HIV cure: new alcoholism drug can 'wake up' and kill virus, study reveals

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Scientists have a good news to the world. After how many years of doing their best to look for a cure for HIV/AIDS, they have already made a very important progress.

As of now, there isn't a total cure for HIV/AIDS yet. The most common and prescribed treatment for these is the antiretroviral therapy (ART.)

According to The AIDS Infonet, ART doesn't really cure or kill the virus. The only thing it does is the prevention of the virus' growth. When the drugs used for this therapy will successfully manage to slow down the virus, the HIV disease will also slow down. Thus, preventing HIV from turning into AIDS.

Among the biggest hindrances to achieving a complete cure for the virus is HIV latency, The Guardian reported. HIV latency is a period when the virus still continues its reproduction, but a very low level. Those who are going through ART are able to retain the virus dormant in the body longer than those who don't take ART.

The problem with this stage is that it is impossible for any drug to kill the virus while it is dormant in one's body. This is why scientists focused in finding the best drug or combination to wake and kill the dormant virus.

The Reuters reported that scientists unexpectedly discovered a drug that could be the answer to the HIV latency problem. This drug is branded as Antabuse. It is also known for its generic name as disulfiram. It is specifically for treating alcoholism, but it has been found out that it also has the potential to aid HIV and prevent AIDS.

According to Dr. Julian Eliot, the head of Clinical Research in the Department of Infectious Diseases at the Alfred Hospital in Australia, waking up the dormant virus is just the first step in completely getting rid of it. He also stated that the second step is to kill the infected cells.

Though scientists have already discovered a drug that might be a great help in waking up the cells, it is still a must to check the toxicity of the drug, according to Prof. Sharon Lewin, a professor at the University of Melbourne who led the research.

Their trial concluded that disulfiram didn't present the toxicity problem. Thus, it is safe to use. Lewin said that this drug could possibly be the long-awaited game changer that the world needs to fight HIV.

Know more about the HIV life cycle by watching the video below: