A resident of Argentina has become the second person in the world to be confirmed cured of the HIV virus without the use of special drugs or any other assistance. According to doctors, the woman’s immune system was able to get rid of the virus on its own. As reported by the Archives of Internal Medicine, analyses of over a billion of her cells did not detect the presence of infection.
Specialists hope that if they can determine how the body was able to rid itself of the virus and reproduce this process, it could lead to the creation of an effective treatment for HIV – or even eradicate this disease completely. The conclusions of the scientists serve as further confirmation that some of us are born with resistance to this virus. Some people are genetically resistant to infection.
Others, like the “patient from the city of Esperanza” in Argentina (she prefers not to give her name), contract the virus but then get rid of it. However, the vast majority of people with HIV require lifelong antiretroviral therapy (ART). And if they stop taking the medication, the dormant virus can become active again and cause significant problems for the organism.
In recent years, however, there have been reports of so-called “elite controllers,” people who are able to suppress the HIV virus without special medical preparations, but with various kinds of assistance. For example, there is the well-known case of Adam Castilejo from London, an HIV-infected person who underwent a donor stem cell transplant as part of cancer treatment, after which he was able to stop taking HIV medication. It turned out that his HIV-infected cells were completely eliminated and replaced during the cancer treatment. His donor was one of the one percent of people born with genes that prevent the HIV virus from entering cells. However, no one can say for sure how long Castillejo will be able to enjoy these benefits.
However, the “patient from Esperanza” has been HIV-free for over 8 years. In addition, a San Francisco woman named Lorin Willenberg appears to have cured herself of HIV with the help of her own immune system.
This gives other patients hope for a so-called sterilizing cure, i.e. the complete elimination of the virus from the body. “For people who cannot get rid of the virus on their own, there may be an effective way to achieve a sterilizing cure,” says Dr. Suy Yui, who led the investigation of this case. “So we are now exploring the possibility of inducing this type of immune response through vaccination in people receiving ART to teach their immune system to control the virus without drugs.”
We explain quickly, simply, and clearly what happened, why it matters, and what happens next. The number of episodes should remain the same. The End of History Podcast Advertisement As Oxford professor John Freyter said in an interview with the BBC, it is impossible to say with complete certainty that anyone has been cured of HIV infection. However, he says that the doctors who investigated the specific case did everything in their power with the available technology to prove the fact of the cure. “The main question is whether the patient got better on his own or whether the infection resolved itself in the early stages,” says Professor Freyter. Professor Sarah Fidler, an HIV drug expert at Imperial College London, believes that the Esperanza patient trial will be a major step forward in the development of new immunotherapies. However, according to Dr. Andrew Friedman of Cardiff University Medical School, existing HIV drugs are extremely effective, and while it is always important to look for new treatments, improving access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) remains the priority to save people around the world.