Stem Cell Transplant Cures HIV in "Berlin Patient"

[KALEL114]

On the heels of World AIDS Day comes a stunning medical breakthrough: Doctors believe an HIV-positive man who underwent a stem cell transplant has been cured as a result of the procedure.
Timothy Ray Brown, also known as the "Berlin Patient," received the transplant in 2007 as part of a lengthy treatment course for leukemia. His doctors recently published a report 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.
While these developments by no means prove a cure for the virus has been found, they can certainly provide hope for the more than 33 million people living with HIV worldwide. Alongside such findings, global efforts to combat the epidemic have accelerated as of late, with new initiatives emerging in the Philippines and South Africa this week.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/14/hiv-cure-berlin-patient_n_796521.html

 

[Casius--J]

I gotta admit this is pretty interesting news, although I dont know that much about stem cell research or why there is so much controversy over it.

 

[Matt]

If this research stands (and it may take time to see if the disease has truly been eliminated from the body), then it is without a doubt the biggest medical break through since the Polio vaccine.

 

[Watson]

^Actually, they have been aware he might have been cured for about two years. They were just waiting to see if it held out.

Very cool.

 

[enterthemadness]

I have two opinions on this...

1. Great news. If this stands. Truly great breakthrough.

2. I don't wanna be that guy, but with the world population out of control, not the best time for a cure.

Just my two opinions.

 

[Motown Marvel]

wow, that is amazing!!!!

 

[bored]

And the Republicans will still try to ban stem cell research.

 

[Jennifer Walters]

This is excellent news. Hopefully this is the step towards the cure a lot of people need and the government doesn't try to stay in the way of curing a deadly virus.

 

[The Squirrel]

And the Republicans will still try to ban stem cell research.

As long as the cells aren't coming from aborted babies, I really don't see the problem with it. There's plenty of less controversial ways of getting stem cells.

 

[Scourge2099]

If this is true , then it's great news. Hopefully they can find cures for the rest of the awful diseases out there.

 

[Poetic Chaos]

Finally, no more pesky condoms!

Edit: Oh, wait. The Herps. So one more left to solve.

 

[Silvermoth]

If ever there was something that could change the world for the best I believe it would be a cure for HIV. So many world problems relating to hate and war and poverty would be elimanated.

 

[Mike_D202]

I read about this procedure a few years ago, it was very risky and the guy could have died from it. Glad to see it worked out.

*cue pharmacudical companies sending in assassins*

 

[Gamma Ray]

And the Republicans will still try to ban stem cell research.

I absolutely support SC research, but their use has its downsides. For example, studies show cancer risk increases greatly with stem cell treatment (source).

Regarding this "miracle cure", we are still very far from eradicating HIV. This treatment happened to be a very specific case and was incredibly risky (resulting in a near death). Once again a news story is hyping up something that isn't there.

 

[Mace Bloodstone]

There's no money in cures. If something gets cured then all the funding that gets poured into research goes away. It's way more profitable to keep you on drugs that prolong your life than to actually cure the problem.

 

[Ugfugly]

still no friggin cure for cancer

And the Republicans will still try to ban stem cell research.

See that's just ignorant. We're not against stem cell research, we're against FETAL Stem cell research which have to be extracted from aborted babies. It's been shown that Adult Stem Cell research are just as valid a source as those from fetus. It's just not as appealing to researches because you can't mass market adult stem cell cure. They have to be tailored to the patient.

 

[Spider-Who?]

And the Republicans will still try to ban stem cell research.

Hey, get this:

When Bush was in office, he created (and Congress signed) a law that only prohibited the federal government from funding research on NEW stem cells. The law allowed federal funding for stem cells already cultivated, and laid no restrictions on stem cell research with private funding. In other words, the "republicans" (and the democrats too, since the bill was passed) just said "the government won't pay for any more dead fetuses, but if you get money else where, that's fine". Then scientists discovered they could get stem cells without the use of dead fetuses, which the law does NOT prohibit funding for.

If you want to turn something into a stupid political debate, try understanding what was actually going on.

 

[Spider-Who?]

There's no money in cures. If something gets cured then all the funding that gets poured into research goes away. It's way more profitable to keep you on drugs that prolong your life than to actually cure the problem.

I agree with this, sadly. Medicinal practices and research are more business than humanitarian effort.

 

[Colossal Spoons]

Finally, no more pesky condoms!

Edit: Oh, wait. The Herps. So one more left to solve.

Haha, way more than one more left. STDs runnin wild son.

still no friggin cure for cancer

That one's gonna be here a while.

 

[Varient]

finally, no more pesky condoms!

Edit: Oh, wait. The herps. So one more left to solve.

lol

 

[8Diagrams(WU)]

Now if they could only find a cure for cancer.

 

[Lunar_Wolf]

Hopefully in 10 years time we can say

''Honey, I've got aids, just going to run to the doctors, be right back ''

 

[danoyse]

See that's just ignorant. We're not against stem cell research, we're against FETAL Stem cell research which have to be extracted from aborted babies. It's been shown that Adult Stem Cell research are just as valid a source as those from fetus. It's just not as appealing to researches because you can't mass market adult stem cell cure. They have to be tailored to the patient.

It's not simply just from aborted babies (that's the myth that embryonic stem cell research is some sort of baby harvesting project - they spoofed it on South Park once). Hundreds of thousands of these embryos are stored at fertility clincs and are discarded because the couples that produced them no longer needed them because they managed to have the children they wanted.

Bush was under some magical illusion that all of these babies were going to be adopted - hence him vetoing the bill in 2006 with a chorus of little "snowflake" children standing behind him - but that's not happening. More often than not couples go for in vitro fertilization to have children that are genetically their own.

In other words, they embryos were going to be tossed out anyway, when they could have been put to use to help people.

It's like the old George Carlin joke about how people are so concerned with the welfare of the unborn...and not so much on the ones that are already born.

And to say it's simply a Republican thing isn't. Ronald Reagan's family are big supporters of embryonic stem cell research (Reagan, of course, died from Alzheimer's disease), and there were conservatives like Bill Frist and Arlen Specter who didn't support Bush's veto of the bill.

You can read more about here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/19/AR2006071900524.html

 

[Spidey-Bat]

It's like the old George Carlin joke about how people are so concerned with the welfare of the unborn...and not so much on the ones that are already born.

I believe you're referring to...

"If you're pre-born, you're fine. If you're pre-school, you're ****ed."

There's also...

"You ever notice that people who are against abortion are people you wouldn't want to **** in the first place?"

and one of my favorites...

"How come with us, it's an abortion. But with a chicken, it's an omelet!

 

[SuperFerret]

HIV/AIDS is one disease. Cancer is a whole category of diseases and stem from different causes. The two are not comparable. If HIV is indeed "cured" (and by cured, I mean "we no longer think this is a threat, though we'll gladly keep it in labs around the world because why not?", kinda like how smallpox was cured), then I shudder to think what new disease is around the corner.