The Berlin Patient's results are in. And they look good.
May 29, 2012 3:44 PM Subscribe
Timothy Ray Brown, also known as the "Berlin Patient," is an HIV-positive man who underwent a stem cell transplant in 2007 as part of a lengthy treatment course for leukemia. His doctors recently published a report (abstract | full | full pdf) in the journal Blood affirming that the results of extensive testing "strongly suggest that cure of HIV infection has been achieved."
Brown's case paves a path for constructing a permanent cure for HIV through genetically-engineered stem cells.
Last week, Time named another AIDS-related discovery to its list of the Top 10 Medical Breakthroughs of 2010. Recent studies show that healthy individuals who take antiretrovirals, medicine commonly prescribed for treating HIV, can reduce their risk of contracting the disease by up to 73 percent.
Last week, Time named another AIDS-related discovery to its list of the Top 10 Medical Breakthroughs of 2010. Recent studies show that healthy individuals who take antiretrovirals, medicine commonly prescribed for treating HIV, can reduce their risk of contracting the disease by up to 73 percent.
This post was deleted for the following reason: Double. -- mathowie
I'm embarrassed to say I messed up some chronology, but the paper is still really interesting.
posted by lazaruslong at 3:51 PM on May 29, 2012
posted by lazaruslong at 3:51 PM on May 29, 2012
I don't mean to be grumpy, because this is awesome, but this news is from 2011, not last week.
posted by anigbrowl at 3:57 PM on May 29, 2012
posted by anigbrowl at 3:57 PM on May 29, 2012
The politics of this are pretty awesome too: An American man, cure of AIDS, in the world's oldest socialized medicine system, using stem cells.
posted by 2bucksplus at 4:01 PM on May 29, 2012 [3 favorites]
posted by 2bucksplus at 4:01 PM on May 29, 2012 [3 favorites]
Unfortunately, it's a cure that currently has a pretty high mortality rate, which might very well make it worse than the disease at the current technology level.
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 4:02 PM on May 29, 2012
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 4:02 PM on May 29, 2012
Yeah, I'm confused. The paper linked is from over a year ago, and the Time article published "last week" was also from over a year ago.
posted by mrnutty at 4:13 PM on May 29, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by mrnutty at 4:13 PM on May 29, 2012 [1 favorite]
I'm guessing not. On further investigation, the survival rate of the treatment is so much worse than HIV currently is that doing this to anyone who didn't happen to be dying of leukemia would be like taking a stroll on the Nuremberg code in golf shoes.
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 4:17 PM on May 29, 2012
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 4:17 PM on May 29, 2012
Yah - when I read coverage of this last year, I was struck by comments from doctors saying, "Yes, this is very neat stuff. But given a choice between this treatment and antiretrovirals, I'd stay on the pills."
posted by Mr. Excellent at 4:24 PM on May 29, 2012
posted by Mr. Excellent at 4:24 PM on May 29, 2012
Love the name of that journal.
If you loved Blood, then you'll definitely love Gut.
posted by jedicus at 4:33 PM on May 29, 2012
If you loved Blood, then you'll definitely love Gut.
posted by jedicus at 4:33 PM on May 29, 2012
Yeah, this is basically a double. It popped up in my radar today with temporal phrasing that was confusing and it snuck by me somehow. Mods, feel free to delete.
posted by lazaruslong at 4:47 PM on May 29, 2012
posted by lazaruslong at 4:47 PM on May 29, 2012
And I was so excited. =(
posted by lazaruslong at 4:48 PM on May 29, 2012
posted by lazaruslong at 4:48 PM on May 29, 2012
Just saw this today, a protein that supposedly already exists in the blood of HIV positive people and can block the virus from entering cells. Makes me wonder if similar proteins are expressed for other viruses, and what happens when you pump up the amount of these proteins in the blood.
posted by jason_steakums at 4:52 PM on May 29, 2012
posted by jason_steakums at 4:52 PM on May 29, 2012
The gene therapy approach being tested by Sangamo is an attempt to mimic the success of “The Berlin Patient.”
Results from a Phase 1 trial showed that the technique successfully reduced viral loads in patients with HIV. One study participant, who already naturally had one copy of the HIV-resistant CCR5 gene form, achieved undetectable viral loads with the treatment.
“Both of these new Phase 2 clinical trials are specifically designed to confirm and further investigate these findings,” said Nichol.
I am hopeful a cure is right around the corner.
posted by j03 at 4:54 PM on May 29, 2012
Results from a Phase 1 trial showed that the technique successfully reduced viral loads in patients with HIV. One study participant, who already naturally had one copy of the HIV-resistant CCR5 gene form, achieved undetectable viral loads with the treatment.
“Both of these new Phase 2 clinical trials are specifically designed to confirm and further investigate these findings,” said Nichol.
I am hopeful a cure is right around the corner.
posted by j03 at 4:54 PM on May 29, 2012
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I didn't understand a thing about the abstract but damn if that's not the best ending I've ever read. Here's hoping the study can be reproduced and survive closer scrutiny.
posted by Foci for Analysis at 3:49 PM on May 29, 2012