Do you foresee a cure for HIV/AIDS. If so how soon do you think we'll see one?

[joemutt]

I'm fine if they continue to develop better medications with lesser side effects.
And if there's a cure then I will take it. We'll see. 

[spacebarsux]

i would even settle for a functional cure. Something like an injection every 4-5 months with no to minimal side effects.

[mecch]

I am  happy for any little improvement and looking forward to a functional cure.
Am I wrong, as there has been one cure to date.   

[SunnyFlorida]

I take the cautiously optimistic position. I think it's great to keep up with the newest HIV-related studies and to be SOMEWHAT hopeful for at least a functional cure, but I think it is so important to not get your hopes up too much. Nobody knows when it's coming. It could be 5, 10, 20 years from now. In the meantime, live life to its fullest and most importantly, don't let HIV define who you are!

[komnaes]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaxECcTjCuw

Go to around minute 2.00, she said she voted for Hilary Clinton..

[Sweet_C]

If we were talking about cancer, I think the pessimism would make more since.  For that disease, researchers have been working for years to just to understand how it works.  They don't know what causes it, why some people get it and some don't, when it will go into remission, etc.  The treatments are very hit and miss--just like the medieval doctors using leeches back in the day.  Having lost loved ones to cancer, I can completely understand why some people opt out of treatment for that disease and pursue alternative therapies.

But with HIV, it's a completely different story.  Researchers understand how the disease works and know *what* has to be done to cure.  It's just the *how* that is the hard part.  There are many promising avenues out there that are being tested.  Unless all HIV research stops tomorrow, I would be shocked if there weren't a cure found in my lifetime--I'm 36.  The treatments out right now are so good there really isn't anything left to accomplish.  All of us here on this board--we are walking miracles.  When I was in elementary school, doctors didn't even know what this disease was that was killing so many people, and now people who get it can expect a fairly normal life span.  I think it's easy to take for granted the incredible advances that have been made in this field.  

My ID doc also performs research is incredibly optimistic--even more so than I am.  I guess you have to have that type of attitude to get into that field.  I'm not saying there will be a cure found tomorrow, but I think it's very likely that a cure will be found in the lifetimes of people who are middle aged or younger, whether it be 5, 10 or 20 years from now.  And with the drugs that are out right now, we have the luxury of being patient.

[d-boy86]

Great response Sweet_C. 

[woodshere]

The treatments out right now are so good there really isn't anything left to accomplish.  

REALLY!!  I know several who might disagree with that statement.  Ask someone whose body has been ravaged by 20 yrs of meds and HIV if they don't think there is more to accomplish.  Or are they to continue to watch as their bodies deteriorate because the "meds are so good".

and now people who get it can expect a fairly normal life span.  

I guess it depends on your definition of normal.

And for being patient, many can't afford that luxury.

[CaptCarl]

But with HIV, it's a completely different story.  Researchers understand how the disease works and know *what* has to be done to cure.  It's just the *how* that is the hard part.  There are many promising avenues out there that are being tested.  Unless all HIV research stops tomorrow, I would be shocked if there weren't a cure found in my lifetime--I'm 36.  The treatments out right now are so good there really isn't anything left to accomplish.  All of us here on this board--we are walking miracles.  When I was in elementary school, doctors didn't even know what this disease was that was killing so many people, and now people who get it can expect a fairly normal life span.  I think it's easy to take for granted the incredible advances that have been made in this field.  

SweetC-
   While the researchers do indeed know how the disease works, finding the cure is the difficult part like you said. However, it needs to be kept in mind that there has never been a cure for any disease that is caused by a virus. If they can unlock the key to defeating viruses, they will be able to defeat a lot of other diseases as well, not just HIV. They have been searching for a cure long before HIV was around. It is to be hoped that there will be a cure someday.

   As far as treatments being so good that there really isn't anything left to accomplish, well, I gotta say yes there is alot more to be accomplished. One only need look at the effects of HIV on the body over the course of decades to see this. While we may approximate a normal lifespan, that does not mean that we will have a normal life during that time. Please don't make the mistake of assuming that because HIV is "manageable" that it is benign, you're likely to be disappointed.

CaptCarl

[LM]

Well, HCV has a cure, although not a perfect one nor for everyone.

Few diseases have been researched as much as HIV. I think there will be new meds, but I do agree that we are reaching a certain limit, a single-pill regimen with moderate side effects for most people is already a great achievement. I think the next step for meds will be to reduce the inflammation caused by the virus.

In any case, I can understand why people who are older and/or have been living with HIV for 15, 20+ years would be more pessimistic. I think I would be too. But if even scientists are becoming optimistic, way more than before, I guess we could be as well.

[newt]

Cure but not preventative vaccine, 10-20 years.

- matt

[lost_boy]

i would even settle for a functional cure. Something like an injection every 4-5 months with no to minimal side effects.

Seconded!

As it stands though, I agree it's unhealthy to hope for a cure in 5, 10, 20 years... just be glad that's it manageable, anything else comes as a bonus!

[Joe K]

I believe that a cure will be found for HIV, but don't ask me when that will happen. After living with HIV for so long, I know that progress continues on the meds and it seems that each new batch, is just a little kinder than the last. You can argue regarding all aspects of HIV, in terms of if or when, but what really matters is that you never lose hope. Decades have shown that we are getting much better at controlling HIV and we continue to find new ways to prevent infections. None of what we do is perfect, however we maintain a forward momentum that will always be fueled by hope.

There is always hope that things will get better, however hope does not measure time in human terms. To me, it is not so important of what will happen, or when, it is the idea that there are unexplored possibilities, in prevention and treatment and therefore there is always hope. Things may not move as quickly as we may like, but do not confuse the lack of progress, with the absence of hope.