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VIDEO: HIV cure research focuses on sterilizing, functional approaches
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In this video, Ya-Chi Ho, MD, MS, PhD, instructor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and co-leader of the HIV Cure Scientific Working Group at the Johns Hopkins Center for AIDS Research, reviews the approaches to HIV cure that were discussed at ASM Microbe 2016.
Current research focuses on either a sterilizing cure, designed to kill every single cell infected with HIV, or a functional cure, where patients maintain viral control after stopping treatment, according to Ho.
The most well-known instance of a sterilizing cure is the case of Timothy Ray Brown, known as the Berlin patient, while patients in the VISCONTI cohort are considered examples of a functional cure.
“If we keep working on different strategies, and keep in mind that there are drawbacks and challenges, we can move the field forward and eventually find a cure,” Ho said.