HIV is a virus that worries the population. This is often due to the impact it can have on the lives of those who contract the virus and the lack of knowledge about the cure. However, recently, one more person was cured of HIV with a new method. On the other hand, it is not possible to use the cure in question in the vast majority of patients.
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New cure for HIV?
AIDS is a disease caused by the human immunodeficiency retrovirus virus. It can cause AIDS and attack the immune system, making it harder for the body to protect itself against other illnesses. The virus can be transmitted through sexual intercourse, shared and/or contaminated syringes and during pregnancy, from mother to child. In addition, people usually live with the virus for their entire lives, and may die as a result of it.
However, a 64-year-old patient in the US, who was fighting the virus and acute myeloid leukemia, was declared cured of HIV. In her treatment for leukemia, she received a stem cell transplant from the umbilical cord blood of a newborn. After receiving stem cells and undergoing treatment with antiretroviral cocktails for HIV, she was free of the virus.
About the new cure
The functioning of this new technique is still unknown, but it is believed to be related to the adaptability of stem cells from the umbilical cord. In addition, although the discovery was a great advance for the scientific community, it is not a treatment that can be used on a large scale.
This is because it is a very risky and invasive method, which ends up being a drastic measure when there is no other treatment option. In addition to this, stem cell transplantation can also have severe side effects, such as diseases in which the donor's cells attack the recipient's immune system.
Other cases of healing
This is not the first time that the cure of HIV has happened, as there were already two previously known cases. In both, the patients received a bone marrow transplant with a genetic mutation that prevents HIV, a method different from that used in the recently cured patient. In addition, in the previous cases, the patients had strong reactions that did not occur in this one, such as infections, weight loss, hair loss and bone marrow rejection.