Two science stories caught my attention today which are potentially VERY good news. They suggest that AIDS may be preventable and that quality of life may be improved and prolonged in the elderly.
An injection of two drugs normally used to treat HIV patients completely protected monkeys from becoming infected with the AIDS virus, U.S. researchers reported on Monday.
Reuters
and
Resveratrol appears to be the first molecule to consistently cause life extension across very different animal groups such as worms, insects, and fish, and it could become the starting molecule for the design drugs for the prevention of human aging-related diseases.
Natural Compound Prolongs Lifespan And Delays Onset Of Aging-related Traits In A Short-lived Vertebrate
Obviously it is still very early and these discoveries are not 'silver bullets' that will completely abolish the scourge of AIDS or instantly become Niven's 'boosterspice' but they are extremely encouraging.
The monkeys were then exposed to a combined human-monkey AIDS virus called SHIV, using a rectal method aimed at simulating male homosexual contact. That happened daily for 14 days and the monkeys also got daily injections.
snip
The six monkeys that received the drug combination were all completely protected from infection. By comparison, nine monkeys that took part in a previous experiment all eventually became infected with the SHIV virus.
"Study authors believe the findings may be the strongest animal data yet suggesting that potent antiretrovirals given before HIV exposure may prevent sexual HIV transmission," the CDC said in a statement.
The researchers cautioned the drug dose was slightly different from that seen in people taking Truvada and said studies under way will answer the question of whether the findings will translate to humans.
That sounds like a breakthrough to me and as for the other article?
"The researchers added resveratrol to daily fish food and found that this treatment increased longevity and also retarded the onset of aging-related decays in memory and muscular performance."
Even better, Resveratrol is found in red wine. I'll raise a toast to that.