'The Next Berlin Patient' Becomes 7th Man To Be Cured Of HIV

BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - A 60-year-old man, dubbed 'The Next Berlin Patient', has become the seventh person to be cured from HIV.

Immunologist Christian Gaebler of Charite - Berlin University Medicine shared the details of the remarkable case in a press meet.

Gaebler described how the patient tested positive for HIV in 2009 and later developed acute myeloid leukemia in 2015. Following this, the doctors decided that the patient needed stem cell transplant.

The clinical team then 'began searching for donors with this rare genetic mutation known as the homozygous delta-32 CCR5 mutation, because we know that this mutation provides natural resistance to HIV,' Gaebler said.

After the transplant, the patient 'discontinued his recommended antiviral treatment on his own in 2018 and since then, the patient is in treatment-free HIV remission,' Gaebler said.

Six years later, the man still appears to be free from cancer and HIV, the researchers noted.

'The virus-free observation period of more than five years now indicates that the HIV virus has actually been completely removed from the patient's body,' said senior physician Olaf Penack. 'We therefore consider him to be cured of his HIV infection.'

However the apparent reason for the patient's recovery is still unknown to scientists.

'The speed with which the new immune system replaces the old one may have an influence,' Gaebler commented.

'As soon as we have a better understanding of which factors contributed to the removal of all HIV hiding places in the second Berlin patient, the findings can hopefully be used to develop new treatment concepts such as cell-based immunotherapies or therapeutic vaccines.'

The original 'Berlin patient', named Timothy Ray Brown, was the first person to be cured of HIV in 2008. Later, he died from cancer in 2020.

Copyright(c) 2024 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved

Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX