Fourth patient seemingly cured of HIV
28-07-2022, 18:35

Font size: [ A+ ] / [ A- ]

A man who has lived with HIV since the 1980s seems to have been cured in only the fourth such case, say doctors.

He was given a bone marrow transplant to treat blood cancer leukaemia from a donor who was naturally resistant to the virus.

The 66-year-old, who does not want to be identified, has stopped taking HIV medication.

He said he was "beyond grateful" the virus could no longer be found in his body.

The man is known as the "City of Hope" patient after the hospital where he was treated in Duarte, California.

Many of his friends died from HIV in the era before antiretroviral drugs could give people a near-normal life expectancy.

 

'I never thought I would see the day'

 

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) damages the body's immune system. This can lead to Aids (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) and the body struggling to fight off infection.

In a statement, the man said: "When I was diagnosed with HIV in 1988, like many others, I thought it was a death sentence.

"I never thought I would live to see the day that I no longer have HIV."

However, he was given the therapy not for his HIV, but because he developed the blood cancer leukaemia at the age of 63.

The man's medical team decided he needed a bone marrow transplant to replace his cancerous blood cells. By coincidence, the donor was resistant to HIV.

 

The virus gets into our body's white blood cells by using a microscopic doorway - a protein called CCR5.

However, some people, including the donor, have CCR5 mutations that bolt the door shut and keep out HIV.

 

Cure remains 'Holy Grail'

 

The City of Hope patient was closely monitored after the transplant, and levels of the HIV became undetectable in his body.

He has now been in remission for more than 17 months.

"We were thrilled to let him know that his HIV is in remission and he no longer needs to take antiretroviral therapy that he had been on for over 30 years," said Dr Jana Dickter, an infectious diseases doctor at City of Hope.

The first time this happened was in 2011 when Timothy Ray Brown - known as the Berlin Patient - became the first person in the world to be cured of HIV.

There have now been three similar cases in the past three years.

The City of Hope patient is both the oldest patient to be treated in this way and the one who has lived with HIV for the longest time.

However, bone marrow transplants are not going to revolutionise HIV treatment for the 38 million people in the world currently infected.

Dr Dickter told me: "It's a complex procedure with significant potential side effects. So, it's not really a suitable option for most people living with HIV."

However, researchers are looking at ways of targeting the CCR5 doorway using gene therapy as a potential treatment.

The case was reported at the Aids 2022 conference in Montreal, Canada.

Commenting on the findings, Prof Sharon Lewin, president-elect of the International Aids Society, said: "A cure remains the Holy Grail of HIV research."

She said there had been a "handful of individual cure cases before" and they provided "continued hope for people living with HIV, and inspiration for the scientific community."

 

BBC

Comments: 199
#199   StreamLover
      
Fascinating read on the latest HIV research developments. For anyone looking for a reliable entertainment hub to enjoy top-rated movies, trending dramas, and seamless online streaming after catching up on world news, I highly recommend checking out the site https://synthesizingeducation.com. The collection is fantastic and constantly updated!
Yesterday, 21:06
#198   Ella
      
References:


Mobile payid pokies australia instant payid withdrawal pokies australia
Yesterday, 06:48
#197   Belen
      
References:


Instant payid pokies ceacuautla.edu.mx
25 September 2026 00:55
#196   Christi
      
References:


Online casino sofort bezahlen lezcc.com
24 September 2026 14:16
#195   Joel
      
References:


Online casino sofort bezahlen pshunv.com
24 September 2026 13:26
#194   Madonna
      
References:


Australian payid pokies https://undrtone.com
23 September 2026 14:37
#193   Dedra
      
References:


Pay n play casino sofort cruzenews.com
23 September 2026 10:58
#192   Lucinda
      
References:


Sofort casino mit sofortiger auszahlung comsenz-service.com
23 September 2026 09:28
#191   Ardis
      
References:


Klarna Casino Deutschland http://kuniunet.com
23 September 2026 08:41
#190   Maximo
      
References:


Online casino mindesteinzahlung sofort pandora.nla.gov.au
23 September 2026 01:04
#189   Ladonna
      
References:


Sofortüberweisung Auszahlung Casino online casino mit sofortüberweisung auszahlung
22 September 2026 07:27
#188   Vince
      
References:


Casinos using MiFinity in Australia thefamilylawexchange.com
4 September 2026 15:22
#187   Juan
      
References:


Trustly Live Casino comunidadedocaminho.com
4 September 2026 08:58
#186   Buster
      
References:


Payid online pokies https://forum.mindfulnessmeditationprograms.com
3 September 2026 23:17
#185   Margret
      
References:


Osko casino withdrawal casinos that accept Osko
3 September 2026 22:26
#184   Esteban
      
References:


Best direct bank transfer casinos australia real money bank transfer casinos australia
3 September 2026 11:38
#183   Lorenza
      
14 August 2026 21:09
#182   Chante
      
14 August 2026 12:57
#181   Tosha
      
References:


Play casino games jobschoose.com
11 August 2026 14:47
#180   Phillip
      
References:


Montreal quebec https://jobschoose.com
10 August 2026 13:25
Add Comments

Name:*
E-Mail:
  Geo Keyboard  
 

Dear reader, guardian.ge welcomes your comments. Please express your views on topic and be respectful of others.

bold italic underline strike | align left centered align right | Ensert smilies insert linkInsert protected URL Choice the color | hidden text insert quote Convert selected text from transliteration to Cyrillic alphabet Insert spoiler

Code: *


Back1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next