Latest news with #cure
Mail & Guardian
01-07-2025
- Health
- Mail & Guardian
Africa, the cradle of the HIV pandemic, must be the cradle of the cure
There will be no HIV cure without Africa's involvement. Photo: Delwyn Verasamy They say history is written by the victors. But in the case of HIV, the story isn't over. Not by a long shot. And if we're honest — if we're truly listening — it is Africa that holds the pen for the next chapter. Let's call it what it is: the HIV pandemic has Africa as its epicentre. More than 25 million people on the continent live with the virus. That's more than two thirds of the world's HIV-positive population. Here's the truth, raw and unfiltered: there will be no HIV cure without Africa. Why does cure research in Africa matter? Because science divorced from relevance is science done wrong. The virus here is different — literally. Subtype C, dominant in Southern Africa, behaves in unique ways compared to subtype B, the strain most studied in Western labs. A cure crafted without considering this risks being ineffective. But it's not just virology. It's people. Culture. History. It's the grandmother in rural Malawi still caring for five orphaned grandchildren. It's the young man in Soweto tired of hiding his status. It's the community health worker who's seen more funerals than birthdays. Yet, scaling research in Africa is like climbing a muddy mountain in the rain. The challenges are real and they're brutal. First, the money. Or the lack thereof. African research institutions are starved of resources. Laboratories are too few, too outdated or too dependent on external donors whose priorities shift with the wind. Promising trials stall, not for lack of will, but for lack of wi-fi or reagents. A potential cure is held hostage by broken centrifuges and expired funding cycles. Second, the regulatory swamp. Clinical trials understandably need approval. But in Africa, the processes can be glacial. Ethics committees, often underfunded and overworked, are left to wade through complex protocols with limited support. Meanwhile, researchers — eager, bright, burning with passion — wait. And wait. Time bleeds. Momentum fades. Then, there's trust. Or rather, the scars left by its absence. For decades, Africa has been the testing ground for drugs, devices and diagnostics, many of which never returned in the form of benefit. People remember. So when someone says, 'We're testing a cure,' people in Africa ask, for who and at what cost? Without deep, honest community engagement, even the best science will sit in sterile labs, untouched, unused. Oh, and don't forget the brain drain. Bright African minds are too often lured abroad. Can you blame them? Better funding. Better infrastructure. More recognition. But the loss is ours. When the very people best positioned to solve Africa's problems have to solve someone else's, that's not just sad, it's sabotage. So, what now? Roll over and wait for Western labs to save the day? Absolutely not. What's needed is a fundamental shift, a re-imagining of how global science is done. One that sees Africa not as a passive recipient of cure breakthroughs but as a co-creator. A leader. A standard-setter. We need to fund African-led research and advocacy institutions such as the African HIV Cure Consortium (AHCC), not as side projects but as central nodes of global strategy. We need regulatory harmonisation across borders so that a trial approved in Kenya isn't buried in red tape in Nigeria. We need to invest not only in labs, but in people, in narratives of ownership and pride. And, most critically, we must demand that cure research be ethical, inclusive and future-focused. No more parachute science. No more backroom deals. No more data extraction without shared benefit. Africa must be in the driver's seat, hands on the wheel, eyes on the road ahead. A cure isn't just a medical milestone. It's a justice issue. To end HIV without ending inequality would be to miss the point entirely. If the cure becomes another tool of global exclusion — available in Boston before Bulawayo, or Paris before Pretoria — then we haven't cured anything. We've only perpetuated the disease of disparity. Africa deserves better, it demands and needs to do better, because the people who've borne the brunt of this pandemic have also carried the torch of resilience, courage and hope. Dr Albert Machinda is the co-principal investigator and head of secretariat for the Africa HIV Cure Consortium funded by the Gates Foundation and AIDSFonds.
Khaleej Times
24-06-2025
- Health
- Khaleej Times
Qatar warns against video on fake diabetes cure, clarifies man 'not licensed' medic
Qatar's health authorities on Tuesday warned against circulating a misleading video that falsely claims a cure for diabetes has been discovered. In the video, a person claims that he has discovered a cure for diabetes and urges Qataris to contact him. The Gulf country's Ministry of Public Health further warned that this call might be for fraudulent purposes. This person abused his previous role as a trainee assistant in the field of research at a local institution in Qatar to lend weight to his claims, the ministry clarified. "His role was limited to interacting with participants in research studies. He is not a qualified diabetes specialist, nor is he licensed to provide medical consultations," it said, adding that he no longer works in Qatar. Authorities in Qatar urged the public to verify the licence status of any healthcare practitioner in the country through the "Find a Registered Healthcare Practitioner" service available on the Ministry of Public Health's website. Diabetes is a chronic, metabolic disease characterised by elevated levels of blood glucose (or blood sugar), which leads over time to serious damage to the heart, blood vessels, eyes, kidneys and nerves. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), about 830 million people worldwide have diabetes, the majority living in low-and middle-income countries. More than half of the people living with diabetes are not receiving treatment. Both the number of people with diabetes and the number of people with untreated diabetes have been steadily increasing over the past decades, the UN body stated. insulin injections, is essential for survival, but it never mentions that any cure exists.
