Size of the HIV-1 reservoir and ongoing replication in defined cohorts
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Size of the HIV-1 reservoir and ongoing replication in defined patient cohorts.
IRAS ID
125126
Contact name
Margaret Johnson
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University College London
Research summary
It is not currently possible to eradicate HIV in the majority of patients because even with the best antiretroviral treatment there is still a small reservoir of virus hidden in some cells of the body. One problem is that the methods available to measure this reservoir and also to evaluate how the virus hides in the cell are very poor. This study is being done to develop new methods to examine the sites where the virus hides in the cell, to measure how much virus there is in this reservoir and to help explain how HIV avoids being eradicated by treatment. HIV-1 genetic material will be measured in four different HIV patient groups in blood and gut tissue samples. Gut tissue is the major compartment of the HIV-1 reservoir in infected patients and an important place to assess how any new tests might help scientists find new treatments for HIV in the future.
REC name
London - Brent Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
13/LO/0729
Date of REC Opinion
4 Jul 2013
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion