When we talk about a radical cure, a treatment that completely eradicates a disease rather than just controlling its symptoms. Also known as curative therapy, it’s the goal behind many of today’s most targeted medical interventions—especially for infections and chronic conditions that resist standard care. Unlike palliative treatments that ease discomfort, a radical cure aims to wipe out the source: the parasite, the virus, the abnormal cell, or the underlying metabolic flaw. This isn’t just wishful thinking—it’s the foundation of how we treat diseases like malaria, hepatitis C, and even some forms of cancer.
Take hepatitis C, a viral infection that can silently damage the liver for decades. HCV used to be managed with harsh drugs that barely worked. Now, with direct-acting antivirals like ledipasvir, a key component in modern HCV combination therapy, we can achieve a radical cure in over 95% of cases. That means the virus is gone, liver damage stops, and long-term risks like cirrhosis drop dramatically. The same principle applies to malaria, a parasitic disease where some drugs only relieve fever while others, like primaquine, kill dormant liver stages to prevent relapse. These are radical cures in action—designed not to mask, but to erase.
It’s not just infectious diseases. In autoimmune conditions, radical cures are harder to come by, but the goal remains: reset the immune system so it stops attacking the body. Drugs like mycophenolate mofetil, an immunosuppressant used after organ transplants and in autoimmune disorders, are often part of long-term control, but they don’t qualify as radical cures—they suppress, not eliminate. Meanwhile, in mental health, treatments like clozapine, the most effective antipsychotic for treatment-resistant schizophrenia, don’t cure the illness, but they can restore function so completely that patients live without symptoms for years. That’s the closest thing to a cure many people with severe mental illness ever get.
What ties these together? It’s the difference between temporary relief and permanent resolution. A radical cure requires precision: knowing exactly what’s causing the problem, and having a tool that targets it without collateral damage. That’s why so many of the posts here focus on drugs like azilsartan, calcitriol, or tazarotene—they’re not cures, but they’re part of a larger puzzle. Some help manage side effects. Others reduce risk. A few, like ledipasvir or primaquine, actually deliver the final blow.
Below, you’ll find real-world examples of how these treatments work, who they help, and why some succeed where others fail. Whether you’re dealing with a chronic condition, supporting someone who is, or just trying to understand what ‘cure’ really means in medicine, these articles give you the facts—not the hype.
Primaquine is the only drug that prevents malaria relapses from liver parasites, but it requires G6PD testing. Learn how it compares to tafenoquine, chloroquine, and ACTs - and what to do if you can't take it.