Daily Mail
17-06-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Good news for bald men! Scientists have developed a simple way to reverse hair loss - and say a treatment could be available by 2029
Spotting the first signs of baldness in the mirror can be a moment of true horror for many men. Now, scientists in Spain think a cure for hair thinning could finally be just around the corner.
Yahoo
17-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
'New pathway' to cure for HIV discovered using tech from COVID-19 vaccine
Researchers have taken a giant leap in the search for an HIV cure by discovering a way to identify the virus even as it is camouflaged among other cells. HIV spreads by invading and multiplying within white blood cells, which fight disease and infection. One of the main roadblocks in developing a cure has been finding a way to isolate and kill the virus without also killing white blood cells and harming the body's immune system. Researchers from the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity in Melbourne, Australia have now cultivated a method to identify the virus among white blood cells, as demonstrated in a recent paper published in Nature Communications, isolating the virus for potential treatment. The technology involves mRNA — molecules isolated from DNA that can teach the body how to make a specific protein — which were also used in the COVID-19 vaccines. By introducing mRNA to white blood cells, it can force the cells to reveal the virus. Using mRNA in this way was 'previously thought impossible,' research fellow at the Doherty Institute and co-first author of the study Paula Cevaal told The Guardian, but the new development "could be a new pathway to an HIV cure.' 'In the field of biomedicine, many things eventually don't make it into the clinic – that is the unfortunate truth; I don't want to paint a prettier picture than what is the reality,' Cevaal said. 'But in terms of specifically the field of HIV cure, we have never seen anything close to as good as what we are seeing, in terms of how well we are able to reveal this virus. A cure is still years away, as Cevaal said it would still need to be tested on animals and then humans to see if it can be done safely on living beings before they can test whether or not a potential treatment would even work. However, she added that that "we're very hopeful that we are also able to see this type of response in an animal, and that we could eventually do this in humans.'
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Historic Aussie-first breakthrough in fight against condition impacting 40 million
In a groundbreaking leap forward in the global fight against HIV, researchers at Melbourne's world-renowned Doherty Institute have developed a revolutionary method that could one day pave the way for a cure, using the same mRNA technology that powered COVID-19 vaccines. This discovery gives fresh hope to the nearly 40 million people around the world living with HIV. While today's treatments can keep the virus under control, they can't remove it completely. That's because HIV hides in a type of white blood cell, staying asleep and undetectable. But if treatment stops, the virus can wake up and spread again. For decades, this hidden "reservoir" has been one of the biggest obstacles to finding a cure. Now, researchers believe they've found a way to reach these sleeping cells and wake the virus up in a safe and controlled way, while the patient is still on their usual medication. Speaking to Yahoo News Australia, Dr Michael Roche, a Senior Research Fellow at the Doherty Institute, explained how his team used mRNA wrapped inside tiny fat-like bubbles called lipid nanoparticles. These nanoparticles are designed to travel directly to infected cells. Once inside, the mRNA sends instructions to the cell to make a protein called Tat — a natural HIV protein that tells the virus it's time to wake up. "Tat is a protein that helps the virus 'wake up' when the virus wants to," Dr Roche said. "Here we are using Tat to wake the virus up when we want to." This process is often called the "shock and kill" strategy. The idea is to force the virus out of hiding while the patient is still on HIV medication, so the virus can't spread and can instead be targeted and destroyed by the immune system or future therapies. The discovery is still in early stages, but it's the first time mRNA has successfully reached and activated the HIV reservoir in a lab setting. The team's next step is to test the treatment in animal models to check if it's safe and if it works. "We are looking for two signals," Dr Roche said. "Firstly, safety. Secondly, efficacy — whether it can wake up dormant HIV in animals." These trials will take a few years. Only after passing those tests can human trials begin — first to ensure the treatment is safe, and then to test how well it works in people. A key advantage is that this therapy uses the same technology that powered the COVID-19 vaccine rollout. "Our therapeutic is based on the same technology — mRNA and lipid nanoparticles — used in the COVID vaccines," Dr Roche said. "The global rollout of these vaccines has shown that this approach can be scaled and distributed globally." He pointed to a new BioNTech mRNA facility in Rwanda, which is being set up to support production in areas with a high burden of HIV. The team is also focused on making sure the treatment, if successful, can be made affordable and accessible. "We are committed to ensuring any cures we develop are scalable, accessible and affordable," Dr Roche said. Aussies warned over widespread danger emerging in homes Concerning roadside find reveals dangerous trend landing Aussies in hospital Controversial 'alcohol alternative' coming to Woolworths this month In Australia, around 29,000 people are living with HIV. New infections have dropped over the past decade thanks to wider access to HIV prevention medication (PrEP), regular testing, and strong treatment programs. The country recorded its lowest number of new HIV cases in over 20 years in 2022. But some challenges remain. In 2023, there was a slight increase in new cases, mostly among people born overseas and those infected through heterosexual contact. Still, the long-term trend is positive, and now, with this research, a cure no longer feels out of reach. If successful, this approach could one day mean people living with HIV no longer need daily medication, and may even be able to live completely free of the virus. As the world watches closely, Australia's scientists are once again leading the charge. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@ You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
