A 66-year-old man has reportedly become the fourth person in history to have been cured of HIV.
The patient goes by the name “City of Hope”
In another extraordinary feat achieved by medical sciences, a 66-year-old man became only the fourth patient in history to be cured of HIV.
The patient underwent a stem cell transplant to treat his leukemia. However, by pure chance, he also ended up being cured of the virus. The patient who wishes to remain anonymous goes by the name “City of Hope patient” in honor of the California hospital where he received treatment.
After experts reported in February that a US woman, known as the ‘New York patient’ had also entered remission, he is the second individual to be officially declared to have been cured this year.
Of the four patients who have reportedly been treated in this fashion thus far, this man is understood to be the oldest. Timothy Ray Brown, a “Berlin patient,” was the first in 2007.
“I never thought I would live to see the day that I no longer have HIV”
The 66-year-old man said, “When I was diagnosed with HIV in 1988, like many others, I thought it was a death sentence. I never thought I would live to see the day that I no longer have HIV.”
When he was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 63, the team of doctors determined that a bone marrow transplant was necessary to replace his malignant blood cells. Coincidentally, the donor was HIV-resistant. Bone marrow transplants won’t, however, change how the 38 million HIV-positive persons in the globe are presently treated.
The City of Hope patient was closely observed after the transplant, and levels of HIV became undetectable in his body.
He has now been in remission for more than 17 months.
The virus enters our body’s white blood cells by using a microscopic doorway – a protein called CCR5.
However, some people, including the donor, have CCR5 mutations that bolt the door shut and keep out HIV.
HIV usually progresses to AIDS if left untreated in 8 to 10 years. A person’s immune system is severely compromised when AIDS strikes. They are more likely to be susceptible to illnesses that a person with a strong immune system wouldn’t typically get.
