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Although there's still no cure for HIV/AIDS, there are effective treatments that have improved the lives of many patients. The main treatment for HIV is antiretroviral therapy, which involves taking a combination of medicines every day to stop the virus from reproducing. These medications cannot cure HIV, but help patients live longer, healthier lives. Scientists and health experts around the world have been working on finding a one-time treatment for HIV/AIDS or a permanent cure. This is not far away from reality.
Researchers at Tel Aviv University have developed a new and unique treatment method that could possibly be developed into a vaccine or a one-time treatment for HIV/AIDS. The new technique utilizes type B white blood cells that would be genetically engineered inside the patient's body to secrete anti-HIV antibodies in response to the virus.
For the unversed, B cells are responsible for generating antibodies against viruses, bacteria and more. They are formed in bone marrow, and when they mature, move into the blood and lymphatic system and from there to the different body parts.
The study, led by Dr. Adi Barzel and PhD student Alessio Nehmad, was published in the journal Nature.
According to Dr. Barzel, the new technique utilizes the very cause of the disease to combat it.
"When the engineered B cells encounter the virus, the virus stimulates and encourages them to divide, so we are utilizing the very cause of the disease to combat it. Furthermore, if the virus changes, the B cells will also change accordingly in order to combat it, so we have created the first medication ever that can evolve in the body and defeat viruses in the 'arms race'," said Dr. Barzel, as quoted by Science Daily.
Dr. Barzel believes that their innovative treatment, which may defeat the virus with a onetime injection, could bring about tremendous improvement in the patients' condition.
Using this new technique, the researchers are expecting that over the coming years they will be able to produce more effective treatment for other infectious diseases and for certain types of cancer caused by a virus, such as cervical cancer, head and neck cancer and more.
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