HIV/AIDS Cure 2017 News Update: Study Reveals Life Expectancy Rate for HIV Patients Increases with Modern Treatments
While cures for HIV and AIDS continue to thrive, a new study finds that young patients who are getting treatment in North America and Europe are living longer.
The study from the University of Bristol in England that was led by Adam Trickey published in The Lancet HIV claims that the life expectancy of a 20-year-old HIV patient, who started the antiretroviral treatment in 2008 or even later, can live up to 78 years old.
According to reports, researchers are hoping their study could aid in removing the stigma against those who are diagnosed with HIV so they will not have a hard time getting jobs, as well as medical insurance. It also reportedly encourages those who are recently diagnosed with the disease to start their treatment as soon as they can and strictly commit to it.
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"Combination antiretroviral therapy has been used to treat HIV for 20 years, but newer drugs have fewer side effects, involve, taking fewer pills, better prevent replication of the virus, and are more difficult for the virus to become resistant to," Trickey states.
The researcher also mentions that present-day HIV treatments are very effective and can be considered to have low toxicity levels. This means that the mortality rate in people with HIV is expected to drop due to the development of new drugs.
"Continued efforts are required to address late diagnosis and presentation to care to decrease mortality soon after starting ART, and support lifelong adherence to ART. Treatment guidelines changed in 2015 after results of the START trial showed clear benefits of immediate versus deferred treatment," the study also reveals.
On the other hand, another study that was published in the Molecular Therapy journal. conducted by scientists from the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University and the University of Pittsburgh claim that the permanent cure for HIV could be finally discovered soon.
The study reveals that the research team managed to show that HIV can be eradicated for good using the revolutionary gene-editing mechanism called CRISPR/Cas9. This reportedly works by leading the proteins that aim to target definite DNA within the cells, then modify them.
