After stopping their medication, they received infusions of two antibodies found naturally in people whose bodies can control HIV without medication. The antibodies target proteins on the outside of the virus and use the patient's own immune system to combat infection. The proteins were administered in tandem to prevent the HIV developing immunity -- something that had hampered previous antibody-based studies. Scientists found that the volunteers maintained "safe" suppressed levels of HIV for an average of 15 weeks -- and two patients managed as many as 30 weeks. Although AIDS-related deaths have fallen by roughly half in the last decade, UN data shows that 1.8 million people contracted HIV in 2017.

Source: Bangkok Post September 26, 2018 17:37 UTC