Do you think we will ever have a cure for AIDS???

[BeauJangles]

Originally posted by: IGBT
..unlikely. behavior is the answer. AIDS research is a parasite sucking up research dollars that could be better spent.

Behavior is the answer? What's wrong with you? Someone who acts "appropriate" (which, in your mind probably means only being heterosexual) and sleeps with a woman, uses a condom, etc can STLL get HIV. What if the condom breaks? That person should die just because the condom broke?

What about children that are born HIV+, what about children who have two HIV+ parents? What the hell are we supposed to do about them? Let them starve? Let them die because of circumstances out of their control?

This isn't even a matter of compassion. This is about being a man, a woman, a child, whatever. HIV, cancer, bird flu, etc research is about compassion for your fellow human being. Research into these epidemics is about doing the right thing, about helping people, and about giving a shit about the world beyond your little suburban wonderland. Grow up. Everyone on AT likes to think of themselves as a "man." Well, part of being a "man" is having some compassion, it's getting your hands dirty and helping people, it's trying to make the world a better place.

Please, get out of your little bubble, go see the suffering that HIV causes, then tell me with a straight face that it's about "behavior." You'll realize pretty quickly that HIV is horrible, that it is an epidemic, and that researching its cure is as noble as cancer or altheimzers or whatever else you think our money should be invested in.



That being said, like someone pointed out to me, there is money to be made in all sorts of research like HIV cures. Lots of money. No doubt the companies that work to cure these diseases are thinking more about the money than about the morality. I'm not doubting that for one minute. The research needs to be done and if money is the incentive, then so be it.

 

[Phantomaniac]

I believe several cures have been made already, but the HIV strain evolves too fast for us to keep up with.

 

[MrMajestyk]

I'm sure the French will come up with a cure.

After all they invented the cure for baldness. The Guillotine.

 

[Xavier434]

Originally posted by: BlinderBomber
That being said, like someone pointed out to me, there is money to be made in all sorts of research like HIV cures. Lots of money. No doubt the companies that work to cure these diseases are thinking more about the money than about the morality. I'm not doubting that for one minute. The research needs to be done and if money is the incentive, then so be it.

:thumbsup:

Yup, not to mention that the "behavior" problem will never be solved anyways like I mentioned in my previous post.

 

[IGBT]

Originally posted by: Phantomaniac
I believe several cures have been made already, but the HIV strain evolves too fast for us to keep up with.

..informed comment. Nobody has been cured of AIDS. Little can be done for those who have it. Behavior can be a major factor in acquiring it..and prevention. I'm stating the obvious.

 

[steppinthrax]

Originally posted by: BlinderBomber

Originally posted by: IGBT
..unlikely. behavior is the answer. AIDS research is a parasite sucking up research dollars that could be better spent.

Behavior is the answer? What's wrong with you? Someone who acts "appropriate" (which, in your mind probably means only being heterosexual) and sleeps with a woman, uses a condom, etc can STLL get HIV. What if the condom breaks? That person should die just because the condom broke?

What about children that are born HIV+, what about children who have two HIV+ parents? What the hell are we supposed to do about them? Let them starve? Let them die because of circumstances out of their control?

This isn't even a matter of compassion. This is about being a man, a woman, a child, whatever. HIV, cancer, bird flu, etc research is about compassion for your fellow human being. Research into these epidemics is about doing the right thing, about helping people, and about giving a shit about the world beyond your little suburban wonderland. Grow up. Everyone on AT likes to think of themselves as a "man." Well, part of being a "man" is having some compassion, it's getting your hands dirty and helping people, it's trying to make the world a better place.

Please, get out of your little bubble, go see the suffering that HIV causes, then tell me with a straight face that it's about "behavior." You'll realize pretty quickly that HIV is horrible, that it is an epidemic, and that researching its cure is as noble as cancer or altheimzers or whatever else you think our money should be invested in.



That being said, like someone pointed out to me, there is money to be made in all sorts of research like HIV cures. Lots of money. No doubt the companies that work to cure these diseases are thinking more about the money than about the morality. I'm not doubting that for one minute. The research needs to be done and if money is the incentive, then so be it.

