Chapel Hill, NCResearchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will examine whether a cancer drug made by Merck could be a treatment for AIDS. A similar 2005 study found that the bipolar disorder drug Depakote was useful for treating AIDS.
The study, led by professor of medicine David Margolis, will test Zolinza on 20 patients with HIV, according to Bloomberg. Specifically, it will examine if the medication can force HIV out of its cells where it is protected from anti-viral treatments.
Combinations of drugs have proven to eliminate 99 percent of the HIV virus, but they are not a cure, as some of the virus remains in the body, hidden in the cells. The study hopes to find a way to force the virus out.
"It's really all about trying to move the field ahead," Margolis told the news source. "We don't expect to cure anybody, but we expect to really show whether it can work the way we think it does in people - or not."
Margolis published a paper in 2005 that showed that Depakote could aid in the treatment of AIDS. However, subsequent studies have contradicted the findings.
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