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Alcoholism drug may flush out reservoirs

Positive Living article • Adrian Ogier • 25 February 2011
Defeating HIV

Aside from making people feel terrible when they drink, a drug used for years to treat alcoholism, Antabuse, apparently also has the ability to activate immune cells.

Whether it can activate latently infected cells and make them vulnerable to HIV treatment and the immune system is not yet known, but that is what a small US study seeks to understand.

In the trial, people will add 400 milligrams of Antabuse once a day to their current ARVA medication or other substance which is active against retroviruses such as HIV. regimen for two weeks, and then be followed for six months to look for signs of immune activation.

Though the trial will be small, it could help propel research towards an HIV cure.

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From Positive Living

This article was first published in the March 2011 issue of Positive Living — more than one year ago.

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