Kudos to Dr. Bob Siliciano and his Hopkins team for their persistence in pursuing this reservoirs issue

(Even if it is said that top retrovirologists view the eradication grail as unlikely ever to succeed)

Journal of Clinical Investigation (10/01/09)

From the Discussion section:

"Because of the high cost and potential toxicities of long-term HAART and the disappointing results from the clinical trials of HIV-1 vaccines and microbicides, there is still a pressing need for pursuing the goal of eradication.

To cure HIV-1 infection is exceptionally challenging and will likely require combining HAART with agents that can purge latent virus.

The identification of 5-hydroxynaphthalene-1,4-dione (5HN) not only expands the number of classes of latency-reversing agents but also demonstrates the possibility of utilizing pathway(s) further downstream of TCR stimulation to avoid global T cell activation.

Although the toxicities of 5HN raise concerns for its clinical application, this is a proof of concept for this approach to finding novel strategies to reactivate latent HIV-1 without inducing global T cell activation."