HIV Researchers Now Using the 'C' Word

July 24, 2010— -- VIENNA -- For years, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) researchers have shied away from the whole notion of a cure, largely because evidence showed the virus can persist even under intensive treatment.

But now, they are -- tentatively -- expressing a renewed interest in the idea.

That interest is sparked by clinical data showing an apparent cure in a single case and some technical advances that make it easier to track very low levels of HIV infection, experts said at the International AIDS Conference here.

But progress is hampered by lack of money for research in the field and by what one prominent researcher called "fundamental gaps" in the understanding of how HIV and the human body interact.

Nonetheless, researchers gathered here last week -- before the start of the AIDS conference -- for a two-day workshop called "Towards a Cure." Led by Nobel laureate Francoise Barre-Sinoussi, the workshop considered a host of questions, including:

There has been some study of those issues "but we can certainly do better," according to Barre-Sinoussi, who was one of the researchers involved in identifying the human immunodeficiency virus.

She noted that vaccine research -- which has been much in the news here -- is supported by international groups that co-ordinate the science and lobby for money. "There is no equivalent for research into remission or functional cure," Barre-Sinoussi said.

One thing that is clear is that current therapies can only control the virus, not eradicate it, according to Maureen Goodenow of the University of Florida. That's because the virus persists -- even when it is undetectable in plasma -- in "diverse" cells and physical locations.