A man who underwent a stem cell transplant to treat his cancer is showing « strong evidence » that the procedure also cured him of HIV — the latest in a handful of cases doctors have reported.
The patient, a man in his 50s, was HIV-positive when he underwent a stem cell transplant to treat leukemia. The procedure effectively gave him a new immune system — critically, from a donor who had a rare gene mutation that makes body cells resistant to HIV infection.
That was a decade ago. Now, researchers are reporting, the patient has been off HIV medications for four years, with no signs that the virus remains in his body.
Experts were cautious about declaring it a definite cure, as HIV is a foe with many tricks in its quest to survive.
At the same time, things look promising, according to Dr. Björn Jensen, division head of infectious diseases at Dusseldorf University Hospital in Germany.
The patient has been off of all anti-viral medication for four years, and even with the « most elaborate scientific methods, » Jensen said, his team has found no evidence of HIV in his body…
