A man declared a Geneva patient has become the sixth person to be completely cured of HIV after a stem cell transplant for leukemia. The first five people declared cured of HIV were: Berlin, London, Dusseldorf, New York and Patients from City of Hope, Calif.
What is stemcell
- Stem cells or stem cells are cells that have the potential to develop into any part of the body. Along with this, it can change into any other type of cells. According to scientists, these cells can be used to repair any cell in the body.
Genetic mutation
- According to Geneva University Hospitals, in the coming time, freedom from HIV will also be possible.
- All six patients who have been cured of HIV so far have received stem cell transplants to treat their cancer.
- In five cases, treatment teams specifically sought donors with the CCR5 delta 32 mutation who were HIV-free.
- HIV weakens the immune system in infected individuals by attacking CD4 immune cells.
- Therefore, it requires receptors on the surface to gain entry into these cells. People who inherit the CCR5 delta 32 mutation from both sets of parents prevent them from producing these receptors, which keeps the patient from surviving.
Use of stem cell transplant therapy
- A dual stem cell therapy was used in the transplant. Using stem cells from a newborn’s umbilical cord, supplemented with stem cells from an adult – which requires less restrictive HLA matching. With this, such transplants will be possible in people of other races as well.
Is HIV curable with stem cell transplant
- The chances of this are slim as 38.4 million people are currently living with HIV and it is nearly impossible to find a matching donor for all of them.
- Furthermore, the CCR5 delta 32 mutation occurs mainly in Caucasians, which means that it will not be possible to find donors for patients in high-density countries, mainly Africa.
- In addition, stem cell transplantation is a complex procedure and has its own risks.
- Even with transplantation, the virus can also infect cells through other mechanisms.
Current treatment for hiv
- HIV treatment in the world today is dependent on antiretroviral therapy.
- Antiretroviral therapy reduces the ability of the virus to replicate, allowing the number of CD4 immune cells to rise again.
- This neutralizes the level of the virus, so that infection from person to person is not known.
- However, anti-retroviral therapy needs to be taken for life. It does not completely destroy the virus from the body, even when the treatment is stopped. So the number of virus increases again.