A second person appears to be 'in remission' from HIV after a stem-cell transplant, showing the first such case was not a fluke
infection is easy to control but impossible to cure. Or almost impossible. The exception seems to be Timothy Brown, a man often referred to as the Berlin patient. In 2006, after a decade of successfully suppressing his infection with antiretroviral drugs, Mr Brown developed an unrelated blood cancer, acute myeloid leukaemia. To treat this life-threatening condition he opted, the following year, for a blood-stem-cell transplant.
In cases like this doctors are loth to use the word “cured”, since the future is unpredictable and the mechanism involved serves only to break’s reproductive chain, not to purge the virus from the body entirely. They talk instead of patients being “in remission”. Nevertheless, the experience of the person who will probably come to be known as the London patient is important. It shows that Mr Brown’s case was not a fluke.
Most researchers in the field are proceeding cautiously, testing their results on mice, and with some success. But this is an area that can encourage overreach. The gene-edited-baby scandal which happened in China late last year was, according to those involved, an attempt to engineer the relevant mutation into people from birth.
Such overreach aside, even if the editing of blood stem cells could be made to work reliably, transplanting them back into people would probably remain a rare procedure—for the methods used to kill a patient’s existing bone marrow make such transplantation dangerous in and of itself.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
HIV patient seemingly cured in second remarkable case, London doctors reportDoctors who treated the man say this proves that the only other patient known to have been cured of HIV in 2007 wasn’t an anomaly.
Read more »
Second HIV patient in remission as researchers say they are closing in on an AIDS cureAn HIV-positive man in London is now the second person ever known to be reportedly cleared of the AIDS virus, according to research published Tuesday by his doctors.
Read more »
HIV patient seemingly cured in second remarkable case, London doctors reportHIV cure? A second patient is HIV-free after undergoing a bone marrow transplant intended to treat cancer.
Read more »
Are Stem Cell Transplants A Cure For HIV?Promising news, as a second patient with HIV has a long-lasting 'cure' following stem cell transplantation.
Read more »
A second person has gone into HIV remission after stem cell treatmentThe 'London patient' has had undetectable levels of HIV for 18 months.
Read more »
A second case of someone probably cured of HIV has been reportedThe treatment tailors stem-cell transplants intended for leukaemia
Read more »
London HIV patient becomes world's second AIDS cure hopeAn HIV-positive man in Britain has become the second known adult worldwide to be...
Read more »
A second person has probably been cured of HIVThe cell donor had a rare mutation that, in healthy people, prevents HIV infection
Read more »
5 things to know for March 5: House investigation, Alabama tornadoes, Venezuela, HIV, Luke Perry5 things for Tuesday: - House investigation - Alabama tornadoes - Venezuela - HIV - Luke Perry
Read more »