6 Jul 2019

Prof. Howard Gendelman - Eliminating HIV from the DNA of mice

From Saturday Morning, 8:35 am on 6 July 2019
Professor Howard Gendelman

Professor Howard Gendelman Photo: ©2009 Andrew Marinkovich/Malone & Company

This week, researchers from Temple University and the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) announced they had been able to eliminate HIV from the DNA of infected mice - a proof of concept the researchers say demonstrates that the disease is curable, and possibly eventually curable in human beings.

Nearly 37 million people are living with HIV at present, which if not treated with lifelong antiretroviral medications, can develop into AIDS. 

Kim talked to Professor Howard Gendelman, study author and chairman of the UNMC's pharmacology and experimental neuroscience department.

Computer illustration of a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) particle.

Computer illustration of a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) particle. Photo: Photo / AFP