Guest S**a*Q Report post Posted December 15, 2010 On the heels of World AIDS Day comes a stunning medical breakthrough: Doctors believe an HIV-positive man who underwent a stem cell transplant has been cured as a result of the procedure. Timothy Ray Brown, also known as the "Berlin Patient," received the transplant in 2007 as part of a lengthy treatment course for leukemia. 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." Brown's case paves a path for constructing a permanent cure for HIV through genetically-engineered stem cells. Last week, Time named another AIDS-related discovery to its list of the 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 percent. 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. Full Article Here Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Origin 268 Report post Posted December 15, 2010 Promising. It is exciting however, The treatment in Brown's case couldn't be used for the general population, Fischl said, because he first had to undergo intense chemotherapy and full-body radiation to fight his leukemia. The treatments nearly destroyed his immune system _ but also left his body receptive to the new, HIV-resistant stem cells. HIV can be controlled in most patients by using anti-retroviral drugs. Doctors would not put them through the debilitating chemotherapy and radiation that Brown received simply to cure HIV. Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/health/German+doctors+believe+they+have+cured+patient+leukemia/3978044/story.html#ixzz189Dser00 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
