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26 November 2020
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Story Leonie Bolleurs
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Mind Matters is a first for the UFS. It is a mental-health publication for students aimed at highlighting what matters most when it comes to your mind, life, and well-being. Some sections share how individuals in the top echelons of the UFS take care of their minds. Other sections focus on how to support your grey matter (i.e. your brain) and, consequently, improve your general functioning. Some parts discuss matters related to careers, well-being, finance, and self-development. We also provide news and resources that might matter to you.
Whatever your fancy, Mind Matters focuses primarily on why the health of your mind matters. Our minds and brains are the most powerful intelligence or apparatuses on the planet. A power like this needs to be wielded wisely, otherwise we may suffer much from our own neglect of our mental health. It’s not always easy, but it is important!
Mind Matters was possible due to the cumulative contributions, inputs, and work of numerous UFS professionals, especially within
Student Affairs. We are grateful and proud of each person involved. We endeavour to honour these efforts by continually improving and developing Mind Matters. Your feedback and voices are most welcome and will continue to inform what we do next.
HIV Cure – Just another fantasy?
2016-07-27
Twenty-years ago, after a person had been diagnosed with HIV, their lifespan did not exceed three years, but thanks to the success of antiretroviral therapy programmes, life expectancy has risen by an average of ten years. However, is antiretroviral therapy always going to be for life? This is the societal issue that Professor John Frater, addressed in his talk at the University of the Free State. He is an MRC Senior Clinical Fellow, Associate Professor and Honorary Consultant Physician in Infectious Diseases at Oxford University.
Antiretroviral medicine therapeutic
The discovery of antiretroviral therapy - the use of HIV medicines to treat the virus - has had a positive effect on the health and well-being of people living with it, improving their quality of life. Unfortunately, if treatment is stopped, HIV rebounds to the detriment of the patient. Now, research has shown that some patients, who are treated soon after being infected by HIV, may go off treatment for prolonged periods. Work is being done to predict who will be able to stop treatment.
“The difference made by starting treatment earlier is enormous. Delaying treatment is denying yourself the right to health,” Professor Frater says. However, this does not mean that the virus is cured. “A person can live for ten years without being on HIV treatment, but is that enough?” he went on to ask.
Healthy lifestyles encouraged
The National Department of Health will adopt a test and treat immediately strategy later this year to improve patient health and curb the spread of HIV. ,This is another reason why everybody should know their status and start treatment as soon as possible.
Search for a cure continues
More research is being conducted to establish whether HIV can be eradicated. Remission gives hope that a permanent cure may be found eventually. “Will a cure for HIV ever be found? Time will tell,” he concluded.