hiv awareness (freepik photo)
Researchers in Germany have announced that a 53-year-old man in Germany has become the fifth person in history to be cured of HIV (the virus that later causes AIDS). The patient, known as “the Düsseldorf patient”, underwent a stem cell transplant about ten years ago and has not taken HIV medication for four years.
Despite being the fifth person to be cured, the Düsseldorf patient is only the third person to be cured with a stem cell transplant. Since the procedure was performed, the virus is undetectable in his body. “This is really a recovery and not just a long-term remission,” said Dr. Bjorn-Erik Ole Jensen who published the findings of the case. The first reported recovery was in 2009.
More in-
Stem cell transplants are high-risk procedures usually reserved for cancer patients. The patient from Dusseldorf was also like this, when he was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, a deadly form of blood cancer, just after starting HIV treatment, reports Sky News.
Over 35 million people are currently living with HIV, but many cases are managed with medication, allowing them to live fairly normal lives. “Following our intensive research, we can now confirm that it is fundamentally possible to prevent HIV replication by combining two key methods,” said Jensen, referring to the antiretroviral drugs along with the transplants. “Now there is a need for further research that will examine how this healing method can be enabled outside of the limited conditions of the research.”
“I am proud of my global team of doctors who managed to cure me of HIV – and at the same time, of course, of leukemia,” said the recovering patient from Dusseldorf.
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