Man Free of HIV After Stem Cell Transplant

An American man living in Germany appears to have been free of both leukemia and the virus that causes AIDS since he had a stem cell transplant for his leukemia three years ago.

German researchers report in the medical journal Blood that the transplant patient now shows no sign of having leukemia or HIV, suggesting that the transplant cured him.

But scientists warn that the case does not have practical implications for the treatment of millions of HIV patients worldwide.

Doctors say that the stem cell donor had a rare gene mutation that protects him from being infected with the AIDS virus.

The patient, Timothy Ray Brown, had his own immune system weakened by high doses of chemo-therapy and had stopped anti-viral therapy to treat AIDS.

In 2007 a doctor in Berlin performed a bone marrow transplant on him, using stem cells from the HIV resistant donor.

The intervention is very risky and potentially deadly. But doctors say that after three years, the so-called “Berlin patient” shows no trace of either HIV or leukemia.

HIV researches say even though the procedure is too dangerous and therefore not widely applicable, it gives hope that a cure for HIV infections can be found.

Tags: Germany, HIV, US

Posted in Europe