British scientists said they are closing in on a potential cure of HIV after a new therapy reduced concentrations of the virus in a U.K. patient’s blood to “completely undetectable” levels.
The 44-year-old man is the first of 50 people to undergo the treatment, designed by scientists and doctors from five of Britain’s leading universities, in an ongoing clinical trial, The Sunday Times of London reported.
Researchers said the virus is undetectable in the man’s blood, but added it could be a result of regular drugs.
The new treatment is designed to track down and destroy HIV in every part of the body — including in the dormant cells that evade current treatments. If successful it offers hope of an irreversible cure for HIV. Trial results are expected to be published in 2018.
"This is one of the first serious attempts at a full cure for HIV,” said Mark Samuels, managing director of the National Institute for Health Research Office for Clinical Research Infrastructure.
“We are exploring the real possibility of curing HIV. This is a huge challenge and it's still early days but the progress has been remarkable."
The study is being undertaken by researchers from the universities of Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial College London, University College London and King's College London.
The new therapy involves a vaccine that helps the body recognize HIV-infected cells then uses a new drug — called Vorinostat — to activate the dormant T-cells so they can be spotted by the immune system.
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