HIV-Positive Man Is World’s 2nd Patient To Be Declared Virus-Free After Bone Marrow Transplant

Scientists and doctors have always worked tirelessly to revolutionize the field of healthcare. From digital cadavers to medical marvels, they continuously work towards one goal – eliminating diseases. And now, it seems they have experienced a breakthrough in battling the deadliest one of them all – AIDS.

The breakthrough case of ‘the London patient’

According to The Guardian, the patient who wishes to remain anonymous tested positive for HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) in 2003. Later in 2012, he came to know that he had Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a rare kind of blood cancer. In 2016, his doctors suggested a bone marrow transplant to treat his cancer. For this purpose, a donor was found. Interestingly, the donor’s stem cells had a mutation named CCR5 delta 32. This genetic mutation is HIV-resistant.

After initial hiccups, the transplant was successful. Then he was taken off antiretroviral medicine (the treatment for HIV-positive patients). Three years after the transplant and 18 months since he stopped taking the drugs, his tests show no signs of the HIV virus. His doctors have declared him ‘functionally cured’ but also added that it is too early to call him fully cured of AIDS.

Is this the first time this has happened?

‘The Berlin patient’ aka Timothy Brown was the first adult in the world to be declared HIV-free. He too went through a similar transplant to treat leukaemia (a type of cancer) 12 years ago. Reports suggest that he is still HIV-negative.

What does this mean for the future?

Professor and HIV biologist, Ravindra Gupta, who was one of the lead doctors of the London patient explains that bone marrow transplant as a cure is difficult, risky and expensive. The number of donors with the needed mutation is limited and finding a match isn’t always possible. However, this case provides other leads that can be explored,

“We need to understand if we could knock out this [CCR5] receptor in people with HIV, which may be possible with gene therapy.”

Scientists are looking at finding a way to inject a patient with modified immune cells that can resist the HIV virus. What keeps them hopeful is the fact that in this case, the patient was ‘cured’ of both cancer and AIDS.