Is It Possible To Eradicate HIV With A Stem Cell Transplant?

A major step has been taken in the treatment of HIV. A group of Spanish researchers have managed to reduce the viral load of HIV in six patients down to the point where it can no longer be detected. Although this is not a complete cure, it can mean a major breakthrough in eradicating HIV. Here is a small summary of the process that led to this discovery.

The Yearbook of Internal Medicine recently published a discovery that shocked not only the scientific community but also people in general.

Why is it so shocking?

Many treatments have been developed to eradicate HIV. Unfortunately, few of these solutions have had a good effect. These discoveries still seem different. Researchers from the IrsiCaixa AIDS Research Institute in Barcelona and from the Gregorio Marañón Hospital in Madrid made the discovery.

Through stem cell transplantation, these researchers were able to reduce the HIV virus in six people.

How have these researchers arrived at this result?

Let’s take a look at it.

The HIV virus was reduced to levels that could not even be detected

The transplants in this study involved the use of stem cells from the umbilical cord and bone marrow. The bone marrow proved to be most effective.

According to the researchers who performed the procedure, the affected patients had traces of the virus in their blood and tissues that could no longer be detected after the transplant.

One of these patients also lacked antibodies, indicating that the virus could potentially be eradicated.

Other than the stem cells themselves, the time needed to complete the transplant is also very important. One patient, the one who had reserves of the virus in his body, and who had received stem cells from the umbilical cord, needed only 18 months to complete the treatment.

Although the participants in this study continue with their antiretroviral treatment, many believe that this study has formed the basis for a new form of treatment for HIV / AIDS. However, the success of this experiment does not mean that a cure has already been found.

There is still a long way to go to discover an absolute cure, but this experiment may be at the forefront of research into a cure that works.

Is this result a first step towards eradicating HIV?

Until now, curing the HIV virus has been considered impossible in the research community. Virus reserves located with infected cells that are dominant in the blood make the treatment and cure of HIV very difficult. Due to these latent reserves, medications and other attempts at cures have not had the desired effect.

As mentioned earlier, this is not the case with this study. Seven years after the stem cell transplant, five of the patients no longer had these latent reserves, and one in five did not even have antibodies to fight the infected cells when the transplant was performed.

So, is it possible to secure against this virus reappearing in the future?

According to María Slagado, a researcher at IrsiCaixa in Barcelona, ​​patients would have to stop antiretroviral treatment and see if the virus reappears or not.

This is therefore the next step. Under the supervision and examination of doctors and researchers, other immunotherapy treatments will be used, and the patient will be monitored to see if the virus returns.

The inspiring case of Timothy Brown

In 2008, a breakthrough in medicine occurred when Timothy Brown underwent a stem cell transplant to cure leukemia. The stem cell donor had an unusual genetic mutation called CCR5 Delta 32. This specific species led to immunity to certain blood cells with the HIV virus. After the transplant, the virus was eradicated, making Brown the first person in history to be cured of HIV.

Following this discovery, researchers such as Salgado, Mi Kwon, a hematologist at Gregorio Marañon Hospital, and other members of their team devoted themselves to experimenting with similar processes to find a cure for people infected with HIV.

In contrast to the Timothy Brown case, however, the researchers did not use donor cells with the CCR5 Delta 32 mutation. This may mean that there are other factors that affect the disappearance of this virus.

The conclusion is that we are clearly witnessing a possible medical breakthrough. After many years of unsuccessful attempts, perhaps the struggle to find a cure for the HIV virus has found a direction.

People everywhere hope that this direction will provide an effective cure for what many consider a disease that has no cure.