Man Cured of HIV? Apparently

[KShan5[PrFC]]

http://gizmodo.com/5713498/man-officially-cured-of-hiv

No joke, apparently they cured him of the HIV.

Apparently they're not just sure, they're HIV positive.

[Inquartata]

I dunno, the language of the abstract of the doctors' article seemed to be hedging a bit...

Maybe the patient just lentivirus to someone else.

[Wizardly]

They harvested the stem cells of a donor with a genetic mutation. Amazing.

[ladyofshalott99]

They harvested the stem cells of a donor with a genetic mutation. Amazing.

I've read about this before in an article (years ago) where the mutation was present in an infant who was later determined to be HIV-free. It does happen, though it's beyond rare.

Bonus article (though why these seem to keep appearing in computer magazines, I'm not sure):
http://www.wired.com/medtech/health/news/2005/01/66198

[downunder]

From another forum:

"He was "cured" by a bone marrow transplant from a donor carrying the Delta-32 mutation, causing him to lack the CCR5 receptor, a cell-surface receptor present on antigen presenting cells of the immune system. This is not the only receptor that HIV can bind to and infect cells through, though. The CXCL4 receptor on activated T-cells is another target of the virus, and unless the donor is magically missing that one too (or he has a strain that is unable to bind to CXCL4), this guy still has HIV, and could spread it. He might more easily be able to fight the virus, especially in combination with typical HAART treatment (and considering his unique case, it's undoubted he would be receiving the therapy), but he is most definitely still HIV+, and the virus is still reproducing in his immune system, albeit without the help of using his APC's as a vector anymore.

It's not a cure, but it's a start.

Although, if he did have a strain without CXCL4 binding, and he was given the stem cells, along with continued HAART treatment, it's plausible he did completely kill the virus. It's still important to consider that there are tons of strains of the virus out there, and this stem cell treatment is only really able to stop cases where the strain infecting the patient is CXCL4-binding negative, as I'm unaware of a genetic mutation causing the absence of both CXCL4 and CCR5, let alone that bone marrow could be donated containing those mutations."

[WGH]

Wait...does this mean that I can or can't go back to sharing needles?

Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using Tapatalk

[Inquartata]

I've read about this before in an article (years ago) where the mutation was present in an infant who was later determined to be HIV-free. It does happen, though it's beyond rare.

This article says that "one in a hundred Caucasian Americans carries two copies of the defective gene...they are completely immune. One in five Caucasian Americans carries one copy of the mutant gene. Although these people can become infected, typically they stay healthy two to three years longer than those without any copies of the altered gene. However, the defective gene shows up much more rarely in African Americans, and almost never in native Africans, or Asians." It's speculated that this is related to genetic selection for the defect by the Black Plague in medieval Europe---the defective gene is thought to have disproportionately protected carriers from that disease as well, allowing more of them and hence their offspring to survive...

Apparently that latter theory has been superseded. However, I recall a PBS program a few years back still advancing it...

[fatfencer]

cure for aids!!!! Yay!!!

It's a good day to advance the human race