<p class="article__content article__content--intro">An HIV cure is a step closer after scientists found a molecular “kill switch” that stops infected cells from reproducing. A Lifelong drug treatment can prevent the virus leading to <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/fabulous/2296124/hiv-aids-symptoms-signs-test-cure/">AIDS </a> from reproducing— but it remains dormant and can re-awaken if therapy is stopped. But now, scientists in the US believe they have made a breakthrough - discovering "one of the key switches that the HIV field has been searching for three decades to find".</p>

<h2>Drugs stop virus replicating</h2>
When a person is diagnosed with<a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/fabulous/2296124/hiv-aids-symptoms-signs-test-cure/"> HIV</a>, doctors start them on anti-retroviral treatment straight away. The combination of three drugs - typically taken in one tablet - work to stop the virus replicating in the body. By doing so, it reduces a person's viral load - the amount of HIV in the blood. Once a person's viral load drops below a certain threshold, it is described as being undetectable - which means they cannot pass the virus on to a sexual partner, even if they have unprotected sex. While the treatment is highly effective, it does not amount to a cure. Instead the virus does remain active - though at a very low level - in the body. If anti-retroviral therapy is stopped, these HIV reservoirs that lie dormant, can re-awaken.
<h2>One step closer to 'Holy Grail'</h2>
But the new findings from the University of California, San Diego raise hopes that scientists are one step closer to that "Holy Grail". Using genetic sequencing, the team identified a key cellular player in controlling how HIV reproduces in immune cells. Lab tests showed when the RNA molecule - dubbed HEAL - is turned off or deleted, it eliminates the dormant HIV reservoirs hiding in the body. Dr Tariq Rana, the author of the study, said: "The most exciting part of this discovery has not been seen before. "By genetically modifying a long non-coding RNA, we prevent HIV recurrence in T cells (immune cells) upon cessation of anti-retroviral treatment, suggesting that we have a potential therapeutic target to eradicate HIV and Aids."

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Source: The Sun

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