German patient declared cured from HIV through stem-cell treatment

A 53-year-old German man is most likely the third patient in the world to be cured of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection. A report published in the journal Nature Medicine states that health experts detected the absence of a viral rebound and the lack of immunological signs of HIV-1 antigen persistence following Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (HSCT).
Scientists revealed that HSCT had been shown to substantially reduce the viral reservoir. However, some reservoir-harbouring immune cells are extremely long-lived, partially resistant to chemotherapy regimens used during HSCT procedures, and can cause viral rebound.
Antiretroviral therapy (ART) is used to treat HIV patients. It consists of a combination of drugs that stop virus replication in the cells. The Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) states that it reduces mortality and morbidity rates among HIV-infected people and improves their quality of life. Researchers have said that while ART helps pope with HIV live longer, it can not fully cure them. It reduces the viral load to an undetectable level, and such people have no risk of transmitting HIV to their HIV-negative partners through sex.
The German patient was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, a form of blood cancer, in 2011, months after he started antiretroviral therapy following his diagnosis of HIV. In 2013, he received a stem cell transplant from an unrelated donor to treat the blood cancer. The transplant introduced his system to two copies of a rare genetic mutation called CCR5-delta32.
According to the Heinrich Heine University Dusseldorf, where he was treated, in 2018, following careful planning and with constant, close monitoring, the anti-viral HIV therapy – which had ensured that any residual HIV was kept under control up to that point – ended. Dr. Bjorn Jensen from the University said, “Following our intensive research, we can now confirm that it is fundamentally possible to prevent the replication of HIV on a sustainable basis by combining two key methods.”