People infected with HIV who control the infection without antiretroviral drug therapy have often served as foot soldiers for science, but now science owes them some answers. If the rare good fortune of being a so-called 'HIV controller' comes with a price—namely, immune activation that raises a person's risks of developing cardiovascular disease, diabetes and other health problems—might antiretroviral medications give these patients' overactive immune systems a much-needed break? Alla Katsnelson investigates.
