AIDS Breakthrough Gives Hope

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – German researchers who used a bone marrow transplant to treat a cancer patient with the AIDS virus, have declared him cured of the virus -- a stunning claim in a field where the word "cure" is barely whispered.


A bone marrow transplant in a patient who had both AIDS and leukemia has resulted in a four year relief from the AIDS virus.  It does not appear to be hiding in his body, and there have been no signs of relapse.  However, doctors caution that this is not the mainstream cure that the population needs.  This marrow came from a donor who had a genetic disposition that gives resistance or immunity to the virus.  This is not the endgame, it is merely a first step in a new direction.


Marrow transplants are a last attempt at saving a patient, and the process itself is both destructive and potentially fatal.  But this does give researchers insight into AIDS resistance and immunity, and that is the first step towards a true cure for all, administered in a way that is safer and more effective that current drug therapy that only suppresses the symptoms.  It has been noted that certain populations are more immune to infection, but only now are we able to find a way to share that with the infected or the likely to be infected.  The chance is slim that this discovery will lead to a vaccine, but may pave the way to effective treatment.