Dr. Warner Greene
writes about exciting advances made in the study of HIV that
may hold the
promise for better treatments or even a cure for the virus. [Photo: Chris
Goodfellow]
(August 27, 2015) After
studying HIV for more than 30 years, I didn’t expect to be surprised. However,
recent research at the Gladstone Institutes has radically changed our
fundamental understanding of how HIV works. Our discoveries have revealed new
information that may lead to treatment options we’ve never before considered.
The Journey Begins
In 1981, I was part of a team that treated the first patient
presenting with AIDS at the National Institutes of Health. We had never seen
anything like it: a total collapse of immune system function.
Within 5 years, HIV was identified as the virus that causes
AIDS, but there were still no effective treatments. All of the patients I was
caring for at San Francisco General Hospital ultimately died, and there was
nothing we could do about it.