Scientists have confirmed sustained HIV remission in a London patient three years after receiving stem cell therapy, representing the second documented case of virus clearance through this method. The development follows the 2007 treatment of the Berlin patient, who also achieved long-term remission.
The London patient, diagnosed with HIV in 2003 and advanced Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2012, underwent a bone marrow transplant from a donor with a rare genetic mutation that resists HIV infection. After stopping antiretroviral drugs 18 months prior, highly sensitive tests found no trace of the virus in his system.
"There is no virus there that we can measure. We can’t detect anything," said Ravindra Gupta, a University College London HIV biologist leading the treatment team. Researchers emphasized the procedure’s rarity, noting it is not viable for most HIV patients but offers critical insights into potential cures.
Dr. Matilu Mwau of Kenya’s Medical Research Institute highlighted the significance of the breakthrough, while acknowledging current limitations. "The machines we have can only detect more than 20 viruses per millilitre. Anything lower than that reads ‘Lower than the Limit of Detection,’" he explained. He noted that the CCR5 receptor mutation in the donor’s cells prevents HIV entry, a mechanism critical to the treatment’s success.
Global HIV statistics underscore the urgency of such advancements. Deaths from AIDS dropped from 1.4 million in 2010 to 940,000 in 2017, though 37 million people remain living with the virus. Researchers caution that while the London case confirms the Berlin patient’s remission was not an anomaly, broader applications remain distant.
