Detecting compound 'lock' is HIV virus

Researchers at the University of Minnesota have identified a compound that can prevent the transmission of another strain of HIV on primates, called SIV.

This discovery, introduced in the March 5 issue of Nature, offers hope for a new way to prevent HIV infection in humans.

The team at the University of Minnesota focused on a compound called glycerin monolaurate (GML), a substance widely used in some foods and cosmetics.

In this study, two weeks after exposure to SIV, five monkeys treated with a gel containing GML resulted in no infection. Meanwhile, four in five monkeys in the group that did not use GML gel were infected with SIV.

This compound does not kill viruses but prevents immune reactions that do not work to help the virus spread.

Lead researcher Dr Ashley Haase said that GML could provide a new and more effective way to fight HIV, including other sexually transmitted diseases in women.

But he warned that the study was small and only tested in animals. There is much work to do before human trials take place.