General Status Summary of the FHC HSV Research and Related Matters

[MikeHerp]

I recently posted the below status summary in the Herpes Subreddit about the FHC HSV cure research and how our community has worked with FHC to support that.

It has no new information, but kind of compiles various things into one post.

Please consider giving it an upvote and.or positive comment.  

 

[iFdUp]

I got in touch with a member of the Jerome Lab team in order to find out if there was any possibility of footage from the recent HIV conference held at the FHC in August. It looks like we should hopefully be hearing/seeing from Dr Jerome, new information or not. 

I just received an email back, a couple of hours before this was posted. 

 

" We are still is post-production with the video but expect to have it posted in the next couple of weeks.  An email blast will go out to the CGT4HIVCure email list letting everyone know.  If you’re not already on it, you may wish to sign up: 

 

https://defeathiv.us15.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=07410328a8b1dbe21a1ee2db2&id=44f502479d

 

Please also keep in mind that we will only be posting talks from speakers that gave their approval.  I believe the approval rate was around 50% of speakers.

 

Thanks,

Tom       "

 

Mr. Tom here was actually the second person I reached, being directed to him from another FHC staff member. Kudos to the level of communication we are given from just about anyone at the FHC. It is reassuring to know that the people there are so well organized and driven. 

[T9000]

Hey Mike just wanna say thanks for writing all that up and posting it on reddit. Even with the length, I think it's a really good introduction for the newbies. You obviously put a lot of time into it, and it's the kind of thing our community needs more of.

[MikeHerp]

18 hours ago, T9000 said:

Hey Mike just wanna say thanks for writing all that up and posting it on reddit. Even with the length, I think it's a really good introduction for the newbies. You obviously put a lot of time into it, and it's the kind of thing our community needs more of.

Thanks T9000.  My main concern is that, I might have oversold it.

[iFdUp]

2 hours ago, MikeHerp said:

Thanks T9000.  My main concern is that, I might have oversold it.

I don't think you have. 

All the facts point to cure. The localized area of HSV being small compared to other diseases, etc. 

We have also seen the results of efforts that simply took too long for too little, Admedus comes to mind.

I'm not privy on the levels of spending that each program has / had, though I would assume that up until this point the Jerome Lab has had less. 

With the level of success they have seen so far in a specifically therapeutic approach, I don't picture them not being able to 'crack the code'. 

"HSV (herpes simplex) is an important viral pathogen that infects billions of people around the world and is associated with significant morbidity."

The above is the statement on the FHC HSV fundraiser page. I really do hope that this medicine proves non-toxic and effective after what ever else they do to raise its efficacy. I am crossing my fingers that 

the FDA will agree with the 'significant morbidity' part of their statement and approve it for use in extreme cases, this would really solidify its track record a lot sooner. Alas these are at this point, pipe dreams. 

 

Edited September 21, 2019 by iFdUp

[T9000]

On 9/20/2019 at 8:12 PM, MikeHerp said:

Thanks T9000.  My main concern is that, I might have oversold it.

It's a possibility, and yeah we don't want people who are still  in the denial phase coming to regret their donations I suppose (hasn't happened so far), but as you've said before, funding long-term herpes research is a hard sell, so I think it's okay to give ourselves a little bit of wiggle room. The important thing is that there's sort of a framework being set up for herpes fundraising activity, which is unprecedented. I guess one thing is maybe to emphasize is that the goal is trials, not necessarily a cure. Maybe emphasize to them that they could potentially participate in a trial, which in itself is a pretty sweet deal I think.

[hopeful22]

@MikeHerp  Thank you Mike for this update and all that you do. This really does give me hope that I need and that we all need. Thank you

[Voyager2]

 “People should be excited,” Jerome argues, even if such a cure is tentative and years out. “I’m actually far more optimistic than I was five years ago,” he says, adding that he’s now fairly certain that, within his lifetime, we can cure herpes."

Dr. Jerome looks like a young man. I hope it's cured long before he passes away!

[iFdUp]

12 minutes ago, Voyager2 said:

 “People should be excited,” Jerome argues, even if such a cure is tentative and years out. “I’m actually far more optimistic than I was five years ago,” he says, adding that he’s now fairly certain that, within his lifetime, we can cure herpes."

Dr. Jerome looks like a young man. I hope it's cured long before he passes away!

I estimate Dr Jerome (purely based on his credentials and date they were achieved) to be about 55~ maybe a bit younger. 

He got his Bachelors in Science for Chemistry in 1985, almost 34 years ago. Figure that he was about 18-19 when he started his Chemistry studies. 

Edited September 28, 2019 by iFdUp

[MikeHerp]

On 9/27/2019 at 6:07 AM, hopeful22 said:

@MikeHerp  Thank you Mike for this update and all that you do. This really does give me hope that I need and that we all need. Thank you

Thanks.  You've been an important part of this fund raiser and in spreading hope.  Thank you.  

[MikeHerp]

21 hours ago, iFdUp said:

I estimate Dr Jerome (purely based on his credentials and date they were achieved) to be about 55~ maybe a bit younger. 

He got his Bachelors in Science for Chemistry in 1985, almost 34 years ago. Figure that he was about 18-19 when he started his Chemistry studies. 

Yes, around 53 is my guess.  But I don't think that Jerome meant that a cure would be found when he's on his death bed since that wouldn't be very exciting for a lot of older people.  

I'm focusing on the fact that the progress has been astounding.  From 2-4% latent virus edited, to up to 90% of latent virus disintegrated in a little bit over 2 years.

[Voyager2]

If he's 53-55, which seems about right, he could easily live another 30 years. But based on their progress, the latent virus in humans (or a large part of it) can probably be removed much sooner than that.

Someone said they have to move up to guinea pigs, then chimps, then humans. That's probably true, but after they eradicate 100% of the virus in mice, progress could go quickly. They could apply the same technique to each new group, all the while checking for safety and efficacy.

Hopefully they'll update us in 2020.

[Cas9]

Guys, not that it makes any difference but if he graduated in 1985 with a bachelors degree then he would have been at least 22. That means he's at least 56.

I'm dying for the next update.

[heididehk]

I love this, Mike! Thanks for putting together the information. 

 

I would love to get involved deeper but I am not mentally ready yet because I’m a newly diagnosed. I worked in an NGO and have always loved to raise awareness and funds for meaningful causes. 

 

For now I’ll share the fundraiser link with friends and online

 

God bless your beautiful heart 

Heidi 

Edited September 29, 2019 by heididehk

[MikeHerp]

9 hours ago, heididehk said:

I love this, Mike! Thanks for putting together the information. 

 

I would love to get involved deeper but I am not mentally ready yet because I’m a newly diagnosed. I worked in an NGO and have always loved to raise awareness and funds for meaningful causes. 

 

For now I’ll share the fundraiser link with friends and online

 

God bless your beautiful heart 

Heidi 

Thank you Heidi.  Anything you can do to spread the word would be great and lovely.  

Cheers.