A US woman is believed to have become the third person globally and the first woman to be cured of HIV(Human Immunodeficiency Virus).
HIV is a virus that attacks the body’s immune system. Currently, the patients need lifelong HIV medications to manage the disease. If it is not treated on time, it can lead to AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome).
The leukemia patient received a stem cell transplant from someone with natural resistance to the Aids-causing virus. According to researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, she has now been free of the virus for 14 months Despite the cessation of antiretroviral therapy (ART). In her case, an umbilical cord blood transplant was done, which may not work for most people with HIV, according to experts.
The transplant happened as part of her ongoing cancer treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The case is being studied as part of a more extensive US study to understand what is effective against HIV.
How is it different from the first two patients cured of HIV?
The first potential of stem cell transplants was demonstrated in 2007 when Timothy Ray Brown became the first to be “cured” of HIV. He had a transplant from a donor who was naturally resistant to HIV. Since then, it has been repeated only twice with Adam Castillejo and now the US patient.
Even though stem cell transplantation is not a therapy for HIV, its effects in patients living with HIV and undergoing therapy for blood or lymph cancers has provided researchers with insights and potential targets in HIV treatment.
The two previous patients with HIV cure had received adult donor cells – one from bone marrow and the other from blood stem cells. Unlike the third person who has used umbilical cord blood cells to be cured.
Is this a possible Cure?
The question is, does umbilical cord blood cell transplant make it a more viable option for curing HIV? This is a groundbreaking treatment that uses umbilical cord blood has been used to cure HIV. It has only been done once. While this may be a giant breakthrough in curing HIV, it is not yet a treatment that can be used for every other person. It is necessary to screen for the mutation in the umbilical cord before generalizing it.
Edited by- Subbuthai Padma
Published by- Radhika. N
