Dr. Michael Gottlieb was the first doctor to ever discover HIV and AIDS back in 1981 and according to a report from NBC News, he continues his work to fight HIV and AIDS. According to the report, Gottlieb believes that a cure for the disease may be achieved within the next two decades.
"We have learned an amazing amount about HIV," explained Gottlieb in the interview. "I have seen those very first patients who were so deadly ill. And I'm now witnessing the good health of our average person today - that has been a miraculous experience."
During the interview he pointed out that there have been five major changes regarding HIV and AIDS over the past three and a half decades. One of the first things he pointed out is that while AIDS is still a fatal condition, merely contracting the HIV virus is not and that patients with HIV can now expect to live a full life due to modern medication.
Gottlieb explains that HIV medications these days can suppress the virus to the point where it is undetectable, completely making it inactive in the blood stream. With just a few pills of medications an HIV patient is no longer contagious to a certain degree.
He also states that back in the 1980s HIV patients needed to take 10 to 15 pills a day and this has now been reduced to just a few pills, guaranteeing a more comfortable lifestyle.
The doctor also pointed out that with a medicine called Truvada, people who are HIV-free can remain that way just by taking one pill. However, he points out that simply wearing a condom is still the best means of prevention.
Most importantly, the doctor relates that the number of cases of AIDS are declining and that a cure is most likely going to be developed within the next two decades. Just last May a team from the Temple University have discovered a gene-editing method that may lead to a potential cure for HIV and AIDS, reports Science Daily.
