interrupted for whatever reason, the dormant HIV comes out of hiding and starts replicating and infecting more cells. Even if current medications never get interrupted, they are needed forever, have side effects and are expensive. Also, HIV can mutate, becoming drug-resistant. This is why a cure is needed.

Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are

New research is being done to figure out a way to tempt the hidden HIV-infected cells out of hiding and use the current medications we already have to destroy them. The goal is to thereby eliminate all HIV-infected cells from a person’s body. This would be a cure.

Scientists have now discovered a key protein that allows the virus to hide. They are working on developing drugs that would inhibit this protein from hiding HIV from detection. These inhibitors are at least 10 years away from use in humans, but HIV treatment would then be two-fold: HIV-infected cells would be activated to “identify themselves,” and before they are able to replicate and enter another cell, medications would eliminate them. HIV could then be eradicated.

Until Then

HIV continues to infect 56,000 new people in the U.S. each year, and many of these people do not know they are infected. Yearly rates of infection have remained pretty consistent for the past 15 years; we need continuous efforts until a cure or preventative vaccine is developed to help prevent the spread of HIV, support those who are infected and in general, promote education and awareness.

Here’s How

As many of our readers know, the Greater Community AIDS Project (GCAP) is a local organization devoted to providing support services to people living with HIV/AIDS in our own backyard. There are still more than 300 people living with HIV/AIDS in the 10-county area that GCAP serves, with new cases reported monthly. And while medical advances have served us well, there are still people dying from AIDS-related illnesses in our communities.

Due to this, each year, GCAP and Alpha Epsilon Phi sorority host an AIDS Walk to raise awareness and funds to support HIV/AIDS services locally. Mike Benner, outreach specialist for GCAP, had this to say about the walk:

“Our goal of the AIDS Walk or any of our events is to remind people that HIV and AIDS continues to be a problem here in our own backyard. There has been entirely too little information put out about HIV/AIDS in rural Illinois. Our goal is to bring that point home. Everyone who engages in sexual behavior can be at risk. The only way to keep yourself from becoming infected is to play smart and be educated. No matter what your behaviors may be [sexual or otherwise], there are ways to reduce the most risky and lessen your chances of infection.”

We hope to see everyone out at the AIDS Walk on Oct. 12.

Stick around for next week when we talk with poet and activist Eli Clare.