A fifth case of HIV cure gives hope to other HIV-positive people. Scientists have found a direction to take in the search for a cure for all
In 2009, when scientists published information about the so-called Berlin patient, the first person in the world to be cured of HIV, it was a real hit. The London patient followed a decade later, and then two more. Now, a fifth person has been added, in whose body the HIV virus has been completely eradicated - scientists reported this literally just a few days ago. "This is a real cure, not just a long-term remission," said Bjorn-Erik Ole Jensen, one of the doctors involved, adding that although there is a lot of work ahead for all the scientific teams trying to find a cure for HIV, the fifth person cured is a positive symbol of hope.
Given that the link between all the cases of cured HIV-positive people mentioned is stem cell transplantation, it is obviously not a procedure that can be universally applied to everyone who has contracted the virus. Nevertheless, experts agree that it is now clear what path they should try to take in further HIV treatment research.
How does HIV "work"?
The HIV virus enters and destroys the cells of the immune system. If it is not diagnosed in time, the ongoing process of damage can lead to an outbreak of AIDS or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, a condition in which the human body cannot fight off even minor infections. Classically, therefore, HIV is (at least for the time being) an infection that all those infected will have to deal with for the rest of their lives.
However, even though there are nearly 40 million HIV-positive people in the world, experts have indeed made significant progress in researching the disease and its "cure". Not only is the infection no longer (if caught in time) a sentence of early death, as it was in the past, thanks to modern medication, but the currently available drugs also allow HIV-positive people to live a comparable quality and long life to the normal "healthy" population. Research is also already underway to prevent infection through a vaccine. However, treatment in its true sense is infinitely more complicated.
Cancer + HIV = hope for a healthy life?
The five people who have actually recovered from HIV are among the rare cases that have one crucial thing in common: a stem cell transplant, and thus the de facto creation of a completely new immune system. This is, of course, a high-risk procedure that aims to save the lives of cancer patients. A cure for HIV is therefore effectively a 'by-product'.
In particular, a Düsseldorf patient joined the experimental IciStem programme at a Düsseldorf hospital after contracting HIV in 2008. The programme focuses specifically on the possibility of treating HIV through stem cell transplantation. However, during the research, an unexpected problem arose: the patient actually developed acute myeloid leukaemia, which requires, among other things, conventional chemotherapy and stem cell transplantation. Parallel to the treatment, HIV treatment was then carried out using antiretroviral therapy. And as it has now turned out, there is no trace of the virus in the patient's body, even almost five years after the end of all treatment, which would be able to replicate and infect other cells.
A bit of a rarity.
But something else was needed besides the stem cell transplant itself, in fact, a kind of "game changer" that makes the HIV cure truly unique: the stem cell donors had the same HIV-resistant mutation that removes the CCR5 protein that the HIV virus normally uses to infiltrate individual cells. What's the catch? Only about 1% of the population carries this genetic mutation that causes HIV resistance. "When you hear about this HIV treatment, of course, it's almost unbelievable given how challenging it has been. But it also confirms the adage that the exception proves the rule," then Todd Ellerin, an infectious disease expert, concluded.
Although experts agree that this type of treatment is unlikely to be used for HIV-positive people who are not also suffering from leukaemia, they still see some potential in it. In fact, they are testing the possibility of modifying HIV patients' own stem cells to acquire the mutation needed to block the HIV virus. The whole process could be done without the (so rare) donors.
