We Need Your Help!
Do You Know This Scientist?
If you do, we welcome your input. Please share your funny stories, brief anecdotes, quotes, and photos of the scientist - as well as your own inspirational opinions. Personal accounts help bring a scientist alive and create an enduring historical picture. You can be a part of this exciting history by providing your personal account!
Please click here to learn more about how to contribute:
Participate as a Friend Scholar
Can You Write or Research?
Help us learn more about this great scientist. You can be a credited Support Scholar by contributing your knowledge about this scientist and important discovery. Entries can be as short as a single section and as easy as compiling quotes. Click here to learn more about becoming a Support Scholar:
Participate as a Support Scholar
Would you like to adopt a scientist?
Endeavor to research all the sections of a scientist. Click here to learn how to be an Expert Scholar.
Participate as an Expert Scholar
Have Historically Significant Photographs?
Participate with Photos
Click here for all the ways you can participate:
Participate to ScienceHeroes.com
Testimonials
Has this scientist’s science impacted your life?
Click here to tell your story or to read others’ life changing anecdotes:
Post Your Own Testimonial
Nghe Nguyen-Ga (dob - ) Born in Year of Discovery: 1989 ![]() ![]() New AIDS Drug Invented Has Far Fewer Side Effects Nghe Nguyen-Ga teamed with Bernard Belleau to invent an effective alternative to the anti-AIDS drug AZT. Working together at the IAF BioChem International Inc., based in Montreal, the pair developed Lamivudine. Commonly referred to as 3TC, the new medication was a significant breakthrough in the fight against AIDS. Not only was 3TC effective in fighting AIDS, it had far fewer side effects than AZT. This fact made it a popular choice with both patients and physicians. The drug was a major success, and is credited with saving over 2 million lives. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) originated in West Africa, with the first confirmed case being recorded in 1959. The virus slowly spread across Africa and then, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, exploded throughout other parts of the world. HIV is the underlying cause of AIDS, a disease that attacks the immune system, and is passed from person to person through contact with bodily fluids. As AIDS progresses, individuals become less able to ward off infections and fall prey to a variety of diseases and infections that normally are easily fought off by the body. Among the common diseases initially associated with AIDS was Kaposi's sarcoma, a cancer that can affect both internal organs and the skin. Victims also began showing up at emergency rooms with a variety of flu-like symptoms and an unusual form of pneumonia known as pneumocystis. Health officials initially thought the disease was limited to homosexual men living in large metropolitan areas. But, they quickly discovered that both hemophiliacs and heterosexual intravenous drug users were also being infected. A French physician, Luc Montagnier, initially discovered that the underlying cause of AIDS was a retrovirus.,This was a major breakthrough, allowing other scientists to develop treatments, and AZT became the first drug approved to fight AIDS. The development of 3TC was a significant development, especially because of its fewer side effects, and it became a major force in the fight against AIDS. Introduction by Tim Anderson Table of Contents IntroductionLinks to More Information About the Scientist Key Insight Key Experiment or Research Key Contributors Quotes by the Scientist Quotes About the Scientist Anecdotes Fun Trivia About The Science The Science Behind the Discovery Personal Information Science Discovery Timeline Recommended Books About the Science Books by the Scientist Books About the Scientist Awards Major Academic Papers Curriculum Vitae Links to Science and Related Information on the Subject Sources
Links to More About the Scientist & the Science Wikipedia entry on Lamivudine referencing Nguyen-Ga: Emory University news release announcing patent award for Lamivudine referencing Nguyen-Ga: DrugsWell.com history of Lamivudine referencing Nguyen-Ga: Sliders & Images here Image Flow Here
Key Contributors
The Science Behind the Discovery
Curriculum VitaeLinks to Information on the Science Sources/References
|