Acne drug fights latent HIV

The idea came about when colleagues at Baltimore University learned of research showing that minocycline had anti-inflammatory effects on CD4 cells in people with rheumatoid arthritis and cystic fibrosis. They also drew on research showing how effective the drug was in monkeys with SIV (the primate version of HIV) particularly in lowering the levels of the disease in their central nervous systems.

The claim that minocycline, as an add-on therapy to HAART [1]Highly Active AntiRetroviral Therapy ??? aggressive treatment of HIV infection using several different drugs together., may help keep the virus [2]A small infective organism which is incapable of reproducing outside a host cell. locked in a dormant state contradicts the work of other researchers hoping to ‘cure’ the virus completely.

It remains to be seen which approach, if either, will result in the best long-term clinical [3]Pertaining to or founded on observation and treatment of participants, as distinguished from theoretical or basic science. benefit for those of us infected with HIV.