Jakarta –
A man who has been living with HIV since the 1980s is said to have recovered from the virus that attacks the immune system that can cause AIDS.
He became the fourth patient in the world to be cleared of the human immunodeficiency virus, doctors said.
The patient underwent bone marrow transplant surgery to treat blood cancer leukemia from a donor who is naturally resistant to the virus.
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The 66-year-old man, who did not wish to be named, has now stopped taking his HIV medication.
He said he was “very grateful” that the virus was no longer found in his body.
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The man is known as a “City of Hope” patient, after the hospital where he is being treated in Duarte, California.
Many of his friends had died from HIV in the era before antiretroviral drugs could give life expectancy to near normal.
‘I never thought will live‘
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is a virus that damages the immune system.
This virus can cause AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome), which is a condition when the body is weak against HIV infection.
In a statement, the man said, “When I was diagnosed with HIV in 1988, like many others, I thought it was a death sentence.”
“I never thought I would live to see the day when I no longer have HIV.”
However, he was given therapy not for his HIV, but because he developed blood cancer leukemia at the age of 63.
The patient’s medical team decided the man needed a bone marrow transplant to replace his cancerous blood cells. Coincidentally, the donor is immune to HIV.
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The virus enters the human body’s white blood cells using a microscopic doorway, a protein called CCR5.
However, some people, including donors, have the CCR5 mutation that locks the door and prevents HIV.
Healing is still the ‘holy grail’
This “City of Hope” patient continued to be closely monitored after the transplant, and his HIV levels became undetectable in his body.
He has now been in remission (reduction or disappearance of clinical signs of a disease) for more than 17 months.
“We are pleased to inform him that his HIV is in remission and that he will no longer need to take the antiretroviral therapy he has been on for more than 30 years,” said Jana Dickter, an infectious disease physician in the City of Hope.
The first time a patient was clear of HIV was in 2011, when Timothy Ray Brown, known as the Berlin Patient, became the first person in the world to be cured of HIV.
Now, there have been three such cases in the last three years.
The City of Hope patients are the oldest patients treated in this way and patients living with HIV for the longest time.
However, bone marrow transplantation will not revolutionize HIV treatment for the 38 million people in the world who are currently infected.
Dickter says, “This is a complex procedure with the potential for significant side effects. So, it is not a suitable option for most people living with HIV.”
Researchers are still looking for ways to target the CCR5 gate using gene therapy as a potential treatment.
The case was reported at the 2022 AIDS conference in Montreal, Canada.
Commenting on the findings, Professor Sharon Lewin, president-elect of the International Aids Society, said that healing remains the ‘holy grail’ of HIV research.
Lewin said there had been several cases of individual healing before. The recovered patients, he said, provide continued hope for people living with HIV, as well as inspiration for the scientific community.
Also check out ‘A Woman Successfully Recovered from HIV Thanks to Stem Cell Therapy’:
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