Friday, December 17, 2010

Stem cell transplant gets rid of HIV by accident

An HIV positive man in Germany received a transplant of stem cells, which had the wonderful side effect of entirely healing his HIV. That said, there’s a significant hitch. It demands a transplant from people with a very specific, and very rare, gene. There is still no full blown heal, and this treatment isn’t feasible to use yet. A great enough installment loans for bad credit might perhaps fund research for additional cures. Article source – Stem cell transplant accidentally cures a case of HIV by MoneyBlogNewz.

Man healed of Human Immunodeficiency Virus using stem cell transplant

An American man living in Berlin received a stem cell transplant that healed him of Human Immunodeficiency Virus, according to Popular Science. The discovery was made accidentally, as Timothy Ray Brown, who has also been referred to as the “Berlin patient,” actually got the stem cell transplant in 2007 to treat a different condition of his: leukemia. The traces of Human Immunodeficiency Virus have disappeared entirely, as was found by monitoring him after the transplant. Of course, it’s hard to discover the stem cells that can work thinking about only certain individuals can help.

Type of cells very uncommon

The stem cells needed only come from particular people. This is because a very particular gene is required. The gene being looked for has a component of white blood cells called CD4 receptor. It will lack the CCR5 receptor with this gene. One of the primary targets of Human Immunodeficiency Virus is the CCR5 receptor. Human Immunodeficiency Virus is what HIV stands for. Having the CCR5 receptor missing means that HIV cannot infiltrate white blood cells. The person is immune to HIV, more or less. The gene is very uncommon though, states Fox News. Only 1 percent of only Western and Northern European males are known to have the gene needed.

Cure unlikely to go anywhere

The therapy is not even close to being accessible. The purpose of Brown getting the stem cell transplant was to get his leukemia cured. He had to go through years of getting painful treatments and taking immune system suppressing drugs so the transplanted stem cells wouldn't be rejected by him, although it did heal him. There are not very many donors. Even so, the exact right donor has to be matched to you. The treatment isn’t only incredibly painful, but prohibitively costly and experimental.

Citations

Popular Science

popsci.com/science/article/2010-12/german-doctors-think-theyve-accidentally-cured-patients-hiv-stem-cell-transplant

Fox News

foxnews.com/health/2010/12/14/doctors-claim-hiv-positive-man-cured-stem-cell-transplant/



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