
Stem cell transplant has cured HIV infection, say doctors - timf
http://www.aidsmap.com/page/1577949/
======
JCThoughtscream
If this doesn't turn out to be overblown sensationalism, then the team behind
this (actual!) cure probably deserves a Nobel for their efforts and results.

~~~
rms
It's real, but not practical. The risk of death during a transplant like this
is as high as 10%, because it involves completely knocking out the immune
system.

~~~
bhickey
I suspect that the mortality rate would be much lower amongst patients being
treated for HIV. Bone marrow transplants as a therapy for leukemia requires
killing the existing cells with radiation. This is completely sensible --
you've got some cancerous cells, so nuke everything and start over from the
beginning.

Confounding the mortality stats is the fact that individuals undergoing
treatment are very sick from the start. We might see better survival rates
amongst comparatively healthy people.

In this case, you don't necessarily need a clean slate. "All" you need is a
population of cells generating HIV resistant T-cells. AIDS manifests in
individuals with extremely low T-cell counts. If a population of CD4 mutants
could take hold within a larger population, it might be enough to prevent AIDS
and bring viral titers low enough to eliminate transmission.

Nevertheless, I agree -- it's hardly practical, but it may be a beachhead.

~~~
eru
I read an article back a few years, about how when they do a normal organ
transplant (like a kidney) the patient benefits enormously from also getting a
bone marrow transplant from the same donor. For a transplant you shut down the
immune system completely, and keep it in a subdued state forever afterwards.
With the matching bone marrow they could re-start the immune system to a mixed
state afterwards, that accepted the original organs and the donation.

Anybody remember that article? I'd like to find it again.

------
BluePoints
Stem Cell Research must be allowed.

~~~
sliverstorm
The difficulty with using HIV as your use-case argument is last I checked,
most religious organizations considered HIV to be God's scourge on
homosexuals.

e.g. they are not particularly worried about getting rid of it.

(I'm not just being snarky or sarcastic)

~~~
chrisb
This is certainly not true with mainstream Christianity in the UK, although
sadly some loud voices can be heard agreeing with what you say.

As just one example, Christian Aid, a large UK charity which works to end
poverty and injustice around the world clearly states that HIV is a virus, not
a moral issue:
[http://www.christianaid.org.uk/resources/policy/HIV_AIDS.asp...](http://www.christianaid.org.uk/resources/policy/HIV_AIDS.aspx)

------
zackattack
Time to short CHD!

Just kidding. Or am I?

