Question about HIV virus and treatment?

February 20, 2012 - Posted by admin

Question by sweaty teddy: Question about HIV virus and treatment?
Ok so in my biology class, we are discussing HIV and Aids. I understand that the virus attacks T-cells which destroy invading pathogens. When the immune system is suppressed, HIV’s effect can slow and the person can potentially live longer (though this is not a cure). This makes sense because in studies where the person is treated with antiviral drugs alone, they usually develop aids much quicker.

My question is, instead of injecting antiviral and immunosuppresant drugs, can they develop a drugs which acts as a faux T-cell. The virus would attach to the fake CD4 receptors, enter inside, and become trapped inside the fake cell.

This might be a stupid question but i thought i would propose it anyway. I have thought of some potential problems with this solution as well, but I wanted your thoughts.

Thanks guys!

Best answer:

Answer by Natalia25
this is definitely NOT a stupid question….i’m not a science person but the way you describe it makes a lot of sense to me…

try asking your teacher/prof…he might direct you to other sources…& maybe you can write a paper on this (that’s how new ideas are normally proposed I think)

What do you think? Answer below!

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This entry was posted on Monday, February 20th, 2012 at 2:27 am and is filed under DRUG REHABILITATION. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

1 Comment

  1. LINDA R says:

    HIV destroys the immune system, causing the person to become vulnerable to other infections. It would not make much sense to treat someone who has HIV by intentionally suppressing the immune system more, because HIV is already damaging the immune system, which causes the person to get other infections which could kill them.

    ... on July February 20th, 2012