13 replies to this topic

[OpaQue]

Hold your horses folks - this might be one of the ultimate scientific breakthroughs in recent times. All the so called "cures" for AIDS so far have been nothing but retroviral agents (cocktails of several expensive drugs) - that only served to inhibit the AIDS virus. None were able to purge them from your body for good. They could only limit the activity of the virus allowing you to lead a normal (almost) life till the end.

But with this new report in the Salt Lake Tribune, it seems Paul D. Savage of Brigham Young University has invented a compound that actually HUNTS DOWN the AIDS virus in your body and kills them. This compund acts on all known variants/strains of HIV.

Here's an exerpt from the article:

Quote

Researchers, including a BYU scientist, believe they have found a new compound that could finally kill the HIV/AIDS virus, not just slow it down as current treatments do.
  And, unlike the expensive, drug cocktails 25 years of research have produced for those with the deadly virus, the compound invented by Paul D. Savage of Brigham Young University appears to hunt down and kill HIV.
    Although so far limited to early test tube studies, CSA-54, one of a family of compounds called Ceragenins (or CSAs), mimics the disease-fighting characteristics of anti-microbial and anti-viral agents produced naturally by a healthy human immune system.
    Under a study sponsored by Ceragenix Pharmaceuticals, Savage and his colleagues developed and synthesized the compound for Vanderbilt University's School of Medicine. In his Nashville, Tenn., laboratories, Derya Unutmaz, an associate professor of Microbiology and Immunology, tested several CSAs for their ability to kill HIV.
    While issuing a cautious caveat about his early results, Unutmaz acknowledged Monday that CSAs could be the breakthrough HIV/AIDS researchers have sought for so long.
    "We received these agents [from BYU] in early October and our initial results began to culminate by November 2005. We have since reproduced all our results many times," he said. "We have some preliminary but very exciting results [but] we would like to formally show this before making any claims that would cause unwanted hype."

Read the full article at: http://www.sltrib.co...ness/ci_3482712

This might very well be the dawn of a new day for those infected with this ghastly and fatal Syndrome. I pray to God that this cure turns out to be TRUE to its fullest.
m^e -

This post belongs to Microscopic^Earthling posted at Astahost.com

[brainless]

wow, that'd be great although I fear that those who need this drug the most won't be able to afford it

[adriantc]

I'm sure it isn't such a big breakthrough... First of all because the actual cure for AIDS would really burn the pockets of the big drugs companies. Just think how many dolars every sick person spends just to keep him alive for another year. Then just add five or six zeros and you will see how good is AIDS for the one who makes the drugs. They wouldn't make much money if you could take a pill and you wouldn't have to worry about AIDS for the rest of your life.
It is much like oil. Everybody sais we depend to much on oil and everybody knows that in a few years there will be no oil but there isn't much will to find alternative source of power. Just because the world economy depends on oil in such a way that if you control the oil you basicly control the world. Not to mention the billions of dollars generated by the oil industry...
Returning to the problem of AIDS I can't mention the fact that I have heard that myth that says that a lot of rich people that had AIDS got (somehow) cured over the night. So there is that conspiracy theory that sais that the guverment has the cure for AIDS but it doesn't want to release it... Stupid as it may seem it could be true... Do you think that if someone in a goverment research facility would find something to end world hunger, that thing would be really released to the public. Of course not! Same thing with the AIDS cure... do you really think we are so stupid that in yaers and years of research we couldn't find a cure. There is no interest in finding one!

[Thorned Rose]

A cure isn't so far fetched and if it was developed by an independent researcher as opposed to pharmaceutical researchers then the pharmaceutical companies don't get much say in finding cures. But is definitely true that they aren't interested in cures. There's no money in healthy people unfortunately . As for the government(s) having a cure and curing rich people over night. I'm not sure the logic or evidence holds up on that one as there have been plenty of rich celebs who have and had aids - Kimberly Bergalis, Amanda Blake, Rock Hudson, Liberace, Robbin Crosby, Michael Jeter, Makgatho Mandela (Nelson Medela's son) etc all died of it. But if they did manufacture a cure, I have to agree that the people who need it most (i.e. the poor) are the ones least likely to get it. Damn pharmaceutical companies!

[JasperIk]

The problem is, what will probably happen is that the Rich will get the drug faster, then those who don't have much money, and who can hardly afford the drugs they provide as of now.

And it still won't help prevent people from getting it, because the best cure for it as of now, is to stop spreading it.

