A Man is Officially Cured of HIV

In Berlin, doctors carried out a stem cell transplant on an HIV-infected man with leukaemia back in 2007, now say they believe the man to be cured of his HIV infection. A result of a treatment of introducing stem cells which where resistant to HIV infection. Shockingly big news for the world of health care in general, for this will open the floodgates of research on how to deal with the virus. The man was diagnosed with leukaemia in 2007 after being infected with the HIV virus. He later went through a rigorous and stressful bout of chemo that was invasive; He then relapsed that same year, which he then went through the proses of a stem cell transplant.

First he had gone through chemotherapy, that obliterated his immune system and had a total body irradiation. He was also given immunosurpressive drugs that helped prevent the rejection of the stem cells.

The stem cells that he received where from that of a donor who had a natural resistance to the HIV infection. The donor had an interesting genetic profile; Due to a mutation from both parents, the donor produced cells that where naturally immune to the virus, his CD4 cells lacked the CCR5 receptors, normally used to infect healthy cells, made it so that the CD4 cells where immune. If that was more than you could understand, please feel free to do the research for yourself, so you can fully understand and see the scope of the science, its some interesting stuff.

For months this guy went through immunosuppressive treatments to prevent rejection. Within a span of 29 months, he had gone through post-transplant colon biopsies to test if the virus was slowly growing and still infecting him. At the 38 month mark, it was found that the donas cells had repopulated the mucosal immune system of the wall of the gut, the cells where taking, slowly doing there job in reversing any damage the virus had been doing. Comparing them from samples that they had, the cell counts where twice as high as the HIV infected ones. After two years have passed, his T-cell count had been the same as someone his age. 

After a slew of studies and research withing the time of testing, the doctors and scientists reported that the infection within his body had completely disappeared.

If they are able to replicate there findings in another person, it proves that there can be a cure for the HIV virus  through genetically engineered stem cells. This research was done by German researchers and a San Francisco based immunologist professor Jay Levy; The importance of finding a way to suppress the production of the CCR5 cells, either through transplants or gene therapy, can and one day, will lead to a more complete cure. 

The future of health and the advancement of our knowledge and understanding seems to point to genetic engineering, and the understanding of how stem cells can interact when given the right situations to thrive in.  the science is there and now so is some big proof that we need make a difference. 

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