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Breakthrough for HIV sufferers?
Aids awareness
HIV patient ââ¬Ëcuredââ¬â¢ by bone marrow transplant
"Around one in 1,000 Europeans and Americans have a genetic immunity from the human immunodeficiency virus"
An HIV patient in Germany appears to have been cured by a bone marrow transplant from a donor who has genetic resistance to the virus.
The man in question has not yet been identified, but researchers revealed that he was a 42 year-old American man living in Berlin who was diagnosed with HIV more than a decade ago. He also suffered from leukaemia.
Since the transplant was carried out almost two years ago, the patient has undergone various tests on his bone marrow, blood and organ tissues; all of which have been clear of the virus.
Researchers in Berlin’s Charite clinic have stressed that this is a very unusual case, but could be a small breakthrough for future development of gene therapies for HIV.
Professor Rodolf Tauber from the clinic said: "This is an interesting case for research.
"But to promise to millions of people infected with HIV that there is hope of a cure would not be right."
Amazingly around one in 1,000 Europeans and Americans have a genetic immunity from the human immunodeficiency virus care of an inherited genetic mutation which prevents HIV from attaching itself to cells.
According to Aids awareness foundation Until There’s A Cure there are over 42 million people currently living with HIV/AIDS, with 74% of those living in sub-Saharan Africa.
