HIV cure: controversy, consensus, and a consortium

Abstract

Despite the significant clinical benefits accruing from antiretroviral treatment, so far there is no evidence that HIV can be cleared by drugs or the immune system, largely because the virus persists in reservoirs, contributing to the belief held by many, if not most, AIDS researchers that a cure for HIV infection is and may always be impossible. Certainly there are many scientific issues that need to be addressed before a cure for HIV infection is likely, and few on which there is universal consensus. Still, these issues are all amenable to research, and may benefit from a collective effort involving the productive collaboration of a number of research groups with different perspectives and skill sets. The view that a cure for HIV is impossible runs the risk of turning parsimony into paralysis. The search for a cure is one of the most challenging and potentially rewarding areas of AIDS research.