Patience Mthunzi: Could we cure HIV with lasers?
Patience Mthunzi: ¿Podemos curar el VIH con láser?
Patience Mthunzi wants to use lasers to deliver medicines more effectively. Full bio
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to your head, where the pain is,
tenga efecto contra el dolor,
los intestinos y otros órganos.
and various other organs first.
and painless way of delivering
sistema más eficaz e indoloro
surta efecto en el cuerpo.
any medication leads to its dilution.
es que al tragarlo
especialmente en pacientes con VIH.
particularly in HIV patients.
antirretrovirales,
la cantidad de virus en la sangre,
the virus in the blood,
for their adverse side effects,
sus efectos secundarios adversos,
by the time they get to the blood,
a la corriente sanguínea, se diluyen,
they get to the sites
tardan en llegar a su destino,
within the HIV viral reservoirs.
en el depósito del VIH.
such as the lymph nodes,
como los ganglios linfáticos,
as well as the lungs --
en el torrente sanguíneo
get delivered in the blood
consistent anti-HIV drugs therapy.
medicamentos antirretrovirales.
interrupción del tratamiento,
nuevas células sanguíneas.
and infect new cells in the blood.
HIV with the current drug treatment,
con los fármacos actuales
administrado por vía oral.
that must be swallowed by patients.
directamente al depósito del virus,
within its reservoir sites,
de los medicamentos?"
the answer was just before my eyes:
la respuesta estaba delante de mí:
y cirugía de la diabetes,
cualquier cosa imaginable,
intracelular de los medicamentos.
we are currently using laser pulses
usando pulsos de láser
extremadamente pequeños,
las células infectadas con el VIH
immediately in HIV-infected cells,
"¿Cómo es eso posible?"
but super-tiny laser beam
infectada por el VIH
en un líquido que contiene el fármaco.
in liquid containing the drug.
while the cell swallows the drug
en cuestión de microsegundos.
becomes immediately repaired.
this technology in test tubes
esta tecnología in vitro
esta tecnología al cuerpo humano,
this technology in the human body,
se pueden preguntar.
de un dispositivo de tres cabezas.
through a three-headed device.
que es nuestro láser,
in the site of infection.
en el sitio de la infección.
un inyector que distribuye el fármaco,
which is a drug-spreading sprinkler,
en el sitio de la infección,
at the site of infection,
para mantener las células abiertas.
to poke those cells open.
like much right now.
mucho de momento.
esta tecnología puede conducir
this technology can lead
del VIH del cuerpo.
of HIV in the body.
investigador del VIH...
un tratamiento con láser.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Patience Mthunzi - Laser scientistPatience Mthunzi wants to use lasers to deliver medicines more effectively.
Why you should listen
Patience Mthunzi is a research group leader at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research in Pretoria, South Africa. There, she uses laser "tweezers" to try and separate diseased cells from healthy ones. She's also developed a way to use laser pulses to target drug delivery into cells.
Born in Soweto, Patience got her PhD in physics from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. In 2012, she was named one of 20 Youngest Power Women in Africa by Forbes magazine; that same year she was given the Order of Mapungubwe for her contribution in the field of biophotonics. She's also a TED Fellow.
Patience Mthunzi | Speaker | TED.com