Time Magazine created a series of rankings for the "top 10" in countless categories. Check out their list of the Top 10 Medical Breakthroughs of 2010.
While the list encompasses items ranging from an innovative Alzheimer's test to the new changes in general CPR/AED skills, the #1 Medical Breakthrough of 2010 was...groundbreaking research into antiretroviral drugs and their role as potential AIDS vaccines.
Multiple studies of high-risk populations conducted in 2010 found that taking antiretroviral drugs on a regular basis significantly decreased a person's chances of contracting HIV when exposed.
In fact, the risk of contracting HIV was reduced by around 44%.
And among people who took the drug on a daily basis, the risk of contracting HIV was reduced by a whopping 73%.
This should not be mistaken for an anti-HIV vaccine, as the drugs must be taken persistently and regularly in order for their effects to take hold. But it is tremendous progress in the hunt for a vaccine.
Incredible. We hope that 2011 will bring even more monumental AIDS/HIV research.
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