A 66-Year-Old Man in California Completely Cured of HIV Through Stem Cell Transplant Therapy.
Doctors presented data on this case at the International AIDS Society (IAS) 2022 conference, which opened today.
The stem cells were sourced from a donor with a natural resistance to the virus. Timothy Ray Brown, the first person in the world to be cured of HIV, also known as the “Berlin Patient”, was treated using this method.
The latest patient is the fourth individual and the oldest to be cured of HIV. He was diagnosed with the virus in 1988 and thought he had received a “death sentence.” Since then, he maintained treatment with antiretroviral therapy (ART) to manage his condition for over 30 years.
According to scientists, this method is effective because the donor’s stem cells have a rare genetic mutation. They lack the receptors that HIV uses to infect cells, enabling carriers of this gene to have a natural resistance to the virus.
After undergoing a transplant three years ago and undergoing chemotherapy, the patient stopped ARV treatment in March 2021. He has now been in remission from both HIV and leukemia for over a year.
Experts believe that this case opens up possibilities for definitive treatment for older individuals with HIV and blood cancers, especially when the stem cell donor is not a family member.
A cell infected by the HIV virus. (Photo: NIAID)
On July 27, Spanish researchers also presented data on a 59-year-old woman, part of a rare group known as “post-treatment controllers”. Patients in this group maintain an undetectable viral load after stopping ARV medication, providing further evidence for potential treatment methods.
To date, the world has recorded three cases of HIV cure. The first was “Berlin Patient” Timothy Ray Brown, who completely eliminated the virus from his body over 12 years. He passed away from cancer in 2020. The second patient, Adam Castillejo, confirmed his HIV cure in 2019. Both underwent bone marrow transplants from donors with mutations that prevent HIV transmission. The third case is a woman who was cured of HIV through a stem cell transplant from a donor’s umbilical cord blood.
