HIV Cure News: Nigerian Government Probes Possible Treatment Discovery; Ohio Researchers to Test Combined Medications This Year
Recently, there have been several advances in the fight to eliminate the human immunodeficiency virus that causes the fatal Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. A university professor in Nigeria claims to have discovered a cure while researchers from Ohio are set to level up their treatments testing this year.
According to reports, Nigeria's health minister, Prof. Isaac Adewole, announced the probe on Monday after Prof. Maduike Ezeibe, a professor of Veterinary Medicine at Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, claimed he has formulated a supposed HIV/AIDS cure.
NAIJ reports, according to Prof. Adewole, finding a cure for HIV/AIDS is a highly welcome development for the country's public health sector, considering that there are about three million Nigerians infected by the virus.
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The same report quoted the health minister saying, "What we need to do is to make sure that things are done properly. The process to undertake is the animal experiment to be sure it is efficacious and safe before moving to human. At the appointed time when we have the results, we shall come public."
On other HIV/AIDS cure news, it has been earlier reported that more developments are eyed to happen this year as researchers from the Cleveland, Ohio-based Case Western Reserve University are set to combine two sets of existing treatments with the hope that it will help in tackling the HIV/AIDS dilemma on a larger scale.
The researchers, led by Dr. Michael M. Lederman, will basically combine two cure components, one produced by the body and another engineered in the laboratory.
A human body-made Interleukin-2 "that stimulates human killer-cells" will be combined with a monoclonal antibody produced in the lab that has been specifically used for the purpose of targeting HIV.
In a statement, Dr. Lederman further explained: "Administered alone, both Il-2 and certain monoclonal antibodies can reduce — but not necessarily eliminate — the presence of HIV in the body. Our study will go the next step and use them together. We want to see if they produce more of a wallop in tandem than when administered individually."
It can also be recalled that as early as June 2015, Cuba was the first-ever country to cure an infant and successfully eliminate a transmitted HIV and syphilis transmitted by the mother during pregnancy.
The World Health Organization recognized the milestone, saying, "This is a major victory in our long fight against HIV and sexually transmitted infections, and an important step towards having an AIDS-free generation."
