Sunday, June 5, 2011

First Man "Functionally cured" of HIV using Stem Cell Transplant

First man "Functionally cured" of HIV

This is very promising news for the medical world.  It is ironic considering the Des Moines Register which is the local newspaper in my town just did a piece entitled "As AIDS turns 30, many fear a dimming spotlight".  The link is Des Moines Register AIDS article.  Which i am not saying is a bad article or wrong, merely saying it is ironic that both were produced at the same time.

The way the scientist did this miraculous endeavor was through stem cell research. Here is a main excerpt from the article: "Timothy Ray Brown suffered from both leukemia and HIV when he received a bone marrow stem cell transplant in Berlin, Germany in 2007. The transplant came from a man who was immune to HIV, which scientists say about 1 percent of Caucasians are. (According to San Francisco's CBS affiliate, the trait may be passed down from ancestors who became immune to the plague centuries ago.).  "

I thought it was very interesting that 1 percent of caucasians are immune to the trait.  I had never heard of this, it highly intrigued me.  The article is quick to say that this procedure can be fatal, and Timothy does suffer some neurological problems from the operation, nonetheless, he and doctors agree it is a great miracle for his body to be eliminated of the HIV replicating virus.  It is also a great window into the possibilities of stem cell research and shows that if given the time, research, and chance, stem cell's could battle some of our toughest ailments.  


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