Mr.

AIDS Discoveries

What drove Woodrow Wilson to attempt to create the League of Nations in the Treaty of Versailles; or brought about the creation of the United Nations out of World War II? The same reason why we are on the verge of discovering the solution to the mass epidemic of AIDS: the idea of great minds collectively sharing ideas to solve an international issue. "Some 3,900 medical experts from around the world met this week in Denver, Colorado to assess efforts to combat AIDS" 1. Western cultures are beginning to discover complex chemical compounds while the herbal treatments of some eastern cultures prove effective. Although we have yet to find the ultimate cure for AIDS, the combined knowledge of the world is our best hope for the solution.

Some promising discoveries have recently been made on the western front of the battle against AIDS. Researchers, including a BYU scientist, believe they have found a "new family of compounds called Ceragenins that could finally kill the HIV/AIDS virus, not just slow it down as current treatments do" 2. Along with this potential curing compound, drug makers in San Francisco have been doing their research as well. For years, effective anti-viral treatment has required HIV-positive patients to take a large handful of pills and capsules every day to stay healthy. To eliminate this problem, "the combination of tenofovir, FTC, and efavirenz might soon be available in a single pill" 1. If the manufacturing of this pill gets to the market, the effects should be extremely significant.

Since the epidemic of AIDS has recently shot up in formidable numbers in China, many eastern cultures have found it necessary to explore new treatments. A collection of rare and tropical herbs has been tested in Northern Thailand and proved effective in treating AIDS victims. According to Nature Products Network: "This is a new way of looking at the treatment of HIV, the medicine itself is but a sophisticated mixture of traditional Chinese herbs to cure immune system deficiencies. The herbal extracts are taken as a tea twice a day" 3.

No medical expert alone is held accountable for the vast improvement we have made