http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/stor...e-of-cured-hiv-patients-spurs-aids-science-on
Relapse of ‘cured’ HIV patients spurs AIDS science on
By KATE KELLAND, Reuters January 2, 2014 6:41pm
Relapse of ‘cured’ HIV patients spurs AIDS science on
By KATE KELLAND, Reuters January 2, 2014 6:41pm
LONDON - Scientists seeking a cure for AIDS say they have been inspired, not crushed, by a major setback in which two HIV positive patients believed to have been cured found the virus re-invading their bodies once more.
True, the news hit hard last month that the so-called "Boston patients"—two men who received bone marrow transplants that appeared to rid them completely of the AIDS-causing virus—had relapsed and gone back onto antiretroviral treatment.
But experts say the disappointment could lay the basis for important leaps forward in the search for a cure. . . .
Scientists are now more convinced than ever that a two-pronged approach which aims to firmly suppress the virus while bolstering the immune system provides the best way forward.
"We need to attack in two ways - reduce the virus to very low levels and also to boost the immune response. We can't do one without the other," . . . .