'Boston Patients' Still HIV Free After Quitting Antiretroviral Meds

ananyo writes "Two men with HIV may have been cured after they received stem-cell transplants to treat the blood cancer lymphoma, their doctors announced today at the International AIDS Society Conference in Kuala Lumpur. One of the men received stem-cell transplants to replace his blood-cell-producing bone marrow about three years ago, and the other five years ago. Their regimens were similar to one used on Timothy Ray Brown, the 'Berlin patient' who has been living HIV-free for six years and is the only adult to have been declared cured of HIV. Last July, doctors announced that the two men — the 'Boston patients' — appeared to be living without detectable levels of HIV in their blood, but they were still taking antiretroviral medications at that time." The story reports that they have only been off of medication for seven and fifteen weeks and they won't know for a year, but signs are looking positive.

Re:Summary misses a small detail.

[ddq]

Life tends to kill you eventually.

Re:Summary misses a small detail.

[SirGarlon]

Unless I'm mistaken, that's what they used to say about chemotherapy. Finding ways to help patients survive the therapy may be an easier problem than finding ways to help them survive the disease.

Re:Summary misses a small detail.

[Anonymous Coward]

This isn't a cure for the desease, this is two instances of people being cured, which could potentially lead to a cure without serious side effects (othat than those of genetic manipulation).

Re:There's finally more money in the cure....

[Sarten-X]

From an historical perspective: Covered wagon travel has become quite inexpensive, and costs a few bucks for a team of oxen, so it's not surprising to see a more expensive means of travel appear. A steam locomotive is a cash cow, with related costs adding up $15-30 USD.

Of course stem cell transplants are expensive now, but having a clear road ahead for AIDS treatment opens the door to future optimization and improvement. As the technique matures, it will become routine enough that the cutting-edge treatments you read about on Slashdot will indeed continue to be expensive replacements for current technologies, and those technologies will themselves become cheaper as they mature. Of course, as the cures mature and become part of every doctor's toolbox, the general public, including yourself, will cease to pay any attention to their dropping costs or minor improvements.

Re:Summary misses a small detail.

[CrimsonAvenger]

(when you donate there is a time period after the patient has had their marrow destroyed but before you actually donate, if you change your mind and decide not to donate during that time period the patient will almost certainly die unless another donor can be found and medically cleared in a matter of days)

Umm, no.

Had this done last fall.

The Donor was donating before they started the chemotherapy on me. Until he'd provided enough stem cells, I just lay in the hospital bed getting nothing at all done....