A major medical breakthrough has delivered hope.
A team of medical researchers believe they are on the cusp of developing a cure for HIV, after an initial human clinical trial delivered astounding results, reports news.com.au.
The breakthrough comes from Zion Medical, an Israeli biotech company who has worked in conjunction with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Sirion Biotech in Germany on trials of a new drug called 'Gammora'.
In the first phase of testing, it was found that 'Gammora' eliminated up to 99 per cent of the virus within the first four weeks of treatment.
The groundbreaking results showed the drug killed HIV-infected cells in human subjects without harming healthy cells.
While the drug is still in it's infancy and not yet availble to the public, it's hoped the trials are the first step toward eliminating the deadly virus that first emerged 35 years ago.
Beyond expectations.
Speaking on the impact of the drug, Dr Esmira Naftali, head of development at Zion Medical said:
“These first clinical results were beyond our expectations and promise hope in finding acure for the disease.”
In July and August, nine patients at Ronald Bata Memorial Hospital in Uganda were randomly assigned to receive different doses of Gammora for between four to five weeks.
“Most patients showed a significant reduction of the viral load of up to 90% from the baseline during the first four weeks,” Dr Naftali said.
In the second part of the trial, conducted two weeks later, patients were given the drug with additional retroviral treatment for another four to five weeks.
The results showed the combined treatments eliminated up to 99 per cent of the viral load in those patients in four weeks.
Those patients participating in the trial exhibited no signs of negative side effects.
During the total 10-week study, patients in both groups showed a “significant” increase in T cell counts, which play a significant role in the immune system’s function.
“Given the limited nature of this study, we are excited to prove the efficiency of our drug in phase two with a greater number of participants over a longer period of time.”
Research first began on the drug 10 years ago at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem by Professor Abraham Loyter.
HIV-AIDS emerged some 35 years ago and is regarded as one of modern history’s most devastating pandemics.
Significant advancements in retroviral treatment means people with HIV can largely live long and healthy lives, thanks to the drugs blocking the spread of the virus through the body.
In many cases, people with HIV have undetectable and untransmittable viral loads.
This story originally appeared on news.com.au.
