Clipping of news on Brazilian Culture, Law and Citizenship
30/07/2012
This article was translated by an automatic translation system, and was therefore not reviewed by people.
One patient was monitored for nearly two years after his transplant, while the other was tested for three and a half years, and 'there is no trace of the virus' in no case
Two people may have been cured of HIV after a bone marrow transplant to treat cancer, according to a study released at the International Conference on AIDS in Washington.
The study, led by Dr. Daniel Kuritzkes of Brigham Women's Hospital, Boston (Massachusetts), assessed the outcome of two patients with HIV who underwent a bone marrow transplant after the detection of cancer.
The two men were infected for years, had undergone antiretroviral treatment that completely suppressed the replication of HIV, but had the latent virus before transplantation, according to research.
Both received a milder form of chemotherapy before transplantation, which allowed them to continue taking their medicine for HIV during the whole process of transplantation.
According to the study, HIV medical detected immediately after transplantation but, over time, the transplanted cells from the donor replaced lymphocytes of the patients themselves, and the amount of HIV DNA in their bills decreased to the point to be undetectable.
One patient was monitored for nearly two years after his transplant, while the other was tested for three and a half years, and "there is no trace of the virus" in any case, those responsible for the research reported in a statement.
"We believe that continuous administration of an antiretroviral treatment that protects cells from the donor to infect themselves from HIV, while eliminating and replacing the cells of patients, is effective to eliminate the virus from blood lymphocytes of patients", stated the experts.
Still, physicians remain cautious, and when asked if patients can be considered cured of HIV, Kuritzkes noted: "we are being very careful not to do that."
For now, the two men are taking antiretroviral drugs until they can be removed gradually.
"We will never be able to do bone marrow transplants in the millions of patients who are infected but can stimulate these cells and eliminate viruses, we can protect other cells from infection," said Kuritzkes.
Source: Estadão
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This article was translated by an automatic translation system, and was therefore not reviewed by people.