PITTSBURGH (NewsRadio 1020 KDKA) — A new breakthrough in HIV research out of the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health.
Researchers call the new approach a "'Swiss Army knife' of immunotherapy."
HIV hides in the body's T cells to avoid detection by the immune system. Current treatment includes antiretroviral therapy (ART) that suppresses and controls the infection.
This new treatment draws HIV out of hiding to kill the virus using the body's own immune system, rather than just suppressing it.
Researchers hope this could lead to a vaccine that takes patients off daily medications
The key was utilizing cells that fight another virus that is common among people with HIV.
No clinical trails yet. The new treatment was tested on HIV positive blood using volunteers from the Pitt Men's Study, America's most extensive study of HIV-positive blood.
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