As of late, an HIV patient known as the “Geneva patient” has been proclaimed to be in long-term remission. However, unlike the earlier examples, the individual has not had a transplant with a virus-blocking gene mutation, according to a study published on Thursday, July 20. Only five persons have been deemed HIV “cured” as of yet. These were called the Berlin, London, Duesseldorf, New York, and City of Hope, California patients. These individuals had all undergone bone marrow transplants to cure severe cancer situations. They obtained stem cells from a donor who had a CCR5 gene mutation. It is known that this mutation prevents HIV from accessing the cells of the body.
HIV levels in the blood are reduced with antiretroviral therapy
The Geneva patient underwent a similar stem cell transplant to treat leukemia which was extremely aggressive. The donor, however, did not have the CCR5 mutation this time. Researchers from France and Switzerland revealed the findings at a press briefing that was held as part of an AIDS conference that got underway over the weekend in Brisbane, Australia. The lack of mutation indicates that the patient is in remission even though HIV can still infect his cells. According to the study, doctors did not discover any signs of HIV in the Geneva patient’s system until 20 months after he stopped receiving antiretroviral therapy. HIV levels in the blood are reduced with antiretroviral therapy.
The individual is thought to be in long-term remission, while the researchers stated they cannot completely rule out the possibility that his HIV would relapse. According to a statement from the Geneva patient, “What is happening to me is magnificent, magical.” A white male who requested anonymity for the patient. In 1990, he received an HIV diagnosis. Up until November 2021, when his doctors urged him to stop taking the medication following the bone marrow transplant, he was taking antiretrovirals. The Boston patients were two earlier cases who had received normal or “wild type” stem cells after their transplantation. However, in both of these instances, HIV infection reappeared a few months after antiretroviral therapy was discontinued.
This particular individual will need to be watched closely over the next months and years
According to Asier Saez-Cirion, a researcher at France’s Pasteur Institute who presented the Brisbane audience with the example of the Geneva patient, “the probability that it will be undetectable in the future increases significantly” if the virus is still undetectable after 12 months. There are a few theories that could account for the Geneva patient’s continued HIV-free status, according to Saez-Cirion. “In this specific case, perhaps the transplant eliminated all the infected cells without the need for the famous mutation,” he speculated. Or perhaps his immunosuppressive therapy, which was necessary following the transplant, was a factor.
Sharon Lewin, the president of the International AIDS Society holding the HIV science conference in Brisbane, said the case was “promising”. “But we learned from the Boston patients that even a single” particle of the virus can lead to HIV rebounding, she cautioned. “This particular individual will need to be watched closely over the next months and years.”
