Scientists are a step closer to developing an antibody treatment for HIV, after the first human trial of a new therapy reduced the amount of virus in patients’ blood.
A trial of 17 patients demonstrated that a high dose of an antibody could dramatically reduce the levels of HIV, without apparent side effects. While scientists warn that an effective therapy will be years away, the treatment may one day provide an alternative to daily antiretroviral drugs.
The trial, reported in the journal Nature, infused the patients with an antibody called 3BNC117, which can fight 80% of HIV strains. The method uses clones of immune proteins taken from a rare individual who has natural control of the disease. The antibodies are then infused into patients in large doses.
In eight patients given the highest dose of antibodies, the amount of HIV in their blood systems dropped 300-fold. The patients were monitored for 56 days after receiving the therapy.
More than one in ten people infected with the virus naturally produce these “broadly neutralising antibodies”. However, the virus can still evade the attack due to the speed at which it mutates. Even with improved antibodies, the virus’s rapid mutation speed continues to pose a problem. The study’s authors found that the antibody tested became roughly 80% less effective at neutralising HIV after 28 days of treatment – probably due to mutations.
Professor Vincent Piguet from Cardiff University said to the BBC: “This exciting novel study shows for the first time that antibodies may have a place in the line of therapies directed against HIV.”
This development is one of a series of recent breakthroughs made in the field of HIV prevention and cure. In February this year it was reported that a daily pill has been developed which cuts the spread of HIV by 86%. The trial looked at transmission among men who have sex with men, and recruited 545 participants at high risk of contracting HIV. It has been suggested that the drug, called Truvada, could become routine for men who have sex with men in the same way that the contraceptive pill is for women.
Furthermore, scientists are making rapid breakthroughs in their understanding of the virus. Researchers at UCL reported this month that the virus spreads through the body via the bloodstream and directly between cells – akin to computer worms spreading themselves through two routes to infect as many computers as possible.
Unfortunately public understanding of the virus, which is estimated to effect 35 million people world wide, has failed to keep up with scientific advances. A survey by the National Aids Trust in 2014 found that 20% of the public believe that life expectancy after diagnosis is only ten years. More than a third of people believed that being HIV positive prevented someone from working as a nursery school teacher, a chef or with people with mental health problems.
Furthermore, stigma surrounding the virus remains rife, with a 2009 report finding that one in five people with an HIV diagnosis had been harassed, threatened or verbally assaulted in the past 12 months.
Only one person is believed to have been permanently cured of the HIV virus , after undergoing a bone marrow transplant for leukaemia. However, the life expectancy for someone living with HIV, who is on treatment and responding well, is now no different to the general population. Despite these breakthroughs, one in five HIV positive people in the UK are unaware of their status. Widespread fear and misunderstanding continues to prevent testing and early diagnosis, it is therefore crucial that public understanding catches up with medical advances.
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