HIV: doctors announce 4th case of cure

A man who has been living with HIV since the 1980s has been cured, his doctors say. This is only the fourth such case in the world.

He received a bone marrow transplant to treat leukemia, and the donor was naturally resistant to the virus.

The 66-year-old, who asked not to be named, has stopped taking HIV medication. He said he was “more than grateful” that the virus could no longer be found in his body.

The man is known as the Patient City of Hope in honor of the hospital where he was treated in Duarte, California.

Many of their friends died of HIV in the past, before antiretroviral drugs could give these people a near-normal life expectancy.

‘I never thought I’d live to see this day’

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) affects the body’s immune system. It can lead to AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) and make it difficult for the body to defend against infections.

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.”

He received the bone marrow transplant not to treat HIV, but because he developed leukemia at age 63.

The medical team responsible for his treatment decided that he needed the transplant to replace his diseased bone marrow with normal cells. Coincidentally, the donor was HIV resistant.

HIV enters our body’s white blood cells using a microscopic gate — a protein called CCR5.

However, some people, including the donor, have CCR5 mutations that close this door and prevent the virus from entering.

‘Holy grail’

The patient was closely monitored after the transplant, and his HIV levels became undetectable in his body and have remained so for over 17 months.

“We are thrilled to inform him that his HIV is in remission and that he no longer needs to take the antiretroviral therapy he has been using for over 30 years,” said Jana Dickter, an infectious disease specialist at City of Hope Hospital.

The first time a similar case happened was in 2011, when Timothy Ray Brown – known as the Berlin Patient – became the first person in the world to be cured of HIV.

Another three similar cases were recorded in the last three years.

The City of Hope patient is the oldest and longest living person with HIV to be treated this way.

However, bone marrow transplants are not going to revolutionize treatment for the 38 million people who have HIV in the world today.

“It’s a complex procedure with significant side effects. So it’s not really a suitable option for most people living with HIV,” Dickter said.

However, researchers are looking for ways to target the CCR5 protein using gene therapy.

The case was presented at the AIDS 2022 conference in Montreal, Canada.

Commenting on the announcement, Sharon Lewin, president of the International AIDS Society, said: “Cure remains the Holy Grail of HIV research.”

She said there have been “a handful of individual cures before” and they have provided “continuing hope for people living with HIV and inspiration for the scientific community”.

– Text originally published in https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/geral-62324526