November 15, 2016
How to more easily detect and follow the progression of AIDS in an individual? Researchers have found a revolutionary tool.
A USB key like no other
The tool looks like a blood glucose self-measuring device, but this time around, it would be used to measure the concentration of the AIDS virus in the blood of the sick person. Here is the discovery of scientists from Imperial College London, in collaboration with the start-up DNA Electronics published in the journal Scientific Reports.
People affected by the virus can live for several years without AIDS itself. Beyond a certain threshold of weakening of the immune system, AIDS spreads. British researchers wantwith a single drop of blood introduced on the microchip of this mini-tester, the results, 95% reliable, are available in 30 minutes.
Follow the progression of AIDS?
Other styles of tests already exist in Pharmacy, but must be confirmed by a blood test within six weeks. Thanks to this discovery, the latter will no longer be necessary. Better still, the test will make it possible to know, depending on the degree of contagion, what better therapy to adopt.
Dr. Graham Cooke, quoted by Why Doctor explain that ” monitoring the viral load is essential for successful treatment. However, today this requires complex and expensive equipment. Thanks to our work, we have succeeded in reducing this equipment from the size of a copier in a USB stick ”.
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