French HIV patients stay healthy after stopping drugs

French researchers have found that some patients with HIV can stay healthy even after stopping treatment. Their research shows that early medical intervention may lead to a "functional cure" for Aids.

DR

The research, published in the US journal PLoS Pathogens, only involved 14 adults, a group known as the Visconti (Viro-Immunologic Sustained Control After Treatment Interruption) cohort.

They were treated for HIV with a range of anti-retroviral drugs, each within 10 weeks of infection, and stopped treatment around three years afterwards on average.

Despite maintaining a low level HIV in their cells, they kept viral loads under control for a median seven years six months without drug treatment.

A report last week said that a baby in Mississippi appeared to be cured of HIV after aggressive antiretroviral drug treatment delivered within 30 hours of birth.

However, experts warn that most of the 34 million people infected with HIV worldwide would develop full-blown Aids if they stopped taking drugs.