I’m sure everyone has already heard Charlie Sheen’s confession about being HIV positive. This news shocked the world due to his immense popularity and professional success. No one thought that someone like him could possibly have HIV. But what makes his story so shocking is that he admits to having numerous sexual partners without disclosing that he has HIV to them. This infuriated many people and it got me thinking about HIV in general. HIV is a sexually transmitted disease that weakens the immune system and makes carriers susceptible to a lot of other life-threatening diseases besides HIV. HIV has no cure but there are certain methods employed that effectively controls it. Recently, however, scientists have discovered a potential cure for HIV that no one had ever thought of before. This cure, although not 100% certain, could change medical history as we know it. HIV no longer has to be the end of a person’s healthy life. So does that mean there is there a possible cure for HIV?
The possible cure for HIV starts with the drug Disulfiram. Disulfiram is a pill administered to people with severe cases of alcoholism. This drug causes very unpleasant side effects such as nausea, headaches, blurred vision, etc. when just small amounts of alcohol are consumed. It is engineered to stop alcoholics from wanting to drink alcohol. Nothing about this drug seems related to HIV though, right? That’s where you’re wrong.
Disulfiram label.
A recent article has claimed that researchers at the University of Melbourne in Australia have discovered a way in which Disulfiram can be used to destroy HIV cells. This drug would be used along with the traditional method of controlling HIV which is known as antiretroviral therapy (ART). ART is a combination of different medications used to slow the spreading of HIV throughout the body. The idea behind using Disulfiram to treat HIV is that it wakes up the dormant HIV-infected cells in the body making it much easier to kill those cells. This recent study concludes that using Disulfiram in HIV-positive patients works in awaking dormant HIV cells with certain doses. But researchers now need to figure out how to kill these awakened cells. Once the cells are killed, then HIV-positive patients can finally be cured. The current theory is to use the traditional antiretroviral therapies to kill these cells once they’ve been awakened. So scientists are hoping that disulfiram paired with antiretroviral therapies is the cure to HIV that everyone has been waiting for.
HIV can be found in dormant cells in the body which is demonstrated in this image.
But, of course, the ultimate question about this newest treatment regimen is if its safe. A study in the Oxford Journal shows that there was research concerning the safety of this combination of drugs to treat patients. The participants used in this safety experiment were all above 18, HIV-positive, and underwent antiretroviral treatments paired with disulfiram over a 14-day period. Third variables were accounted for in this study such as previous alcohol abuse, current medication usage, and serious illnesses. At the end of the experiment, it was concluded that the participants had no adverse effects to the combination of Disulfiram and antiretroviral therapy medications which makes it safe to use in HIV-positive patients. However, the demographics of the people involved in the experiment wasn’t specified so it is hard to determine if the treatment is safe for everyone. A similar study (mentioned earlier) performed the same safety experiment but used a different demographic. This study used 15 HIV-positive, homosexual men. The study (just like the Oxford Journal study) concluded that the mixing of antiretroviral treatments and disulfiram to treat HIV is safe. But I can’t help but question the number and the demographics of the sample size used. 15 people is not a lot so there is a possibility that chance is the reason why the treatment proved to be safe for everybody included in the study. Also, the sample size only included men. Women have HIV too. So what if this newfound treatment is safe only for men and we wouldn’t know because the sample size excluded women?
Should HIV-positive patients be taking this combination of treatments to kill HIV cells in the body? It all comes down to the risks that you’re willing to take. If you are an HIV-positive patient, you’re facing a very serious disease that could kill you. It would only make sense to try out a treatment that, after more than one experiment, was concluded to be safe for most people. There is no way to say that these treatments are 100% safe because nothing in medicine is 100% safe. But it is something that doesn’t hurt to try especially when facing a disease that could eventually kill you. HIV has been around for a very long time and is a serious threat to human lives. But finally, there is a potential cure for this disease and I think that it should be implemented into existing HIV treatments. If this new treatment idea goes well, HIV could become a disease of the past that no one has to worry about getting. And that is something that has the potential to go down in medical history.
IMAGES:
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/nov/17/drug-for-alcoholism-can-unmask-hiv-hiding-in-cells
http://www.dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/archives/fdaDrugInfo.cfm?archiveid=140267
http://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/65831/772-cases-of-hivaids-recorded-in-june