Scientists in US develop possible AIDS cure

Scientists in the US have developed a drug used in cancer treatment to awaken the so-called sleeper cells in patients receiving treatment for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Researchers said they had found a way to stimulate the emergence of the virus using an anti-cancer drug, noting that this may be the first step towards the development of a potential cure for the virus that causes AIDS. Under the supervision of David Margolis of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, researchers were able to cooperate with their colleagues from other universities and researchers at global pharmaceutical and chemical company Merck, proving that this molecular mechanism works using a specific drug. Known in the US as a medicine against cancer, it is traded under the brand name Zolinza. "We believe that the disruption and clearance of these virus reservoirs is a critical first step to the daunting challenge of finding a cure for HIV/AIDS," said Merck Research Laboratories Vice President Daria Hazuda. This is the first published study to show the potential for inhibitors to attack latency within dormant virus pools in a translational clinical study.