Acne Medication May Stop Spread Of HIV?

Is it possible that an acne drug that's been around for decades might stop HIV progression?

Surprisingly the answer is yes, according to findings in a study that will be released next month in the Journal of Infectious Diseases. It seems that Minocycline, which is sold under a variety of trade names including Minocin, could help fight HIV. EmaxHealth reports that molecular and comparative biologist Janice Clements, the Johns Hopkins researcher who authored the study, says the antibiotic is "another arm of defense" against HIV when used in conjunction with existing drugs.

Standard HIV treatment includes HAART, Highly Active Antoretroviral Therapy, a combination of drugs that target the HIV virus. But unlike the HAART drugs, minocycline targets T cells, making it harder for them to reproduce and thus making it harder for HIV to spread and progress into full blown AIDS.

Minocycline has many advantages. It's safe, and it can be used long term without the body building up a resistance. It's also cheap. The Johns Hopkins researchers had previously studied its use on macaques infected with SIV, a similar virus that affects other primates. According to Gregory Szeto, a graduate student who worked on the study, minocycline impaired T cell activation but did not have any adverse effect on the macaques' immune systems.

“Minocycline reduces the capability of the virus to emerge from resting infected T cells,” Szeto explains. “It prevents the virus from escaping in the one in a million cells in which it lays dormant in a person on HAART, and since it prevents virus activation it should maintain the level of viral latency or even lower it. That’s the goal: Sustaining a latent non-infectious state.”

From www.hopkinsmedicine.org via clp.ly