The First Widespread Cure for HIV Could Be in Children
1 min read
Summary
Pediatrician Philip Goulder has focused on studying HIV-positive children for a potential cure to the virus, as the younger a patient is treated, the more likely their immune system will respond | Arresting the virus’s progress requires antiretroviral therapy, which stops HIV from replicating, but some children in Goulder’s trials have gone off their medication and have avoided a rebound in viral load, which suggests their immune systems alone could be suppressing the virus.
In contrast, adult patients typically need a much more intensive regimen of medication and may face side effects, such as high blood pressure and kidney problems.
Scientists are testing various therapeutic strategies that include broadly neutralising antibodies and vaccines to train immune systems to target and destroy HIV reservoirs, and boys have been outperforming girls in extended remissions from the virus, possibly due to testosterone surges during infancy and an inherently weaker innate immune response in females.
Ultimately, researchers are hoping to develop a one-time gene therapy that could provide a constant stream of broadly neutralising antibodies in both children and adults.
