Is there a cure for HIV/AIDS?

No, there is no cure. However, there are new reports that people taking the most advanced cocktails have reduced the virus in the body to virtually untraceable amounts, and overall the prognosis for people with HIV/AIDS who have access to excellent treatment has improved drastically.

That being said, the cocktails are very expensive and time consuming. I’m sure having this disease has a huge impart on one’s life—there’s lots of reasons for take every precaution because there is no “cure.”

Also, different people respond to treatment differently, so the cocktail that reduces one patient’s viral load to near-zero may do more damage to another patient than the virus itself.

No, unfortunately.
there is absolutely no cure for HIV/AIDS.
There are only medications that may help prolong ones life and help you feel better.

Yes, cantron aka cancell cures HIV. Google it. youtube it. research it. its all natural. Most people will disagree but usually those are people who havent researched it.

@misssjena. There is no polite way to say this. You are wrong. There is no cure, currently, and I would be incredulous if a “natural cure” for a virus would ever work. Oh, and (as you know), I’m an HIV doctor.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16032-hiv-cure-wont-save-sick-millions.html

it appears that some people might be cured, and there will probably be something in the pipeline for future advances from what this doctor has done.

Good pick up. That report came out after my comment above. Still, we are a long way from a real cure for most HIV infected people.

true, I noticed it was an older question, thought it would be relevant =)

First of all, let’s be clear on something. HIV is different than AIDS. HIV (the virus) causes AIDS (the disease). People can live years with the virus without ever developing symptoms of the disease (we call them HIV positive). The third stage of the virus’ cycle is the latency period and that can take up to 20 years. This part is characterized by few or no symptoms.

The fourth stage is AIDS. That is when your body is most exposed to diseases because you have no white cells to defend yourself. You end up dying of another infection that takes advantage of the body’s weakened condition.

There is no cure, no vaccine for AIDS. The only method of prevention is to avoid exposure. The medical cocktails available significantly prolongue a person’s life to close the average lifespan. Still, anti-retroviral drugs are quite expensive and the majority of the infected individuals doesn’t have access to them.

The question was “Is there a cure for HIV/AIDS? ” and it appears as though some people have been cured of HIV. I never indicated that they were synonymous.

I know mate, but just thought to mention it. I wan’t making a reference to your answer, which was a good one ‘cause i had never heard of a case with a full recovery.

@Random. Only time will tell whether the one patient with the successful bone marrow transplant of marrow with the protective mutation will not develop AIDS. He still harbors HIV in his body in the form of latent insertions of the virus in long lived cells (like macrophages), so he can still develop AIDS at a later point. At true cure would be successful eradication of the virus from the body. That hasn’t been achieved.

@ shilolo I saw you mention macrophages. If someone had a biopsy and it said “rare macrophages” do u know what that means? I’m curious

no. sorry

I have two very close friends who are HIV positive. I’m not sure, based on their health, how convinced I am that the cocktails that work are expensive and unavailable to most people. One friend works as a mail room clerk. His insurance covers a portion of the cost. He was able to save enough to buy a house, so he can’t be spending that much on meds. the other friend is a bartender. He doesn’t even have insurance and he has access to the high-powered stuff. Maybe certain areas are harder for suppliers to reach? In any case, I think anyone with HIV shouldn’t be discouraged.

Like so many difficult concepts, the use of the simplistic term “cure” vis-a-vis HIV just don’t help quantify or qualify what’s really happening.
Dig?
;-)

@philosopher_saint What? I think cure is a readily definable term, so I wouldn’t call it “simplistic” in the least.

@shilolo: So “readily definable” is complicated?! ;-)

@philosopher_saint Are you typing for the sake of tapping the keyboard?

There is no cure for HIV. However, major advances in treatment have truly changed what it means to live with HIV. An HIV diagnosis does not have to mean your life is over.