Technical Details:
WHO report has stated that there are 39.5 million people currently HIV positive worldwide. Of these, 4.3 million have been infected in the year 2006 alone. AIDS death reached 2.9 million this year which is the highest ever reported in any year. There are 40,000 new AIDS cases a year in U.S. along. The anti-HIV compounds that are currently being used to treat AIDS patients include several reverse transcriptase inhibitors. However, these drugs gradually lose their effectiveness with the appearance of a group of populated viral mutants. Thus, development of alternative therapeutic methods that inhibit HIV infections and protect host cell mediated immunity (CMI) is urgently needed. JHU scientists have found that several plant compounds can block HIV-1 production in culture CD4 + cells synergistically against a variety of HIV strains. They are equally active in targeting mutant strains that are highly resistant to currently available drugs against HIV protease and reverse transcriptase as compared to the wild type viruses.
Looking for Partners:
This technology can be used to control AIDS epidemics.
Publications:
US Issued Patent 9,005,889
US Issued Patent 9,259,433
