## 1. Introduction Since HIV's discovery in 1983, medicine has progressed from high mortality to chronic viral control. Yet complete eradication remains elusive due to viral reservoirs and HIV's integration into human DNA. This review examines:
- Current treatments (ART, immunotherapies, "kick and kill")
- Promising drug combos for elimination
- Next-gen approaches (gene editing, therapeutic vaccines, immune modulation)
PROVOCATIVE QUESTION: "In this age of AI and CRISPR, why is HIV still incurable? Scientific limitation... or systemic failure?"
## 2. Current Treatments & Limitations
2.1 Antiretroviral Therapy (ART)
- Goal: Viral suppression (
The long road to lenacapavir
"A new kind of drug to prevent HIV has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration: lenacapavir, which disrupts the proteins that form the virus’s capsid shell. Unlike existing pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) regimens, which involve taking a daily pill, lenacapavir need only be injected every six months. Last July, attendees at the 2024 AIDS Conference in Munich broke out in tears and applause as they welcomed the blockbuster news that, in a trial in women in Africa, lenacapavir provided 100% protection against HIV. But “the project almost died multiple times”, says virologist Stephen Yant, who helped develop the drug at pharma company Gilead Sciences."
https://www.science.org/content/article/always-one-atom-away-long-rocky-journey-hiv-prevention-breakthrough
https://bioethics.com/archives/98384
How donated bodies could yield an HIV cure
To develop a cure for HIV, researchers need to pinpoint the nooks and crannies where the virus hides itself from antiretroviral therapies. That goal inspired Last Gift, a unique clinical study that aims to perform autopsies on the bodies of people with HIV within hours of their death, which could let researchers locate the virus before any kind of decomposition ousts it from its hiding places. The protocol of Last Gift — which has performed 42 rapid autopsies so far — was vetted and approved by a HIV community advisory board, but others have raised objections. Jules Levin, the director of National AIDS Treatment Advocacy Project, questions whether people facing death are in the right state of mind to consent, and whether the use of their cadavers will translate to meaningful progress...
https://www.science.org/content/article/last-gift-how-bodies-donated-research-may-help-find-cure-hiv
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