Researchers say a London man appears to be free of the HIV virus after a stem cell transplant. It’s the second such success since ‘Berlin patient’ Timothy Ray Brow.
HIV positive man in London becomes only the second person ever to be ‘cured’ of the virus after a stem cell transplant – raising hopes for the millions affected globally
- Patient appears free of the HIV virus after a stem cell transplant, scientists say
- The unidentified man was diagnosed with HIV in 2003 and started taking drugs to control the infection in 2012
- He developed cancer and agreed to a stem cell transplant to treat the cancer in 2016
- His doctors found a donor with a gene mutation that confers natural resistance to HIV
- Comes a decade after the success of ‘Berlin patient’ Timothy Ray Brown
An HIV positive man in London appears to be free of the virus after a stem cell transplant, the second success including the ‘Berlin patient,’ doctors reported.
The therapy had an early success with Timothy Ray Brown, a U.S. man treated in Germany who is 12 years post-transplant and still free of HIV.
Until now, Brown is the only person thought to have been cured of infection with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
Such transplants are dangerous and have failed in other patients. They’re also impractical to try to cure the millions already infected.
‘Berlin Patient’ Timothy Ray Brown was successfully cured of the HIV virus 12 years ago
The latest case ‘shows the cure of Timothy Brown was not a fluke and can be recreated,’ said Dr. Keith Jerome of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle who had no role. He added that it could lead to a simpler approach that could be used more widely.
The case was published online Monday by the journal Nature and will be presented at an HIV conference in Seattle.
The patient has not been identified. He was diagnosed with HIV in 2003 and started taking drugs to control the infection in 2012. It’s unclear why he waited that long. He developed Hodgkin lymphoma that year and agreed to a stem cell transplant to treat the cancer in 2016.
With the right kind of donor, his doctors figured, the London patient might get a bonus beyond treating his cancer: a possible HIV cure…..More Here