If you have AIDS you really shouldn't be having SEX with anybody. That is part of the problem. If that behavior is changed people aquiring the illness would be drastically reduced and then it would result in less children being born with AIDS.

It's a chain process and if that one part of the chain is stoped then it can't every lead to anything worse....

 

[vi edit]

Originally posted by: Saint Michael

Originally posted by: vi_edit

Originally posted by: Saint Michael

Originally posted by: vi_edit
Here's the thing though...you are just band aiding the problem. You aren't curing the REAL problem which is behavior, culture, and ignorance.

You cure Aids and then they just continue acting the same way until another disease comes along and we rinse, wash, and repeat.

And it will always be like that, plain and simple. That's why there's no need to worry about curing people's sexual promiscuity and ignorance: it's impossible. The only thing we have a chance in hell of achieving is a cure/vaccine for AIDS/HIV, so that's what we should be working towards.

Aids isn't killing millions in developed countries for a reason. We don't run around raping 10 virgins in this country to try and "purge" the sickness from ourselves like some tribes in Africa do. It's not an issue of promiscuity, it's a complete absence of basic scientific comprehension.

Call me a callous ass, but I fail to see a point in wasting efforts to find a vaccine for this current epidemic when they are going to be in the same exact boat when Aids 2.0 starts sweeping their nations.

Where's smallpox 2.0? Polio 2.0? Rampant, seemingly incurable, annihilating diseases aren't born every day.

The big thing is that AIDS isn't really that communicable of a disease. It isn't spread through food, it isn't spread through water, it isn't spread through clothing/bedding, it isn't spread through casual social contact like shaking hands or hugging.

I guess I find it a bigger atrocity that we focus on curing AIDS and sort of sweep under the rug the fact that women and children are being raped on a daily basis in many of those countries before they get the disease.

In my mind you are just enabling the activities that cause it because now there isn't really any fatal repurcussions for doing them.

 

[Xavier434]

Originally posted by: steppinthrax
If you have AIDS you really shouldn't be having SEX with anybody. That is part of the problem. If that behavior is changed people aquiring the illness would be drastically reduced and then it would result in less children being born with AIDS.

It's a chain process and if that one part of the chain is stoped then it can't every lead to anything worse....

True, but do not forget that the majority of times where HIV is transmitted to another person the original recipient did not know that they were infected. So while we would all like to believe that this disease would be heavily reduced through behavior control, that will not be the case. We are already doing everything we can to improve upon behavior control, but in the end people are going to make their own decisions and we cannot stop them.

This is not a new problem guys. There are people out there who's job has been dedicated to trying to reduce this problem through means of behavior control for many years. I am quite certain they understand what I have said so far in regards to the subject. Thus, they focus most of their efforts on emphasizing protected sex through use of condoms, getting tested ona regular basis, and getting money to donate towards vaccines. They do not expect people to simply abstain from sex until their partner has been tested even though I am sure they recommend it.

 

[Xavier434]

Originally posted by: vi_edit
The big thing is that AIDS isn't really that communicable of a disease. It isn't spread through food, it isn't spread through water, it isn't spread through clothing/bedding, it isn't spread through casual social contact like shaking hands or hugging.

I guess I find it a bigger atrocity that we focus on curing AIDS and sort of sweep under the rug the fact that women and children are being raped on a daily basis in many of those countries before they get the disease.


In my mind you are just enabling the activities that cause it because now there isn't really any fatal repurcussions for doing them.

In the end, fighting disease through vaccination will never be a bad thing. It will not increase/decrease rape. It will not reduce or increase unprotected sex since there will always be another disease to worry about. It will not increase/reduce any kind of sex period. It will not do anything except save lives that could have potentially become victim of the disease.

Rape, STDs, and sex have been happening since the stone age whether you want to believe it or not. Nothing so far has changed that. I do not expect a vaccine that is produced every blue moon to make any difference either.

