New trial hints at a possible HIV cure approach: Wake up latent virus hiding in the body, then kill it

Illustration of bright green viruses floating near nervous system cells.

A new treatment for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) can drive the virus out of its hiding spots in the body, an early clinical trial finds. That, in turn, raises hopes these reservoirs of HIV could then be wiped out.

The treatment isn't enough to cure HIV on its own. But the new results, published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases on Feb. 13, hint that it could be possible to use this strategy as a step toward curing a person of HIV.