Docs discuss case of 3rd person cured of HIV after stem cell transplant
A woman in New York City who has no detectable HIV after undergoing a new type of stem cell transplant may represent another rare cure, researchers reported February 15 at the annual Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections.The woman, who has leukemia, received a combination of umbilical cord blood cells with a rare mutation that blocks HIV entry and partially matched adult stem cells from a relative.
She stopped antiretroviral therapy three years after the transplant, and 14 months later her viral load remains undetectable.
But this procedure is risky and will not be feasible for most people living with HIV."This third case of an HIV cure post-bone marrow transplant from a donor naturally resistant to HIV, and the first in a woman living with HIV, is a very exciting finding," stated Dr.
Sharon Lewin, president-elect of the International AIDS Society. "A bone marrow transplant is not a viable large-scale strategy for curing HIV, but it does present a proof of concept that HIV can be cured."A special type of transplantTo date, only two people are widely regarded as cured of HIV.
