In a medical breakthrough in the fight against AIDS, a person from the United Kingdom has been functionally cured of HIV-1 following a stem cell transplant. The as-yet-unnamed patient was diagnosed with HIV-1 in 2003 and has been living with the virus for nearly two decades.
The patient received a stem cell transplant in 2016 as part of a clinical trial at the University College London in which stem cell donors with a natural resistance to HIV infection were sought out. After the stem cell transplant took place, the patient was given antiretroviral drugs for another 16 months before those medications were stopped. After that, the researchers found that there was no detectable levels of HIV-1 in the patient’s blood, meaning they had been successfully cured.
This is only the second time ever that a patient has been cured of HIV. The other widely-known case, known as the “Berlin patient”, involved the patient receiving two stem cell transplants, the second of which was from a donor with a natural mutation that confers resistance to HIV infection. That patient has been HIV-free since 2008.
Researchers involved with this new case are pointing to the success of their study as a proof-of-concept for curing HIV infection. With further study, they believe that donated stem cells could be used to treat patients living with HIV, and ultimately, put an end to the virus.
Unfortunately, the process involved with a stem cell transplant is still extremely risky, with a high mortality rate. As such, it remains to be seen whether or not this is a viable treatment option for most HIV-infected people.
However, this news brings the hope that one day, we will have a reliable cure for HIV, and that the virus can be eradicated for good.
