Scientists from the U.S. have recently discovered an antibody from an HIV-positive person;; which has been successful in neutralizing almost 98 percent of HIV isolates that has been tested, which includes the lion's share of strains resistant to other antibodies of the same class in their study. Experts claim that based on the striking efficacy of the powerful antibody known as N6, it can potentially be used in developing and re-purposing further research in the quest for the treatment and prevention of HIV infections.
The N6 And Its Properties, Finally Revealed
According to Daily Mail, a team of researchers from the US National Institutes of Health has claimed that N6 is found to be conceivably effective in neutralizing 16 of the 20 strains which have so far resisted all kinds of medication. Currently, the discovery of N6 is considered as the most promising after decades of failed attempts to neutralize the HIV virus, notorious for its ability of rapidly changing its surface proteins to evade recognition.
It was said that the last time that HIV researchers has been able to come up with a breakthrough discovery in the field was in 2010 when they discovered an antibody called VRC01. As compared to the current discovery, although N6 works in the same way as the previous antibody, VRC01 is allegedly able to stop as much as 90 percent of HIV strains from infecting a human cell.
N6 Found To Have Greater Advantages Than VCR01
Furthermore, experts have highly emphasized that N6 is more likely to pose greater advantages over VRC01 due to its strength and effectiveness. In one of their statements released by RT News, UNAIDS has claimed that there were approximately 36.7 million people worldwide living with HIV/AIDS at the end of 2015. Of these, 1.8 million were children younger than 15 years old. It was also reported that majority of these patients come from low- and middle-income countries. As of the present time, the WHO has estimated that only 54 percent of people infected by the virus are aware of their status.
