Bone marrow transplant delivers hope, but no concrete cure
After a story hit the news late last year that an American man had been “cured” of HIV after receiving a bone marrow transplant, much speculation ensued as to whether a widespread cure for the condition had been uncovered.
The patient, 42, who remains unnamed, underwent the transplant in Berlin’s Charite Clinic three years ago, in which he was given the bone marrow of a donor who had a natural resistance to HIV, a condition which is thought to exist in roughly 1% of Europeans.
Following the transplant the patient has shown no signs of suffering from the condition and has not received anti-retroviral treatment. However, HIV is known for its ability to lie latently within the system, and although tests to detect the virus within the patient have uncovered no signs of its presence, scientific researchers are quick to state more extensive testing would need to take place before it could be confirmed that the virus had been permanently eradicated from his system.
Nonetheless, the patient’s apparent recovery has sparked much debate within the scientific community as to whether a widespread cure for HIV lies in bone marrow transplant. The prospect of transplants themselves being used as a common prevention is unlikely due to both the expensive and dangerous nature of the procedure, with 1 in 3 transplants resulting in the recipient dying. Rather, it is thought that through utilizing the resistant gene, a genetic therapy could be developed that would realign HIV sufferers’ cells to block the virus and neutralise its effects, and that this therapy could be administered through injection, making it relatively cheap and easily distributable.
Despite this possible breakthrough, leading scientists in the fields of Biochemistry and Immunology have asserted any cure of this nature is decades, rather than years away, a sentiment echoed by the Terrence Higgins Trust. Deputy Chief Executive Paul Ward stated-
"This case gives us something to explore in future studies but it's certainly not a quick fix as gene therapy is complex and expensive.
“With no cure in sight, prevention should be our number one priority”.
After a story hit the news late last year that an American man had been “cured” of HIV after receiving a bone marrow transplant, much speculation ensued as to whether a widespread cure for the condition had been uncovered.
The patient, 42, who remains unnamed, underwent the transplant in Berlin’s Charite Clinic three years ago, in which he was given the bone marrow of a donor who had a natural resistance to HIV, a condition which is thought to exist in roughly 1% of Europeans.
Following the transplant the patient has shown no signs of suffering from the condition and has not received anti-retroviral treatment. However, HIV is known for its ability to lie latently within the system, and although tests to detect the virus within the patient have uncovered no signs of its presence, scientific researchers are quick to state more extensive testing would need to take place before it could be confirmed that the virus had been permanently eradicated from his system.
Nonetheless, the patient’s apparent recovery has sparked much debate within the scientific community as to whether a widespread cure for HIV lies in bone marrow transplant. The prospect of transplants themselves being used as a common prevention is unlikely due to both the expensive and dangerous nature of the procedure, with 1 in 3 transplants resulting in the recipient dying. Rather, it is thought that through utilizing the resistant gene, a genetic therapy could be developed that would realign HIV sufferers’ cells to block the virus and neutralise its effects, and that this therapy could be administered through injection, making it relatively cheap and easily distributable.
Despite this possible breakthrough, leading scientists in the fields of Biochemistry and Immunology have asserted any cure of this nature is decades, rather than years away, a sentiment echoed by the Terrence Higgins Trust. Deputy Chief Executive Paul Ward stated-
"This case gives us something to explore in future studies but it's certainly not a quick fix as gene therapy is complex and expensive.
“With no cure in sight, prevention should be our number one priority”.
