Based on two recent studies, scientists now believe that taking antiretroviral drugs that are typically used to treat HIV may actually prevent HIV in those who are uninfected.

The studies, conducted in Uganda and Kenya, used medications that have most prominently served as a treatment to HIV infections, saving millions of people over the past 15 years. These drugs, tenofovir and truvada, in addition to a placebo medication, were administered among 4,758 couples in which one partner was infected and the other was not. The results indicated that HIV infection was reduced by 62 among those who took tenofovir, and by 73 percent among those who took Truvada.

This is overwhelming evidence that preventative medicine can help protect people against HIV. Despite this evidence, however, specialists warn that taking antiretroviral drugs have negative side effects. Specialists suggest that only people who are in high risk for contracting HIV should take tenofovir or truvada as HIV preventative action.

So the answer? No cure yet, but preventative medicine may prove to be an amenable compromise.