[adriantc]

Has anyone heard about that theory that AIDS what made in a laboratory, because it is very resistent and can adapt to drugs very very fast. And if it were made in a laboratory don't you nthink they would have made a cure for it. Sure the theory sounds far fetched, but it may have a grain of truth in it.

[Chez]

that's well and good but, even without reading the article, I can tell you there is a dark cloud associated with every silver lining. The product of human meddling with prevention of disease has caused most of the powerful "bugs" today. AIDS, though started in monkies, could become a super bug much like the simple staph bacterium is becoming. It's all thanks to "cures, " which do little more than natural selection. A simple punnet square will show you, you'll kill off the majority, but there WILL be a remaining population that is now completely immune to the "cure" and then we will have a supervirus AIDS epidemic. Instead of catalyzing natural selection in our most dangerous microbial enemies, we should simply isolate the current version and remove it from humans themselves (much like smallpox, but without mass-vaccines).
I'm still loath to even enter a hostipal or clinic today due to the superbugs (and yes, there are superbugs already. They were warning of them only a few years ago and now we have them). So yea, would we rather have a cure for AIDS or simply stop the spread of AIDS itself? I'ts not airborne yet, se let's keep it in it's transfluid state. The onyl way to get it is to exchange fluids with an infected person. Sex, needles, blood, etc. But the only chance of this happening is from people unknowingly infected passing it on to others, or homosexuals and drug users. A mass AIDS indentification list should be compiled. Everyone should submit a sample of blood, and if you are infected, you should be put on some kind of national list. It will prevent people from unknowling becomeing infected through acts of intercourse. It may be harsh to say, and even more so to hear, but if we let those infected die off, and noone fvcks the monkies, the human race will be clean once more.
sorry, but it's the harsh reality of this disease. It's been discussed, even. So it's not from my mouth.

[Thorned Rose]

I've never heard anything about it being made in a lab. Pretty unlikely to me seens as most research goes into microbes that kill faster. It may seem like a superbug but it's no more an efficient killer than something like a cold virus. The difference is that HIV attacks the immune system directly and with other microbes, it is our immune system that gets rid of them. Because of it's ability to attack the immune system, the body has no defence against it.
The biggest problem with HIV is that it is so silent (many other dieases propagate rapidly and cause quite obvious symptoms) and humans are still going round having sex like bunnies.
Chez, it's unfair to include Homosexuals on that list as the main spreaders. I'm not pro-gay but the only reason they have a higher number of infections is because they are less likely to use protection (no risk of pregnancy) but the same could be said of many third-world countries where condoms are virtually unheard of or stigmatized. They have the highest incidence of HIV in the world. They have found though that a few people who are exposed to the virus a lot (i.e. prostitutes) are actually immune to it. I know that some research is going into finding out how they are immune and if this can be extracted and given to other people.
In New Zealand recently, a case was seen in court of a man who had unprotected sex with a woman while he knowingly had HIV. He was found guilty of whatever they call doing that but in a seperate case about whether he legally had to inform the woman beforehand that he had HIV, the court found that he didn't have to tell her, setting a world precedent. Ridiculus if you ask me considering that HIV can still be contracted with the use of a condom (the only full protection being abstinence). So I agree that there should be a register and that people should have to tell their partners if they have HIV before they have sex. Just remember though that some people are innocent in their contraction of the disease like rape victims and children who 'inherited' it etc. The biggest thing to be thinking about now, even more important than a cure (seens as they still don't 100% have one yet) is to STOP HAVING UNPROTECTED SEX! And remember that wearing a condom may not protect you from HIV as they would like to make out they do. The safest thing to do abstinence i.e. no casual sex.

[Saint_Michael]

$5 bucks says that a news report will come out that it was bogus, so the government and FDA will cover it up and destroy any evidence that it actually work remember people need to make the money.

[iGuest]

I am interested in knowing more about HIV/AIDS.
Cure For Aids

I am interested in joining the rampage on the cure of HIV/AIDS cos it has really been a threat to my country,Nigeria.I am really impatience in gettin this cure cos the innocent ones are dying off even the babies but those who are wealthy and can afford the drugs can take care of themselves so what about the others that are poor and can't even afford three square meal a day.Like I said I am really happy such a discussionmail for those ar concerned is existing nad if possible after sharing our views who knows we could get the cure but people especially the sciecnce students worldwide should know about this site pls mail after receiving this to show I am welcomed.

-reply by SMITH