A 44-year-old man in England may be the first person ever to be cured of HIV.
According to scientists working on an experimental new therapy, the virus has completely disappeared from the man’s blood.
“We are exploring the real possibility of curing HIV. This is a huge challenge and it’s still early days but the progress has been remarkable,” Mark Samuels, managing director of the National Institute for Health Research Office for Clinical Research Infrastructure, told The Sunday Times.
So far with current-day HIV treatment, dormant T-cells are immune from medicine, allowing the body to continue to replicate the virus.
“This therapy is specifically designed to clear the body of all HIV viruses, including dormant ones,” Professor Sarah Fidler, a consultant physician at Imperial College London, told the Times.
From Gizmodo:
Working in two stages, the new treatment consists of a vaccine to help the body recognize any HIV-infected cells and a drug called Vorinostat activates the dormant T-cells. This method could give a patient’s immune system the tools it so desperately needs.
The patient, who remains anonymous, is a social care worker in London and he’s understandably excited about the developments.
“It would be great if a cure has happened. My last blood test was a couple of weeks ago and there is no detectable virus,” the man said.
Although the positive results are making waves in the science world, researchers want to remind the public that they’re still a ways off from a distributable cure.
“We will continue with medical tests for the next five years,” Fidler said.
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