A group of Brazilian researchers linked to the Federal University of São Paulo (Unifesp) showed encouraging results for the elimination of HIV. The research was presented this Monday (30) in São Paulo, at a congress organized by the Brazilian Society of Infectious Diseases and the Brazilian Society of Hepatology. The research began six years ago with 30 HIV-positive volunteers with an undetectable viral load and who were already undergoing treatment with three types of antiretroviral drugs. They were divided into six subgroups and each received a different combination of medications. According to infectologist Ricardo Diaz, who led the study, the volunteers who showed a significant reduction in the number of cells contaminated by HIV were those who took, in addition to the three antiretrovirals they were already using, two others: dolutegravir and maraviroc. Additionally, they received two substances. The first is nicotinamide, a vitamin that scientists realized was also capable of reversing HIV's ability to hide in cells. The second is auranofin, known as golden salt. Researchers discovered that it is able to find the cell infected with HIV and drive this cell to suicide. This vaccine is made with the virus and the patient's own cells. It can teach the body to find infected cells and destroy each one of them – and in this way, completely eliminate the HIV virus from the body. The final result should be released in two months and will be presented at the World AIDS Congress to be held in July, in the Netherlands.
