Transplant 'cured' man with HIV

[Miss-Delectable]

Transplant 'cured' man with HIV - The West Australian

An HIV-positive man who underwent a stem cell transplant has been cured as a result of the procedure, doctors say.

Timothy Ray Brown, also known as the "Berlin Patient", had the transplant in 2007 while receiving treatment for leukaemia, The Huffington Post said.

"His doctors recently published a report in the journal Blood affirming that the results of extensive testing 'strongly suggest that cure of HIV infection has been achieved'," it was reported.

"Brown's case paves a path for constructing a permanent cure for HIV through genetically engineered stem cells."

Time recently listed another AIDS-related discovery to its Top 10 Medical Breakthroughs of 2010.

"Recent studies show that healthy individuals who take antiretrovirals, medicine commonly prescribed for treating HIV, can reduce their risk of contracting the disease by up to 73 per cent," The Huffington Post said.

"While these developments by no means prove a cure for the virus has been found, they can certainly provide hope for the more than 33 million people living with HIV worldwide.

"Alongside such findings, global efforts to combat the epidemic have accelerated as of late, with new initiatives emerging in the Philippines and South Africa this week."

 

[jillio]

Since he was being treated for luekemia and was no doubt on many, many medications, it would be difficult to say that the stem cell treatment alone destroyed the HIV antibodies. It could very well have resulted from a combination of things. Since this was not a controlled experimental study, it really can't show cause and effect.

Another worry is that it is not longitudinal. The HIV may be hiding in other cells, and come back after a period of remission.

Not trying to be a nay sayer. Just pointing out some realistic possibilities. People tend to get way too excited about stem cell treatments. They are still very, very new and disproven.

 

[yizuman]

I find that report to be a bit hard to believe. Remission? Quite a possibility, but cured? Highly unlikely. HIV is about the nastiest disease known to humanity. It does not discriminate.

Yiz

 

[Banjo]

Many people with HIV are able to live a normal life for many years. There is no known cure at the moment, but it's very manageable these days since there are many treatment options available out there.

 

[Smithtr]

risk is very serious dangerous!!! that is very extremely scared!

 

[Oceanbreeze]

Many people with HIV are able to live a normal life for many years. There is no known cure at the moment, but it's very manageable these days since there are many treatment options available out there.

Exactly, which, can reduce the viral load (the amount of virus detected) to near 0.

 

[Oceanbreeze]

Since he was being treated for luekemia and was no doubt on many, many medications, it would be difficult to say that the stem cell treatment alone destroyed the HIV antibodies. It could very well have resulted from a combination of things. Since this was not a controlled experimental study, it really can't show cause and effect.

Another worry is that it is not longitudinal. The HIV may be hiding in other cells, and come back after a period of remission.

Not trying to be a nay sayer. Just pointing out some realistic possibilities. People tend to get way too excited about stem cell treatments. They are still very, very new and disproven.

I find that report to be a bit hard to believe. Remission? Quite a possibility, but cured? Highly unlikely. HIV is about the nastiest disease known to humanity. It does not discriminate.

Yiz

I would tend to agree with you...to a point. Chances are the transplant cured him of the leukemia; while other drugs worked to get his HIV under control. Whatever the case, I believe that this could be something that COULD, in the FUTURE, be a treatment for HIV infection once antiviral medication is no longer an option.

 

[Smithtr]

I think so blood test Hiv make sure blood your kind of variety negative or positive!, hiv is blood negative! that is tough! transplant is not easy!

 

[Buffalo]

Many people with HIV are able to live a normal life for many years. There is no known cure at the moment, but it's very manageable these days since there are many treatment options available out there.

I have a high school friend who is HIV positive for many years. The biggest trouble he had is finding a doctor who is willing to operate on him. He found one after some time as he needed an operation.

 

[Banjo]

I have a high school friend who is HIV positive for many years. The biggest trouble he had is finding a doctor who is willing to operate on him. He found one after some time as he needed an operation.

That's a shame, really.

 

[deafdyke]

Ditto on what jillo said. I think too that we need to be VERY aggressive about containing this epidemic. It seems like there are some Typhoid Marys who are still being really irresponsible about their sexual behavoirs. I mean we have 20 and 30 somethings being infected. If we were very careful and put the Typhoid Marys into a hospital setting, then HIV would be dead in its tracks as far as transmission goes.......and yeah, there are still HIV plus folks who'd have to be treated and all. Can't get rid of the fact that they are on meds for life. But we also need to stop transmission!

 

[Aleser]

The man in question had the fortune of finding an HLA compatible donor who also had the genetic trait which makes it more difficult for HIV to take residence in a host: a trait that occurs in 1:100 or so Caucasian people, but is much less common in other populations. The chances of finding an HLA comparible donor with the appropriate genetic trait for a white person would be perhaps one in a few million, and for a nonwhite person, nearly non-existent.

Furthermore, stem cell transplantation in this context has MANY risks and is a life-shortening procedure in it's own right. myeloablation is required for the new marrow or PBSC to take host in the body, and this poses an extremely high risk of death during the first 100 days. After that, the person is at risk of a "second cancer" from the chemotherapy itself, at risk of graft-versus host disease (where the transplanted immune system attacks the host body), infection, and really all sorts of not so great things.

Long-term survival for people with ONLY HIV on ARVs is much, much better than long term survival for people who've received a hematopoietic stem cell transplant.

So woo, the news has inaccurately reported a "cure" for HIV. What the news has neglected to mention is that it will only apply to perhaps a large handful of people with HIV on earth, and would likely SHORTEN their lives compared to continuing to live with HIV, if they do not have another medical condition which in itself requires transplantation.