 

[chr6]

Originally posted by: steppinthrax
What I want to know is what the HELL kind of drugs Magic Johnson is using. It's like he dosen't have HIV.

me too

 

[zinfamous]

there will liekly be a medical solution, but I say let natural selection run its course. there is a segment of the population that has a natural immunity to HIV. currently, AIDS is one of the strongest selective pressures we have facing our species. It's hard to count heart disease as a true selective pressure (#1 killer of Americans is largely due to diet choice).

and yeah, vaccination /= cure. it works pretty damn well, but viruses and esp retroviruses (HIV is an example) have such a high mutation rate that a true cure is almost impossible.

 

[zinfamous]

Originally posted by: steppinthrax
What I want to know is what the HELL kind of drugs Magic Johnson is using. It's like he dosen't have HIV.

easy:

$$$$$$$$

 

[foghorn67]

Originally posted by: MrMajestyk
I'm sure the French will come up with a cure.

After all they invented the cure for baldness. The Guillotine.

I lol'd

 

[oiprocs]

No.

Sex is never going out of style, thus AIDS is here to stay.

Plus, I wouldn't want a cure. Helps keep the population down.

EDIT: If they find a cure/vaccine, imagine how much more sex people will have when they don't have to worry about STD's (assuming the cure/vaccine works for those as well). Especially guys with a vasectomy. No need for a condom ever.

 

[IGBT]

Originally posted by: Oiprocs
No.

Sex is never going out of style, thus AIDS is here to stay.

Plus, I wouldn't want a cure. Helps keep the population down.

EDIT: If they find a cure/vaccine, imagine how much more sex people will have when they don't have to worry about STD's (assuming the cure/vaccine works for those as well). Especially guys with a vasectomy. No need for a condom ever.

..same reason the eco-theists got DDT banned and came up with concoction that it was causing bird edd shells to thin and crack. Malaria is comming back with a vengence and will kill many..that will satisfy the KOOK quest to thin out the population.

 

[soonerproud]

Originally posted by: zinfamous

Originally posted by: steppinthrax
What I want to know is what the HELL kind of drugs Magic Johnson is using. It's like he dosen't have HIV.

easy:

$$$$$$$$

Wrong again. Magic Johnson is on HAART. The same drugs available to all AIDS patients. The drugs inhibit the ability of HIV to attach itself to T-cells and effectively stops it's ability to reproduce. When patients take these drugs, the virus is literally reduced to levels that are undetectable. These drugs have been made available even to patients that can not afford them through various private, state and federal programs.

You people really need to become educated on HIV.

 

[Xavier434]

Originally posted by: soonerproud
Wrong again. Magic Johnson is on HAART. The same drugs available to all AIDS patients. The drugs inhibit the ability of HIV to attach itself to T-cells and effectively stops it's ability to reproduce. When patients take these drugs, the virus is literally reduced to levels that are undetectable. These drugs have been made available even to patients that can not afford them through various private, state and federal programs.

You people really need to become educated on HIV.

You've perked my curiosity. If it reduces HIV to levels that are undetectable, does that mean that the chances of HIV becoming AIDS and killing you are also vastly decreased? What kind of life expectancy differences have people been noticing with this drug? I'll be looking up stuff on Google as well, but you seem to know about it already.

 

[soonerproud]

Originally posted by: steppinthrax
If you have AIDS you really shouldn't be having SEX with anybody. That is part of the problem. If that behavior is changed people aquiring the illness would be drastically reduced and then it would result in less children being born with AIDS.

It's a chain process and if that one part of the chain is stoped then it can't every lead to anything worse....

What an ignorant statement. So you are saying that people with AIDS who's partners are informed and every precaution of preventing transmission are taken should not have sex? Magic Johnson has been having sex with his wife for years and has not passed the disease on to her. There are precautions people with HIV can take to protect others.

The majority of new HIV cases in the US are from people who had sex with someone who is unaware they were infected or from sharing needles. Many of these relationships are monogamous so there was no reason for these people to even believe they were at risk. Behavior is only one factor in the prevention of the spread of HIV. Until testing becomes mandatory for every one, HIV is going to continue to spread despite peoples behavior.

 

[soonerproud]

Originally posted by: Xavier434

Originally posted by: soonerproud
Wrong again. Magic Johnson is on HAART. The same drugs available to all AIDS patients. The drugs inhibit the ability of HIV to attach itself to T-cells and effectively stops it's ability to reproduce. When patients take these drugs, the virus is literally reduced to levels that are undetectable. These drugs have been made available even to patients that can not afford them through various private, state and federal programs.

