HIV: Scientists at MOU make breakthrough

A group of Nigerian scientists have found what
could be a novel treatment for Human Immune-
deficiency Virus, HIV, infection that may slash the
cost of treatment.
The team of scientists, including graduate students
and researchers from the Michael Okpara
University of Agriculture, Umudike, Abia state,
University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and the Federal
Medical Centre, Umuahia, Nigeria have been able to
show that synthetic Aluminum-magnesium silicate
(AMS) has antiretroviral effects that could lay a
perfect track for affordable and effective therapy for
HIV.
Results
Results of their work titled “Assessment of
Antiretroviral Effects of a Synthetic Aluminum-
magnesium Silicate” published in the British Journal
of Medicine & Medical Research and featured on nd
featured on SCIENCEDOMAIN international shows a
significant reduction in the titres of the virus when
HIV positive plasma was incubated with AMS.
Head, Department of Veterinary Medicine at Michael
Okpara University of Agriculture, and the lead
scientist, Professor Maduike Ezeibe, said the
discovery could provide an ultimate cure for the
virus that has defiled so many scientific efforts to
curtail it in the past.
Ezeibe reacted aluminium silicate with magnesium
silicate to obtain the synthetic aluminum-
magnesium silicate devoid of impurities.
Giving further details Ezeibe noted: “Molecules of
aluminum-magnesium silicate have platelets that
possess both negative and positive electrical
charges on their surfaces and their edges. HIV on
the other hand is negatively charged. So the simple
scientific understanding that opposite charges
attracts ensures that the HIV virus binds to the AMS
and is discharged from the body alongside.”
Existing medicine
“AMS is normally used as a stabilizing medicine
that does not really have toxic effect on the patient,
so it makes it a suitable agent for mopping up HIV
virus from the body,” he said.
In the Journal, Ezeibe stated that “possession of
both negative and positive electrical charges makes
AMS a broad spectrum antiviral medicine.”
“AMS, if used in combination of selected antibiotics
and immune stimulant may achieve a ‘cure’ for
HIV,” the lead researcher of the work said.
“When a significant number of particles of invading
viruses adsorb onto its (AMS) molecules instead of
onto their hosts cells, viral infections are
terminated,” Ezeibe noted.
The author noted also that “Adsorbing out HIV
means that millions of new virions usually released
from each infected cell would be inhibited from
establishing new infections in more cells,” adding,
“Thus, HIV would be prevented from overwhelming
the body immune systems and the Acquired
Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) stage may be
prevented.which case Ezeibe said a cure could be
achieved.