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Rabat – Scientists in the US announced that they have potentially treated a woman from life-threatening HIV, according to several American news outlets.
The American research team responsible for the potential breakthrough is cautiously optimistic, as it can take years to affirm the efficiency of the treatment, report the scientists.
“The reason they’re using the word ‘functional’ cure, is because they need to track it for years to come. HIV, the virus, can be very tricky, it can hide out and all of a sudden a decade later, it can pop out again,” explains DR. John Torres, NBC News Medical Correspondent.
The treatment however is very dangerous as it involves destroying a patient’s immune system and replacing it with a new one through a cutting-edge stem transplant procedure.
Destroying a patient’s immune system through chemotherapy and in some cases irradiation is the standard procedure for treating cancer. Extending the treatment to HIV patients not suffering from cancer poses ethical concerns, according to experts.
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But the woman scientists believe is cured of HIV, the “New York” patient, was an ideal candidate for the procedure — she was diagnosed with HIV in 2013 and with blood-cell cancer Leukemia in 2017.
Chemotherapy was a must for the New York patient. However, the treatment is only feasible for a handful of HIV patients already diagnosed with cancer.
Despite the setback, the New York patient is a breakthrough for scientists as her case is expected to help steer future HIV-cure research in the right direction.
The first case experts deemed a successful HIV treatment involved a man who was also a cancer patient back in 2008. After chemotherapy, the patient received a stem transplant from a donor with a rare genetic condition allowing him to have natural immunity from HIV.
The strategy proved effective for two other HIV patients but researchers failed to extend the result to other HIV patients.
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