Two more men cured of HIV

Two men from Boston and New York City were diagnosed with HIV and cancer. They endured multiple rounds of treatment for lymphoma, stem cell treatments and received bone marrow transplants while continuing their antiretroviral therapy (ART). Two years and three and a half years later, both men are still seemingly uninfected.

The researchers are cautious in declaring the two men cured, but more than two years after receiving bone marrow transplants, HIV can’t be detected anywhere in their bodies. These two new cases are reminiscent of the so-called “Berlin patient,” the only person known to have been cured of infection from the human immunodeficiency virus. – Maggie Fox

How is this possible?

Both men are unusual in that have a genetic mutation known as CCR5 delta 32 which makes them immune to most strains of HIV. However the immune cells which came from the donors are fully susceptible to HIV. This is unlike the ‘Berlin patient’ which is even more encouraging.

The Berlin patient

The widely publicized patient, Timothy Brown, was treated for leukemia with a bone marrow transplant that happened to come from a donor with a genetic mutation that makes immune cells resist HIV infection. The transplant replaced his own infected cells with healthy, AIDS-resistant cells. He is HIV-free five years later. – Maggie Fox

CCR5 delta 32

C-C chemokine receptor type 5, also known as CCR5 or CD195, is a protein on the surface of white blood cells that is involved in the immune system… A few individuals carry a mutation known as CCR5 delta 32 in the CCR5 gene, protecting them against these strains of HIV… At least half of all (HIV) infected individuals harbor only CCR5-using viruses throughout the course of infection. (Wikipedia)

This means there are people walking around with genetic resistance to at least half of all HIV infections. More specifically there are “a few” people with a CCR5 delta 32 mutation which means they’re essentially immune to most strains of HIV.

Original story: Two more men with HIV now virus-free. Is this a cure? by Maggie Fox at NBC News