LONDON: Researchers say a man has been cured of HIV after a stem cell transplant, British news agency BA Media reported Monday.
The 53-year-old, known as the Dusseldorf patient, is the third person worldwide to be cured of the condition using the treatment.
The patient was off antiretroviral medication (which involves taking medication to suppress the virus) for 4 years without a relapse.
As in the case of the other two patients (the Berlin patient and the London patient), the transplant was performed to treat a severe blood disorder, in his case leukemia, that had developed in addition to HIV infection.
After nearly 10 years of stem cell transplantation from an unrelated donor, and more than 4 years after ending HIV treatment, the patient is now in good health.
The man, who was diagnosed with the condition in 2008, said: “I still remember very well the sentence of my family doctor: 'Don't take it so seriously. We will try together that HIV is treatable.”
The fact that the virus has not recovered is the result of a very comprehensive scientific and therapeutic preparation and control, the researchers said.
They added that the study is the longest and most accurate diagnostic monitoring of a patient infected with HIV after stem cell transplantation.
A stem cell transplant involves destroying any unhealthy blood cells and replacing them with healthy stem cells removed from the blood or bone marrow.