Breakthrough on sight

Researchers in England report that some patients with HIV show no signs of the virus months and years after ending drug treatment regimens — and scientists think they can learn from those disease-free cells
Typically, someone being treated for
HIV still has detectable virus cells in his or her body after going off medication — but in some people the virus remains undetectable after stopping treatment, according to the study, done by Oxford University.


"Focusing on (why that happens) has given us vital clues as to why some people are able to better control the virus after therapy has been interrupted," said Rodney Phillips, a former Oxford dean who worked on an earlier version of the study.

The finding stems from research into the effectiveness of anti-retroviral therapy, which has significantly lengthened the lives of people with HIV.

Patients who are being treated with such drugs are not cured, but the virus lingers in what researchers call “reservoirs” and generally returns once the treatment stops.

But not for all patients. Some go into remission for as long as 10 years, the researchers discovered.

The study was published Friday in the journal Nature Communications.