Scientists May Have Actually Cured HIV
A woman in the United States has reportedly become the third person in the world to be cured of HIV after receiving a stem-cell transplant. The two earlier cases were both men who had received adult stem cells more frequently used in bone marrow transplants. While that method is deemed unsuitable for most people due to the associated risks, researchers believe the new approach might make the treatment available to more people.
The first person believed to have been cured of HIV was Timothy Ray Brown, initially referred to as 'The Berlin Patient.' He is believed to have stayed HIV-free for 12 years until his death in 2020 from cancer. The second and the only other person to have been cured of HIV is Adam Castillejo, identified initially as 'London Patient.' He was cured of HIV after receiving a bone-marrow transplant for his lymphoma.
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According to The New York Times, the new transplant method used to treat the woman involved the use of umbilical cord blood instead of the adult stem cells used in bone marrow transplants. Not only is this process relatively less risky, but it also requires only a partial match with the donor, unlike the bone marrow method that requires the donor and the recipient to be more closely matched. The woman, identified only as the 'New York patient' because she was being treated at the New York-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center, was also reportedly suffering from acute myelogenous leukemia, which starts in blood-forming cells in the bone marrow. According to the report, she received the cord blood to treat her leukemia and did not show any debilitating side effects of a typical bone-marrow transplant.
Since receiving the
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