Has BYU prof found AIDS cure? (SLT 3/17/06)

[Duncan Grant]

Many of you know that my partner is active in public health. He mentioned this article to me this morning and I thought I'd pass it on.

<snip>
Researchers, including a BYU scientist, believe they have found a new compound that could finally kill the HIV/AIDS virus, not just slow it down as current treatments do.

And, unlike the expensive, drug cocktails 25 years of research have produced for those with the deadly virus, the compound invented by Paul D. Savage of Brigham Young University appears to hunt down and kill HIV.

Although so far limited to early test tube studies, CSA-54, one of a family of compounds called Ceragenins (or CSAs), mimics the disease-fighting characteristics of anti-microbial and anti-viral agents produced naturally by a healthy human immune system.

Under a study sponsored by Ceragenix Pharmaceuticals, Savage and his colleagues developed and synthesized the compound for Vanderbilt University's School of Medicine. In his Nashville, Tenn., laboratories, Derya Unutmaz, an associate professor of Microbiology and Immunology, tested several CSAs for their ability to kill HIV.
<snip>

more at the Salt Lake Tribune

[papau]

1. Great News! :-)

:-)

[longship]

2. Great.

Let's just hope it's not a deal like "Univ of Utah Profs discover cold fusion".

on edit: corrected fact, Cold fusion was "discovered" at U of Utah, not BYU.

[Gman]

3. A cure for AIDS also means

a cure for many, if not all virus based infections including the common cold.

[Occulus]

9. Being able to eliminate viruses is a good thing.

Now, can it also find it in tissues in which the virus hides? Does it really hunt and kill?

[Maven]

4. Link needs fixin' n/t

[Duncan Grant]

6. Link still works for me but the date is wrong. It should be 3/1/06.

Try it again?

[Maven]

7. For me it puts the DU URL in front of the link URL

In other words, "http://www.democraticunderground.com/www.website.com/..."

Maybe you put an extra slash or something? Or maybe DU is playing tricks on me. :(

[Maven]

5. I'm highly encouraged, but

I wonder how far Big Pharma would go to stop this.

Interesting discussion going on here:

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/youropinions.php?opinionid=8332

[Occulus]

8. Well, if it works, of course

we can't LET them stifle it, for ANY reason.

And, we should trumpet it into the faces of the fundies. We can cure it; therefore, this was NOT "god's disease".

[Maven]

10. Well, also

There will be a fundy fight involved (of course). I was reading the recent New Yorker article about how fundies are disrupting scientific research and gov't approval re: vaccines, and they asked the AFA leader what would happen if an HIV vaccine were found. And the arrogant fuck was like, "well, we'll have to take a look at that if it happens."

Thankfully, the company chosen to license this compound, Ceragenix, seems to have an ounce of integrity, as they have been cautious not to hype the results just to get a run on their stock price. Hopefully, they'll be just as prudent when the time comes to market the drug.