Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1996. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
The Associated Press - Saturday, December 21, 1996 4:31 pm EST.
Ho, scientific director of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center in New York, has fundamentally changed the approach to combating the AIDS virus, Time said in its Dec. 30, year-ending issue.
Ho, a 44-year-old father of three, used a "cocktail" of antiviral drugs to combat the AIDS-causing virus, HIV, in early stages of infection. His work included using protease inhibitors to help clarify how HIV overwhelms the body's immune system, insights that helped treatment research focus on early stages of infection instead of later terms of the illness.
Ho "did not make the most headlines, but he helped make history," the magazine said.
The cost of Ho's "cocktail" treatment -- up to $20,000 a year -- puts it beyond the reach of all but the best-insured patients. And Ho himself said he has only begun an experiment that might help a small group of men in the first three months of infection.
Still, Time said his work "might, just might, lead to a cure."
In 1996, 3.1 million people became HIV-infected, bringing the worldwide total to 22.6 million people living with HIV or AIDS, according to the United Nations.
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