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Re: First man 'functionally cured' from HIV
First man 'functionally cured' of HIV
by Liz Goodwin / The Lookout-Yahoo! News
Since HIV was discovered 30 years ago this week, 30 million people have died from the disease, and it continues to spread at the rate of 7,000 people per day globally, the UN says.
There's not much good news when it comes to this devastating virus. But that is perhaps why the story of the man scientists call the "Berlin patient" is so remarkable and has generated so much excitement among the HIV advocacy community.
Timothy Ray Brown suffered from both leukemia and HIV when he received a bone marrow stem cell transplant in Berlin, Germany in 2007. The transplant came from a man who was immune to HIV, which scientists say about 1 percent of Caucasians are. (According to San Francisco's CBS affiliate, the trait may be passed down from ancestors who became immune to the plague centuries ago. This Wired story says it was more likely passed down from people who became immune to a smallpox-like disease.)
What happened next has stunned the dozens of scientists who are closely monitoring Brown: His HIV went away.
"He has no replicating virus and he isn't taking any medication. And he will now probably never have any problems with HIV," his doctor Gero Huetter told Reuters. Brown now lives in the Bay Area, and suffers from some mild neurological difficulties after the operation. "It makes me very happy," he says of the incredible cure.
The development of anti-retroviral drugs in the 1990s was the first sign of hope in the epidemic, transforming the disease from a sudden killer to a more manageable illness that could be lived with for decades. But still, the miraculous cocktail of drugs is expensive, costing $13 billion a year in developing countries alone, according to Reuters. That figure is expected to triple in 20 years--raising the worry that more sick people will not be able to afford treatment.
Although Brown's story is remarkable, scientists were quick to point out that bone marrow transplants can be fatal, and there's no way Brown's treatment could be applied to the 33.3 million people around the world living with HIV. The discovery does encourage "cure research," according to Dr. Jay Levy, who co-discovered HIV thirty years ago, something that many people did not even think was possible years ago.
You can watch Brown talk about his cure in this CBS video report.
(Brown: Eric Risberg/AP)
This article has been updated to include more context about why some people are immune to HIV.
Re: First man 'functionally cured' from HIV
yeah i posted aboiut this a few months ago...pretty amazing by itself but if they can perfect it then my god ... in any case its a huge advancemtn for battling both deseases
Re: First man 'functionally cured' from HIV
Unfortunately it's not GREAT news, but it is significant progress.
Despite the pain and risk of fatality, if I was apart of the 1% that are immune, I wouldn't think twice about donating the bone marrow.
The way to push this latest development is to use ad campaigns showing kids here in the US suffering from AIDS. People more likely to donate when it comes to children and they can study this breakthrough more significantly than just using this one guy as an example.
Re: First man 'functionally cured' from HIV
Absolutely agreed. We've came a long way since the Ryan White tragedy. When he was a child treated like some sort of God's curse or some shit.
A similar situation today, with several children would really raise awareness imo.
It sounds bad, but as cold as it sounds, showing a bunch of African kids with AIDS just isn't going to get the U.S. to care. Brutal, but reality.
Re: First man 'functionally cured' from HIV
Magic Johnson is the first cured person with HIV, they just wont tell you that.
That's what I always thought.
A roommate of mine in college always thought that was a big publicity stunt to gain attention for Aids Awareness, and that he never really had HIV. I don't share those same beliefs, but he seemed to stick to it.
Re: First man 'functionally cured' from HIV
I had a roommate in 1990 who found out he was HIV positive. He has never taken AIDS drugs and still is alive and doing just fine in NYC today. I also met a guy who was one of the first men ever diagnosed with AIDS in San Francisco in the early 80's. He's 50 something now and in amazing shape. I'd say in the top percentile of his age group and probably most men 20 yrs younger. He about broke my hand when he shook it. When he was diagnosed he changed his diet and ate mainly "super foods" rich in antioxidants and began to exercise regularly.
I've also known maybe a dozen men in the 90's who died (all relatively young) from this disease. All were heavy drug users and partied hard til the end.
- Randall Flagg
- Rep: 139
Re: First man 'functionally cured' from HIV
How many kids/people in the US get HIV in the modern day though? I have a strong hunch it's pretty small. Those most prone to getting it are a small segment of the population anyway, so it's not as if there is an epidemic. I fully support further research, but I'd bet it'd be hard to find a group of small children in the US who have AIDS.
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