(AP/The Blaze) An estimated 33 million people are living with the HIV/AIDS virus in the world today, but doctors believe one of them may now be free of the illness after receiving a stem cell transplant in 2007.
Doctors say the very unusual blood cell transplant appears to have cured the American man living in Berlin of infection with the AIDS virus. However, they warn people not to get their hopes up, because this approach is too risky and impractical to be used widely.
Timothy Ray Brown was undergoing chemotherapy to treat leukemia when he had the stem cell treatment. The blood cell donor had a gene mutation that confers natural resistance to HIV. A report in the journal Blood says that three years later, he shows no sign of cancer or HIV.
Blood cell transplants are done now for cancer. Five percent or more of the recipients can die from them. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has been studying HIV/AIDS for nearly 30 years and cautions that this stem cell treatment may give research a new direction, but is very impractical at this stage in medical advances:
“It’s hard enough to get a good compatible match for a transplant like this,” Fauci told FoxNews.com, “But you also have to find compatible donor that has this genetic defect, and this defect is only found in 1 percent of the Caucasian population and zero percent of the black population. This is very rare.”
Fauci said while this patient is “functionally cured” this is not something you can do with every HIV-infected individual.
“This is not prime time to me at all,” he said. “This is a very unusual situation that has little practical application for a simple reason. This donor not only had to be a good compatible match, but the donor had to have a genetic defect of cells that do not express the receptor that the HIV virus needs to enter the cell.”
Doctors say the procedure is not something for healthy people, especially because drugs keep HIV in check for most patients.
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rbagala
Posted on December 16, 2010 at 4:47pmIt is interesting this research is from Germany; which leads me to the issue of our defunct immigration system that has an “open door” policy to the illegal immigrant whose skills cannot match a Scientist and penalizes those who have the skills in giving them a non visa status of F-1 which is a student visa allowing these foreign bright minds to conclude their studies and return to their home of origin.
Report Post »Our screwed up immigration rules are rapidly “dumming” our society and such research is increasingly being created in foreign nation. Another nail on the coffin of a once great nation
Ghandi was a Republican
Posted on December 16, 2010 at 1:10pmIt’s all Bush fault — now we have a bunch of evil fetus’ that will reach term and enter the World, creating carbon and hating children, the poor, the infirm, …
Report Post »N37BU6
Posted on December 15, 2010 at 5:20pmSee that? No fetus farming… all we had to do was wait.
Report Post »dontbotherme
Posted on December 15, 2010 at 4:36pmOne of my relatives is a scientist involved in adult stem research. He says that the advancements with this are amazing… & no babies had to be killed. He is excited at the potential cures for many ailments.
Report Post »TheKingfish
Posted on December 15, 2010 at 10:47amThere have been many positive results by using adult stem cells. The whole push about using embryonic stem cells was concocted by the venture capital community in California that had invested billions in it and found that they were losing money because of ZERO positive results. Thus the venture capital community lobbied to get California to vote and pass state mandated funding of embryonic stem cells to bail them out and still no positive results have appeared. Adult stems are the only stem cell research and development that work.
Report Post »Stu Pedaso
Posted on December 15, 2010 at 9:38amWhy cure either?
The money is in the drugs, not the cure.
It is all about the comeback. Give em a taste and wait for the comeback.
Chris Rock
Report Post »mrwinter
Posted on December 15, 2010 at 9:09amDidn’t have to kill an unborn child for the cells either
Report Post »JohnnyJT
Posted on December 15, 2010 at 8:28amAnd it also cured his Bad Breath.
Report Post »Zorro6821
Posted on December 15, 2010 at 7:58amNice to hear some ground breaking success with stem cells.
Report Post »EP46
Posted on December 15, 2010 at 5:41amPray for a cure for HIV
Report Post »It should be easy to cure. It was a created virus to help with population control. AIDS will not be covered under Obama Care if the person is critical…only if they can be ‘productive’.
AIDS…..Abortion…..Gay Rights…..All means of population control. Nothing else.
Reagan/Demint.deciple
Posted on December 15, 2010 at 8:47amhuh?
Report Post »Sinista Mace
Posted on December 15, 2010 at 9:07amEP46, your simplicity is refreshing.
Yes, they made AIDS, and they’ve had the cure for decades.
The cure for cancer has also been known for a long time..potent Hemp Oil.
Apparently the cancer cells get the munchies and start eating themselves and each other (autophagy), leaving healthy cells intact and undisturbed…
Report Post »Deutscher
Posted on December 15, 2010 at 3:27amI have a neighbor who is a stem-cell researcher for Childrens hospital. It’s amazing the work they do with spinal injuries. Many future cures will be a result of such research.
Report Post »bolec slodkie
Posted on December 15, 2010 at 7:49amThat is adult stem cells.
Report Post »The primary detrimental side effect of embrionic stem cells it a “teratoma.”
A teratoma is a cell mass of different cell material. It is group of cell of different cell type. They usually include hair and teeth. look it up. The difinition is careful not to mention this as a side effect of embrionic stem cells.
Bluebonnet
Posted on December 15, 2010 at 4:20pmMy, my. Adult stem cells? Remember when? The big hollywood stars wanted us to keep killing our babies for their stem cells because that’s the only thing that would “save” them? Idiot actors, just look
Report Post »at what most of them do to sway us to their way of thinking. Pretty soon I won‘t need to watch TV at all as there are too many I can’t stand to look at. All I can say, is thank goodness for FOX news or I’d have to start reading the lousy newspapers again for entertainment. Already too many I can‘t stand who think they are God’s gift………hardly, more like Satan’s gift.