A German man have been cured of HIV after he received a first-of-its-kind stem cell transplant procedure nearly a decade ago,as researchers say he is probably the seventh person worldwide to be cured of the virus affecting tens of millions of people globally.
The German man—referred to as the “next Berlin patient,” after the first person cured of HIV—stopped taking antiretroviral treatment for HIV in late 2018 after receiving a stem cell transplant for leukemia in 2015, researchers announced ahead of the International AIDS Conference in Munich, Germany, adding he was still in HIV remission.
This appears to be the first case in which HIV is cured in a patient whose stem cell donor had a single HIV-resistant mutation, rather than two, which physician Christian Gaebler said could have “promising implications” for future cure strategies.
The case suggests “we can broaden the donor pool” for other similar cases, Sharon Lewis, president of the International AIDS Society, said.
Source: Forbes
