German doctors cure man of HIV with stem cells
By James Brady RyanDecember 14th, 2010, 5:45 pmComments (10)A much nicer story coming out of Germany than this morning's neutering: doctors in Germany say they've cured Timothy Brown's HIV while treating him for leukemia. (Brown was really getting screwed over by the universe there for a bit.) And it's all because the stem cells he was treated with came from an HIV-resistant donor. I'll allow someone who knows what they're talking about to explain the scientific bits:
The man received bone marrow from a donor who had natural resistance to HIV infection; this was due to a genetic profile which led to the CCR5 co-receptor being absent from his cells. The most common variety of HIV uses CCR5 as its ‘docking station’, attaching to it in order to enter and infect CD4 cells, and people with this mutation are almost completely protected against infection.
This actually happened back in 2008, but after repeated testing doctors are now relatively sure that the treatment has stuck. Good news for Brown, of course, but unfortunately this treatment would probably only work for some people under very specific conditions. But any step forward is still a step forward; this could always turn out to be the key to discovering a more widely applicable treatment for the virus.
Commentarium (10 Comments)
I hope this shuts all that conservative talk about "stem cell research=baby genocide".....
But..., Amen to that
i like were this is going.
I can't imagine how awful this would end up becoming if it gets out that some people's bone marrow can cure HIV. Bone marrow transplants are already hard to match and the number of donors is small, but now people are going to get their hopes up for a transplant from someone who is a donor, compatible, and resistant. Chances are slim. Not to mention what it would do to the waiting lists for marrow transplants for other diseases.
Sounds like its time to go back to baby killing for stem cells.
you can grow stem cells now you ass
"The day they cure AIDS, there will be fucking in the streets." (Paraphrase from Bill Hicks) I've got a nice spot picked out on a charming cul-de-sac, very little traffic. Go Science, go!!
so fucking in the streets was a common feature of human existence before aids?
Absolutely first rate and copper-btootmed, gentlemen!
XHSU1c gvudmzeujobi