According to the World Health Organization, the spread of HIV/AIDS is classified as a global epidemic. The disease first struck the western world as a sudden and unanticipated scourge, especially destructive in homosexual and drug-using communities. Originally, scientists thought the disease to have a specific correlation to homosexuality, referring to the immunodeficiency as GRID, or Gay Related Immune Deficiency. In 1982, the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) changed the name of the condition to AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome). For over three decades, scientists have progressed through several generations of drugs in an effort to combat the HIV virus.

    When asked to explain how the HIV virus hinders the human immune system, Scituate health teacher Mrs. Dwyer explained, “ It attacks a person’s T cells and uses them to reproduce and multiply, killing the cell in the process. The T cell is an important part of our immune system, and the virus continues that cycle, depleting a person’s T cell supply.” Depending on how healthy a person is upon exposure to the HIV virus, it can sometimes take years before symptoms are expressed, making the condition difficult to diagnose without virus-specific testing.

    During the mid 90’s, almost ten years after the virus was discovered, the first truly effective “drug cocktail”, a three-drug regimen, was introduced to hinder viral replication and progression of the disease. Since then, new treatments have enabled HIV/AIDS patients to live healthier and more productive lives, but the cure for the condition remains out of reach. A promising breakthrough in the HIV-1 field was published this month by researchers at Drexel University. The creation of a molecule called DAVEI, five years in the making, proves very promising for the future of next-generation HIV/AIDS treatment.

    DAVEI, which stands for ‘Dual Action Virolytic Entry Inhibitor’, effectively ‘tricks’ the HIV virus into attacking a cell when in actuality there is no cell present. Dr. Irwin Chaiken, a leading researcher on the project, states that the molecule “shows us that it is possible to hijack the envelope protein, tricking the virus into self-annihilation before it has a chance to infect cells.”

    Dr. Chaiken, a native New Englander himself, has been involved in the HIV-1 field for the past 16 years, specializing in the structure-based mechanism and antagonism of the HIV-1 envelope protein machine that is normally used by the virus for cell entry and infection. He majored in Chemistry at Brown, graduating in 1964, and started working in the field of Protein Chemistry as a PhD student at UCLA.

    While there have been many recent discoveries regarding the combating of HIV, Dr. Chaiken believes that the DAVEI molecule and other HIV-targeting virolytic antagonists identified in their work have unique characteristics which which can play a role play a key role in the future of HIV/AIDS drug development. “Our hope is that determining the structures of both the new-generation virus inactivators and the virus entry machinery that are most important for the HIV-1 popping activity will help to advance molecular designs with increased power, specificity and clinical potential for both prevention and treatment”, states the professor.

    The future looks promising for the evolution of HIV/AIDS research and treatment, and it’s clear that a lot of progress is being made in the field. DAVEI’s irreversible inactivation of the HIV virus is a big step towards the ultimate eradication of the disease, a goal that now appears reachable within our lifetime. With such exciting advances in new-generation drugs, the rapidly progressing treatment for HIV/AIDS provides hope to those whose lives are affected by HIV.