Scientists in Germany have reportedly made progress in finding the cure for HIV, as they have removed the virus from infected mice cells. The German researchers at Dresden University of Technology have created an enzyme that can identify the HIV virus and use a genetic modification technique to remove it from the cell with a 90 percent accuracy. "The amount of virus was clearly reduced, and even no longer to be found in the blood," said Professor Joachim Hauber, of Heinrich Pette Institute in Hamburg, according to The Local.
The enzyme, called "molecular scissors," responsible for identifying the HIV virus functions in a unique fashion: It goes inside the DNA double helix, slices it and rearranges the DNA helix. The new DNA helix will be HIV-free and according to Hauber, this is the only method that successfully removes the HIV infection and leaves healthy cells. "There are various methods and similar approaches, but removing the virus from infected cells is unique," Hauber said, as reported by New York Daily News. That said, this research was done on mice and how it would work on humans is yet to be determined. According to Professor Frank Buchholz, who led the team of researchers at Dresden University of Technology, the research could be applicable for humans as early as a decade as somatic genetic therapy. "Blood would be taken from patients and the stem cells, which can form blood cells, removed," he said.
Last month, German and Tanzanian agricultural researchers revealed that the sweet potato, specifically the kind with orange flesh, contains the cure for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes AIDS. Grown in the Lake Zone regions like Tanzania, the orange fleshed sweet potato is rich in the CD4 compound, which plays a key role in boosting the immune system and decreasing CD4 levels in patients with HIV. READ MORE: Orange Peel Of Sweet Potatoes Found To Contain Healing Properties
In other HIV cure news, a study from Rutgers New Jersey Medical School found that ciclopirox cream, a common drug used to treat nail fungus, can remove HIV from cell cultures. What separates this finding from others is that the virus won't return when patients stop taking the drug. Similar results were found by scientists at the Oregon Health & Science University, who published in Nature, when testing monkeys with a similar virus strain as HIV. More than half the monkeys were "protected" and when they were, their cells were "cleared" of the virus. "Three years later, you can't tell them from other monkeys," said Dr. Picker. "It's like their T-cells were turned into the East German secret police, hunting down infected cells until there were none left." RELATED: HIV Cure News 2013: Can Ciclopirox, Antifungal Foot Cream, Eradicate HIV?
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