An HIV patient has been declared cured at the City of Hope Cancer Center in California. The reason probably lies in a special treatment.
Duarte – “When I received my HIV diagnosis in 1988, like many others, I thought that it was my death sentence,” the treating physicians quote the so-called “City of Hope” patient in a press release. More than three decades later, he is considered one of only a very few patients worldwide to be cured. “I never thought that I would see the day when I no longer have HIV. I am infinitely grateful,” the City of Hope Cancer Center in Duarte said in a statement.
US researchers: HIV patient apparently completely cured after stem cell donation
The 66-year-old was apparently able to overcome his HIV infection with special treatment. In 2019 he was diagnosed with leukemia. The City of Hope patient then received a bone marrow transplant using stem cells from an unrelated donor with a very rare mutation that is missing part of the CCR5 gene. This change in the genome ensures that the HI virus can no longer penetrate immune cells and multiply – the immune deficiency disease AIDS can therefore not harm these people.
Since the stem cell donation, no multiplication of HI viruses has been detected in the “City of Hope” patient – not even after he discontinued the antiviral drugs in March 2021 after a corona vaccination, the US researchers explained. The blood cancer also went back. However, this form of HIV therapy is out of the question for the vast majority of those infected. The complicated treatment has strong side effects and high risks.
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HIV patient apparently completely healed – hope for more patients
The “City of Hope” patient was infected with the HI virus for 31 years – longer than the other people who have so far been fully cured. Jana Dickter, an infectious disease specialist at the City of Hope Cancer Center, told AFP news agency he was the oldest of the fully cured HIV patients. His success holds promise for other older HIV patients who also have cancer.
So far, there are only very few isolated cases that are considered cured of HIV. The case of the so-called “New Yorker patient” was only presented at the beginning of the year. A particularly well-known example is the American Timothy Brown, also known as the “Berlin patient”. He contracted HIV in 1995 while studying in Berlin. Also because of leukemia, he received a specific stem cell therapy in Berlin around 15 years ago. (ph/dpa/afp)
