RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – In 2008, Timothy Brown underwent a stem cell transplant as part of his leukemia treatment. The man, who was also HIV positive, is now considered to be the only person cured, as he stopped taking the medication and, so far, there are no traces of the virus in his blood.
Since that case, researchers have tried unsuccessfully to cure other patients who have received bone marrow transplants. In all cases, the virus re-emerged a few weeks after the antiretroviral treatment was stopped.
Now, the case of a London patient who has become the second person to be cured of HIV is spreading. His name is Adam Castillejo, he is 40 years old and he decided to make his identity public. On Tuesday, researchers announced in the scientific journal The Lancet that 30 months after suspending antiretroviral drugs that suppress HIV, and 46 months after the stem cell transplant, Castillejo remains in remission.
The virus remains undetectable in the blood, cerebrospinal fluid, intestinal tissue, and semen, according to the study coordinated by the IrsiCaixa AIDS Research Institute and the University Medical Center in Utrecht, the Netherlands.
“We believe these findings represent a cure for HIV-1,” the authors write. The team says they found some traces of the virus’ DNA in certain cells, including some white blood cells, but that these are dead ends because they are unable to produce further virus. “What we are detecting is these fossilized viruses that can’t go anywhere,” says Professor Ravindra Gupta, from the University of Cambridge, who is the lead author of the study and spoke to BBC News.
Castillejo was not cured by the anti-HIV drugs, but rather by a stem cell treatment prescribed for a cancer he also suffered from, reports the journal Lancet HIV.
“This is a unique position to be in, a unique and very humble position,” said Castillejo, who also confessed that he wants to be an “ambassador of hope”.
Source: TN