Stem Cell Transplant Could Eradicate HIV Virus
This is most hopeful news!
We are all aware of the seriousness of the HIV virus and the complexity of its treatment. However, a recent discovery could change the history of carriers of this virus.
A group of Spanish scientists have succeeded in reducing – to undetectable levels – the viral load in six patients infected with HIV. This represents a big step forward towards the definitive treatment of this disease. Here is a brief overview of the process that led to the discovery which, while not being an absolute cure, may represent a historic breakthrough.
The Annals of Internal Medicine recently published a finding that shocked the world of science, but also the community at large. This is a problem for which many possible solutions have been proposed ; unfortunately, few have succeeded in achieving the expected effectiveness.
However, on this occasion, the medical publication had the pleasure of exposing a discovery made by scientists from the IrsiCaixa AIDS Research Institute in Barcelona and the Gregorio Marañón Hospital in Madrid.
Thanks to the transplant of stem cells, these researchers managed to convince six people to reduce their HIV virus, which causes AIDS. How did they achieve such a result?
The HIV virus has been reduced to an undetectable level
The transplanted stem cells came from the umbilical cord and bone marrow. Transplantation of the latter has proven to be the most effective treatment for the objectives pursued here.
Although the participants in the experiment still maintain their antiretroviral therapy, it is believed that a new path could have been found in the process of healing from AIDS. However, that does not mean that this goal has already been achieved. There is still a long way to go, but hopes are more alive than ever.
Is this conclusion final?
Until now, the elimination of the HIV virus was an impossible task for the scientific community because there were latent virus reservoirs in the blood made up of infected cells. For this reason, the drugs did not have the desired effect of fighting this disease.
However, as we explained earlier, there are signs that indicate here seem to indicate otherwise. Seven years after the stem cell replacement, five patients did not have these reservoirs, while one did not even have antibodies to fight the infected cells.
Now, how is it possible to confirm that the virus will not appear again in the future? According to Maria Salgado, a researcher at IrsiCaixa in Barcelona, it would be necessary to stop the antiretroviral treatment and to examine if the virus reappears.
Precisely, that will be the next step. Of course, under conditions controlled by doctors and researchers, the treatment will be modified by other immunotherapies to check whether the virus reappears or not.
The inspiring case of Timothy Brown
In 2008, the stem cell transplant undergone by patient Timothy Brown to treat leukemia marked a before and after in medicine. By that time, Brown had received stem cells from a donor with an unusual genetic mutation called CCR5 Delta 32.
More precisely, this particularity consisted in the immunity of certain blood cells to the HIV virus. After receiving these cells, Brown was able to clear the virus from his body. He thus became the first human being in history to recover from HIV.
The peculiarity was that this time the CCR5 Delta 32 mutation – the case of Timothy Brown – was not present in the donor’s cells. This could mean that there are other factors that influence the disappearance of the virus as well.
In short, it is clear that we are faced with an unprecedented possibility in the field of medicine. After many years and unsuccessful attempts, the fight to eliminate the HIV virus seems to have found its way. Everyone, doctors and citizens of the whole world, aspire for this to be the definitive one.
