HIV Cure “Found”! Really?

By Joshua M. Dziba
Executive Director, HAZ

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A recent news headline on the online Zimbabwean news site, NewZimbabwe.com proclaimed that an “HIV cure (had been) ‘found’”.  We felt that a clarification to this report is necessary, so as to avoid giving false hope to the millions of those who are infected with the HIV virus, but more specifically, to avoid confusion within our Zimbabwean community who read NewZimbabwe.com.

The reporting by NewZimbabwe.com was based on an interview granted to an American television news station, by two University of Texas Medical School (Houston) researchers who are behind the reported breakthrough.  However, none of the USA-based NEWS agencies, and certainly none in the medical scientific community seem to be proclaiming an absolute breakthrough in the fight against AIDS, from the findings by Dr. Paul Sudhir, contrary to the NewZimbabwe report.  It is the purpose of this statement, to clarify what the reported findings by Dr. Paul Sudhir are, and also to explain the real implications of these findings, for people currently living with HIV/AIDS.

Firstly, it is important to point out that no verified, effective AIDS cure has been discovered or developed anywhere in the world as of today.  Even as the XVII International AIDS Conference kicks off in Mexico City, Mexico on August 3rd 2008, there is unlikely to be reports of the finding or the discovery of an AIDS cure at this world forum.

Soundly tested scientific findings and breakthroughs in the respectable medical research community in the USA and indeed worldwide, are reported through scientific publications and/or meetings, and not through the press.  Prior to any such publication of findings through formally recognized scientific platforms, it is extremely difficult to verify the authenticity of “breakthroughs” reported through the press.  Thus far, we have not been able to identify publications or scientific meeting reports that give further details on Dr. Sudhir’s breakthrough, beyond what has been reported through the press.

The USA-based press agencies that have reported on Dr. Sudhir’s research have also spoken only of  “promising research that may lead to an AIDS cure” and not of the actual discovery of an AIDS cure.

This statement does not in any way seek to challenge Dr. Sudhir’s claims, but merely seeks to clarify his findings in view of the possible confusion that may be created by the story headline on the NewZimbabwe.com news site.  So without going into the scientific merits, or lack of merits thereof, in Dr. Sudhir’s research, this report will simply provide a layman’s explanation of the reported findings.

One of the major reasons why the HIV virus has proven so difficult to fight thus far, is its ability to mutate or change its characteristics rapidly.  So when targeted with various therapeutic challenges, either in the laboratory or in a clinical setting, the HIV virus is almost always able to change or transform itself, so that whatever characteristic, or weakness in its character, was targeted by the said therapeutic challenge, is no longer effectively targeted.  As a result, this leads to the virus acquiring what is often referred to as resistance.  So resistance in this sense is spoken of in terms of a specific drug or class of drugs.  So a patient on one drug, who develops resistance to that drug, is then put on a new drug, to which the HIV virus is not resistant.

What Dr. Sudhir’s research is reported to have discovered, is that there is a part of the HIV virus, which actually does not change or which is incapable of transforming naturally.  So, in theory, challenging this part of the virus with some therapeutic intervention should enable scientists to attack and destroy the virus, without the virus being able to transform itself so as to overcome the drug or whatever therapeutic intervention is being used. Dr. Sudhir reports that his theory has been successfully tested in their lab, and in animal experiments, and it has held up.  HOWEVER, no human tests of this theory, are reported to have been conducted, at this stage.

The development of medical drugs follows a prescribed paradigm, which was set-up in order to test the effectiveness of drugs before they are given to people, as well as to ensure the safety of such drugs when they are eventually given to humans.  As is often said in the medical research community with regards to cancer, if our aim was simply to treat cancer in mice, we would have cured cancer many years ago.  The point being made here being that many new strategies effectively cure cancers (and other targeted diseases) in animal models during research, but that success in animals does not often translate into success with humans.

Many theories, which sound plausible in principle, have failed to yield successful drugs for this reason.   At the surface of it, Dr. Sudhir’s theory sounds like a breakthrough theory, but that does not immediately translate into a breakthrough cure for “HIV infection” or AIDS.    What Dr. Sudhir reported to the press are the findings of what is termed the “basic” or ”preclinical” stages of his research.  As mentioned before, we have not even been able to identify the actual scientific reports of this basic stage of his research yet.  So, this basic research likely has not even undergone peer-review or scientific scrutiny beyond Dr. Sudhir’s lab.  Only after this has been done, will the research be allowed to progress on to the three stages of human trials or “clinical trials” that eventually decide whether a theory is turned into a blockbuster drug. The stages of the clinical trials are defined as follows:

• Phase 1 Trial: Clinical trial conducted to evaluate the safety of a drug or therapy. How a drug should be administered (e.g. oral, injection) and dose levels are also evaluated. Phase 1 trials typically involve a small group ranging from 5 to 50 patients, depending on the disease indication.
• Phase 2 Trial: Clinical trial conducted to further evaluate the safety of a drug or therapy and to evaluate its efficacy. In addition, researchers focus on determining optimal dose levels. Phase 2 trials typically involve a larger group than Phase 1 trials, approximately 15 to 200 patients, depending on the disease indication.
• Phase 3 Trial: Clinical trial conducted to confirm the efficacy of a new drug or therapy. Trial participants are usually included in one of two study groups: one which will receive the new drug being evaluated, and one that receives an already approved, current standard of treatment. Phase 3 trials can enrol anywhere from 50 to 5,000 or more patients.

The extensive work required before a therapeutic strategy can be adopted as a viable treatment paradigm in humans usually means that it takes around 10 years or more to successfully develop such a therapy. The work reported by Dr. Sudhir only marks the completion (assuming they have completed the work they reported to the press) of the basic or initial stages in what is often a long path in drug discovery and development.

The reporting on this case and similar cases, which have tremendous implications for many Zimbabweans and others in the world, therefore serves to highlight the need for responsible journalism, so as to avoid giving false hope where there may be none, and also to avoid leading readers into irresponsible actions.  HIV/AIDS|ZIMBABWE CHARITY, INC. will respond to questions from concerned readers, on our forums, to further address any prevailing ambiguities regarding the report on Dr. Sudhir’s findings.

Dr. Sudhir’s findings do not in any way indicate that we are closer to finding a cure for HIV infections, any more than we were, say a month ago.  At best, the findings simply indicate that a new avenue in the search for such a cure has now opened up, and it still remains to be seen whether this avenue ultimately bears any better fruit than other similarly hopeful avenues that have already been traversed and explored before, since the beginning of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

References:
YouTube Video of Dr. Sudhir’s research: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLf-DC4HV6o
Dr. Sudhir’s interview with Fox News: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,395941,00.html

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