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Gene Therapy May Thwart HIV
sciencehabit writes "Over the past few years, a man living in Berlin, Timothy Brown, has become world famous as the first — and thus far only — person to apparently have been cured of his HIV infection. Brown's HIV disappeared after he developed leukemia and doctors gave him repeated blood transfusions from a donor who harbored a mutated version of a receptor the virus uses to enter cells. Now, researchers report promising results from two small gene-therapy studies that mimic this strategy, hinting that the field may be moving closer to a cure that works for the masses."
Then you know what it will do? Put thousands of people out of work!
Think of the Pharmacists!
The delta CCR5 mutation was already well known, and the subject of several (at least 4) different experimental receptor blocking and gene therapy medications, all of which were blocked by the FDA citing safety concerns.
This is not meant to be a conspiracy theorist bottom feeding post, but simply intended to inform. There have been many studies of this mutation for thereputic uses conducted in Europe over the past decade, including seeveral promising phase 2 trials.
Like most life saving medications though, any prospective cure for HIV will probably be developed in the US, and approved in Europe. (Then approved in the US after decades of routine use overseas.)
While this particular gene therapy might be new, the mechanism is not novel.
I doubt not. Think of all the vaccines you're covered by now. Influenza, Polio, Hepatitis, etc. Those don't cost very much. Most Americans can afford those now. The deal with this is that it is probably only going to end up being a few treatments before you're fully cured so medical bills won't rack up. The other thing about this is that HIV is so widespread there will be plenty of donation money for those who can't afford it in the case that the cure turns out to be expensive.
Uh, the HPV vaccine IS for the types of HPV that cause cancer. That's the entire point of the vaccination program. It is not a cure for all possible types of cervical cancer (only ~60% of them) but the HPV strains it vaccinates against are those linked to cancer + some other common ones (to encourage men to get the vaccine too and thus promote herd immunity).
Or are a victim of a sexual assault. Or suffer a needlestick injury as a doctor treating someone with HIV (or have incidental blood-blood contact through say broken skin). Or if your partner of 10 years cheats on you. Or if the condom fails.