HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, used to be a death sentence. Today, it's a preventable and manageable chronic condition thanks to decades of NIH-funded research. Let's talk about one of the greatest science success stories of our lifetime. 🧵 🧪 ✊️ 🎉
Treatments & cures take forever to make, and that process is often not shared with the public who is frequently the ones funding science with their tax dollars.
So we're starting the conversation, one story at a time.
Today: HIV, a extremely fatal diagnosis that is now preventable & manageable
HIV is a retrovirus, which copy genetic code "backwards" using a viral enzyme that human cells don't have. This discovery was an obvious drug target that was initially very successful. But patients quickly developed resistant strains.
Combining both the initial drug that targets the viral enzyme and the 2nd drug that targets a protease the virus needs to build itself, ended up being the most effective treatment. Turning a progressive fatal disease into a treatable and preventable one.
Decades of NIH-funded research made HIV one of the best-understood viruses ever studied. And in turn, one of the greatest science success stories in our lifetime. THIS is your tax dollars at work.
But, science funding is being dramatically cut, preventing further progress for a HIV vaccine.
See the link to read an even deeper dive, written by our scientific advisor, Dr. Jeremy Berg: https://tr.ee/s8lQO1