Stem Cell Transplants Can Eradicate HIV Permanently

We are all well aware of the seriousness of HIV and the difficulties involved in treating it. However, it has been observed that stem cell transplants may alter the method of treatment of HIV-infected patients.

A huge step forward has been taken in the treatment of HIV. A team of Spanish researchers has managed to reduce the HIV levels of six patients to undetectable levels. While this is not a complete cure, this finding can be a huge breakthrough to eradicate HIV once and for all. Here is a brief overview of the process that led to this finding.

The Annals of Internal Medicine just published a study that shocked not only the scientific community but the entire population.

Why is it so shocking?

Many treatments have been proposed to eliminate HIV. Unfortunately, few of these solutions have proven effective. However, this finding seems different. Researchers at the IrsiCaixa AIDS Research Center in Barcelona and Gregorio Marañón Hospital in Madrid made that observation.

Using stem cell transplants, these researchers were able to reduce HIV levels in six people.

How exactly did these researchers come to this conclusion?

Let’s take a closer look at it.

Stem cell transplants reduced HIV to undetectable levels

Stem cell transplants from this study included umbilical cord and bone marrow-derived stem cells. Bone marrow stem cells proved to be most effective.

According to the researchers, the  patients had an undetectable amount of the virus in their blood and body tissues  after this stem cell transplant. In addition, one patient lacked antibodies, suggesting that it is possible to completely eradicate the virus.

In addition to the stem cells themselves, the time spent on stem cell transplants is also of great importance. One patient – who had reservations for this virus in his body and who also received umbilical cord stem cells – needed only  18 months to undergo treatment.

Although patients in this study continued their antiretroviral therapy,  many believe that this study has paved the way for a new treatment for HIV / AIDS. With this in mind, the successful outcome of that experiment does not mean that a cure has already been found.

While there is still a long way to go to find the perfect cure, this experiment can lead to a successful cure.

Is this result the first step to eradicating HIV once and for all?

The scientific community has long considered it impossible to cure the HIV virus. Viral stores are made up of infected cells that are dormant in the blood , making it very difficult to cure and treat HIV. Because of these latent stockpiles, drugs and other cure attempts did not have the desired effect on the virus.

However, as we mentioned earlier, this is not the case here. Seven years after stem cell transplants, none of the five patients developed these dormant stores and one of these five patients did not even have antibodies to fight the infected cells during the stem cell transplant.

So is it possible to make sure that the virus will not reappear in the future?

According to IríaCaixa researcher María Salgado, patients should first stop taking antiretroviral therapy and then see if the virus reappears.

That is the next step. Other immunotherapy treatments may be used under the supervision and evaluation of physicians and researchers, and  patients will be monitored to see if the virus is returning.

The inspiring case of Timothy Brown

There was a breakthrough in medicine in 2008 when Timothy Brown underwent a stem cell transplant to cure leukemia. The stem cell donor had an unusual gene mutation called CCR5 Delta 32. It was this specialty that led to immunity against certain HIV blood cells. After the stem cell transplant, the virus disappeared, making Brown the first healed HIV patient in history. 

Following this finding, researchers such as Salgado and Mi Kown, a hematologist at Gregorio Marañón Hospital, and other members of their team have dedicated themselves to experimenting with similar processes to find a cure for HIV-infected patients.

Unlike in the case of Timothy Brown, the researchers did not use donated cells with the CCR5 Delta 32 mutation. This may mean that there are other factors that contribute to the disappearance of the virus.

In conclusion, we are clearly witnessing a possible medical breakthrough. After many years of failed attempts, a new path may have been found that will lead to a cure for the HIV virus.

People everywhere are hoping that this trend will bring an effective cure for a disease that many people consider an incurable disease.