HIV/AIDS Support

William769

(55,871 posts) Thu Jun 14, 2012, 12:42 PM Jun 2012

World's only cured HIV patient will attend Philly conference

In the long, lethal history of the AIDS epidemic, only one human has ever conclusively beaten the disease: Timothy Brown.

A gay American man in Berlin, Brown was on the brink of death from leukemia and HIV in 2006 when he was given a novel treatment that rebooted his immune system, simultaneously curing him of both diseases.

Now 46, Brown has since been poked, prodded, and tested by experts around the world, and been declared healthy, albeit with lingering side effects from his care.

Since the New England Journal of Medicine published his case in 2009 as "the Berlin patient," the soft-spoken Brown has become something of a rock star in medical circles. Researchers have been trying to build on his example, searching his case for the road map to a broader cure.

Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/health/158993695.html#ixzz1xn5DazY8

3 replies

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World's only cured HIV patient will attend Philly conference (Original Post) William769 Jun 2012 OP

How long can it be before the wealthier HIV patients start accessing this? shaayecanaan Jul 2012 #1

the transplant process is very risky La Lioness Priyanka Jul 2012 #2

about 30% mortality rate shaayecanaan Jul 2012 #3

shaayecanaan

(6,068 posts)

1. How long can it be before the wealthier HIV patients start accessing this?

Reply to William769 (Original post)

Wed Jul 11, 2012, 11:33 PM

Jul 2012

There's no particular mystery to this form of treatment. About 10% of white populations have one CCR5-delta 32 gene, which gives them some measure of resistance. About 1% of whites have two sets of the gene, which gives them functional immunity against HIV.

All you need is a bone marrow donor that is compatible and who is double-delta 32. And a crapload of money to fund the bone marrow transfer, and a bit of luck, as the mortality rate is up around 30%.

You can be pretty sure the HIV sufferers with deep enough pockets are probably looking into this already.

La Lioness Priyanka

(53,866 posts)

2. the transplant process is very risky

Reply to shaayecanaan (Reply #1)

Sat Jul 14, 2012, 12:13 AM

Jul 2012

the only reason it happened here is because the guy would have died from leukemia otherwise.

shaayecanaan

(6,068 posts)

3. about 30% mortality rate

Reply to La Lioness Priyanka (Reply #2)

Sun Jul 15, 2012, 12:42 AM

Jul 2012

still, some people might like those odds, particularly if it meant being cured.

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