This is a picture of an unfortunate HIV patient. Published by http://www.cehjournal.org/
- Minocycline, a drug found in an acne prevention product, is able to prevent dormant HIV from reactivating or replicating by working with HAART.
- Inexpensive and safe antibiotic discovered to work on HIV by Janice Clements and Gregory Szeto.
- Can lock the virus in a dormant state by altering T-cells and reducing their ability to activate and proliferate, which is a key state in the development of HIV.
- More effective than other treatments, because it targets cellular passages, not the individual proteins.
- Drug doesn't obliterate the cells or diminish their ability to communicate; all it does is keep the virus cells from reactivating.
Reflection
This seemed like an interesting topic to cover because I fins it ironic that a solution to preventing one of the most notoriously dangerous viruses in the world was found in an acne drug. Acne drugs are very unpredictable because I have heard of certain acne drugs causing things from major migraines to depression. Now there is a prevention to HIV that is coming from an acne drug. I wonder if the scientists will be able to produce an actual cure to the virus from what they have so far in the future. I would like to know what possessed the scientists to look in something as random as acne prevention products for the prevention to HIV. Perhaps there is a connection between the two different items, but maybe Minocycline is found in other things, besides acne drugs. I hope that the scientists will be able to put this discovery into action soon and I hope that it will work on regular patients. This has reinforced my thoughts about how something can become famous or useful for an item it wasn't intented to help.
No comments:
Post a Comment