You people really need to become educated on HIV.

You've perked my curiosity. If it reduces HIV to levels that are undetectable, does that mean that the chances of HIV becoming AIDS and killing you are also vastly decreased? What kind of life expectancy differences have people been noticing with this drug? I'll be looking up stuff on Google as well, but you seem to know about it already.

Yes to the first question. The drugs themselves have side effects that will affect life expectancy, but the benefits outweigh the risk. There are people on the drugs that have been infected for 30 years. People are not generally put on the drugs until their T-cell levels are under 400. So an infected patient may have the disease for 10 years before they start therapy.

 

[Ctrackstar126]

I don't know about a cure but I can say that about 90% of the people posting have no idea of what they are talking about and just like to see themselves talk.

 

[soonerproud]

Originally posted by: Oiprocs
No.

Sex is never going out of style, thus AIDS is here to stay.

Plus, I wouldn't want a cure. Helps keep the population down.

EDIT: If they find a cure/vaccine, imagine how much more sex people will have when they don't have to worry about STD's (assuming the cure/vaccine works for those as well). Especially guys with a vasectomy. No need for a condom ever.

Starvation also keeps the population down. So are you saying we should just let the hungry starve in the name of population control? War also keeps the population so by your reasoning we should be nuking the entire third world.

Brilliant way to look at it.

 

[Feldenak]

Originally posted by: K1052

Originally posted by: CPA
Am I right that no virus has ever been cured? that includes the common flu.

That would be correct IIRC. The best that probably could be hoped for is an effective vaccine.

Doesn't it mutate at a blistering pace though?

 

[Feldenak]

Originally posted by: soonerproud

Originally posted by: vi_edit
Here's the thing though...you are just band aiding the problem. You aren't curing the REAL problem which is behavior, culture, and ignorance.

You cure Aids and then they just continue acting the same way until another disease comes along and we rinse, wash, and repeat.

Wrong!

We will cure AIDS when close minded, judgmental people quit trying to make life difficult for people who had no choice in the first place on their sexuality. By driving gays and lesbians into a closet of shame we create the climate that leads to the spread of AIDS. If gays and lesbians were accepted in society, they would not have to resort to secretive practices that leads to the spread of AIDS.

Also the false belief that AIDS is a gay disease is also a factor. HIV infections of heterosexual people are rising fast because they believe that they are safe from getting the disease. heterosexual infection rates are rising faster than any group because of this ignorance.

Hey there Sparky, list the virii that have been "cured". Not vaccinated against, but an actual cure. Must be all those closed minded, judgemental people trying to make life difficult for those flu sufferers.

 

[soonerproud]

Originally posted by: Feldenak
Hey there Sparky, list the virii that have been "cured". Not vaccinated against, but an actual cure. Must be all those closed minded, judgemental people trying to make life difficult for those flu sufferers.

What does a cure have to do with the price of tea in China? The post you quoted said nothing about a cure, but was a statement on social conditions of prejudice and discrimination that lead to unsafe behavior in the gay and lesbian community.

Now tell me how discrimination has caused conditions that lead to the spread of influenza?

 

[Feldenak]

Originally posted by: soonerproud

Originally posted by: Feldenak
Hey there Sparky, list the virii that have been "cured". Not vaccinated against, but an actual cure. Must be all those closed minded, judgemental people trying to make life difficult for those flu sufferers.

What does a cure have to do with the price of tea in China? The post you quoted said nothing about a cure, but was a statement on social conditions of prejudice and discrimination that lead to unsafe behavior in the gay and lesbian community.

Now tell me how discrimination has caused conditions that lead to the spread of influenza?

Might want to re-read what you wrote.

Originally posted by: soonerproud
We will cure AIDS when close minded, judgmental people quit trying to make life difficult for people who had no choice in the first place on their sexuality.

Looks like you were definately headed down the "cure" route.

For the record, no I don't think there will ever be a cure. Vaccine possibly, but no cure.