would a vaccine for hiv also possibly be able to cure it?

Question

It seems that all the types of things that are supposed to be probable vaccines against hiv actually improve the killing of the virus but not prevent it. For example the novel vaccine for hiv which is chemically enhanced dendritic cells taken from the person and it improves the killing of the virus but does not prevent it.

Does anyone think that an hiv vaccine would also theoretically have to be a cure?

Answer 1

it's most likely a preventative measure but no one would be mad if it cured it as well

Answer 2

No vaccine against HIV will be able to "cure" the disease in an infected person. This is because the virus integrates into the patient's DNA (including some very long-lived cells) and remains capable of re-establishing a new infection. A successful vaccine may be able to boost immune responses in a person to the point where they can control the infection with or without additional drug therapy (but this is unlikely to eliminate all traces of the virus).

Actually, vaccines are designed to limit the spread of a disease at the population level (person-to-person), not to prevent infection of any individual. They can reduce the severity of an infection within a person, sometimes to the point that symptoms are non-existent - but they never truly prevent infection. For most diseases (i.e. flu), this is sufficient since transmission to new hosts is limited, the infection within a person is reduced, and the body clears the remaining virus on its own. In the case of HIV, any limited replication of the virus will likely result in integration (and therefore life-long infection).

An effective vaccine administered over a long period of time might be able to eradicate a disease. A global attempt to do this for polio virus is now underway. This may be considered a "cure", depending on your definition of the term, and your willingness to wait.

Answer 3

No one really seems to know the answer to this, but many people seem to have reasonable doubts.

A few years ago, in Science News magazine there was an article that suggested by way of experiment that a vaccine was unlikely. I hardly remember many details only that the immune reaction to the virus was needed to actually help spread the virus.

The problems with the viruses that causes AIDs are several. First, just like all viruses it is not alive, it acts more as a molecular disease.

Its core is a RNA molecule that highjacks the human cell machinery to make DNA versions of itself.

That DNA version inserts into the regular human DNA. From there its DNA is read off to build more viruses that spread to more cells. It in a very real sense becomes a part of you.

Even it you could make a vaccine that would work the HIV viruses mutate frequently.

Answer 4

No, I don't. I think that if they can find a way to prevent infection with HIV, they will probably be able to expand the research in similar directions to find a cure, but technically, the definition of a vaccine is a preventive.

Answer 5

i'm hoping human beings do not see this as an excuse to sleep round with every person and everyone because there's a treatment for AIDs.....that sounds truly pessimistic doesn't it? Apologises! :0) On a happier be conscious........... A treatment for AIDs? optimistically funds will be placed in course of this and then we may be able to flow onto maximum cancers and leukemia and the different terminal diseases. I guess he's feeling on suitable of the international! i'm hoping it isn;t only a fluke and this may help others around the globe.