• Question: how can you be cured from aids

    Asked by 596thaf37 to Christie, Dan, David, Dawn, Sian on 20 Jun 2016.
    • Photo: Dawn Lau

      Dawn Lau answered on 20 Jun 2016:

      AIDS stands for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, which is what you are diagnosed with when HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) weakens the immune system so that the patient is more vulnerable to illness and infection. There is no outright cure yet, but there is treatment available that HIV positive people can take, highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). This treatment can decrease the amount of virus in the body to help the body’s immune system get back to healthy levels again, and people taking this treatment usually lead normal lives. However, this treatment needs to be taken continuously so it’s not a cure.

      There’s one famous case involving a person known as the Berlin patient who has supposedly been cured of AIDS. He received a stem cell transplant from a donor who was highly resistant to HIV, and can live without antiretroviral treatment now. However these kinds of cases are extremely rare and researchers are still trying to find a cure for HIV/AIDS.

    • Photo: Sian Thomas

      Sian Thomas answered on 20 Jun 2016:

      A good answer from Dawn. I don’t have anything to add.

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