Much of the initial optimism over the prospects for antiviral cure has faded, to be replaced with a far more realistic sense of the huge practical difficulties. Ho and his colleagues reasoned that given long enough, all the HIV-infected cells in the body would reach the end of their natural lives and die, taking the virus with them. The infected individual would effectively be cured, and could stop taking anti-HIV therapy.
T hat's the theory, anyway.
Recent studies have stirred up controversy about the effectiveness of current therapies in real world settings. However, activists have pointed out that many of these cases of 'treatment failure' have been among heavily pre-treated people, those with relatively advanced HIV disease, or those with documented problems with adhering to their recommended treatment regimen. They do not in themselves prove that eradication of HIV is unrealistic for everyone. In May 1997, research published in Science confirmed that triple combination therapy did lead to a reduction in viral load in the tonsils. This is because, crudely, the immune responses are triggered by exposure to HIV's proteins, so as the amount of virus in the body falls the immune system starts to shut down its anti-HIV activities.