After a stem cell transplant, the first woman is said to be HIV-free.
READ HIGHLIGHTS
Scientists think that the people acquire HIV-resistant immune systems.
Bone marrow transplantation is not a feasible treatment option.
Donation of HIV-resistant cells is a critical component in the success.
WHY IN NEWS
After obtaining a stem cell transplantation via the a donors who was genetically resistant to the virus that causes AIDS, a Leukaemia patient in the United States became the first female and the 3rd guy to know to be cured of HIV, according to researchers. The example of a middle-aged mixed-race woman, presented in Denver at the Congress on Viral DNA and Opportunistic Infections, is also the first to use umbilical cord blood, a novel strategy that might make the therapy more accessible to more individuals. The lady has remained in remission and clear of the virus for 14 months after getting cord blood to treat her acute myeloid leukaemia - a malignancy that develops in blood-forming cells in the bone marrow - without the need for powerful HIV medications known as antiretroviral therapy.
ALSO READ : The Juno spacecraft from NASA has released images of Jupiter and its moon
The two previous examples included white and Latino men who had gotten stem cells, who are more commonly utilised in bone marrow transplantation. In a release, Sharon Lewin, President-Elect of the International AIDS Society, stated, 'This is now the third report of a cure in this environment, and the first in a woman living with HIV.' Dr. Yvonne Bryson of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and Dr. Deborah Persaud of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore are leading a bigger US-funded investigation. Its goal is to monitor 25 HIV-positive persons who get a stem cell transplant from umbilical cord blood for the cancer therapy and other severe illnesses.
The malignant immune cells in the study participants are first treated with chemotherapy to destroy them. Doctors then transfer stem cells from people who have an unique genetic mutation that prevents the virus from infecting cells. These people, according to scientists, develop an immunological response that is resistant to HIV.
ALSO READ : X-ray Polarimetry Explorer Space Telescope, operated by NASA, has captured first images
Bone marrow transplants, according to Lewin, are not a realistic option for curing most HIV patients. The findings, she added, 'confirms that an HIV cure is conceivable and supports the case for gene therapy as a viable option for an HIV cure.' The donation of HIV-resistant cells, according to the study, is a crucial component of the success. Previously, experts thought that graft-versus-host disease, a common stem cell transplantation side effect in which the supplier inflammatory response assaults the recipient's immune system, had a part in a prospective therapy. 'Taken together, these three examples of a cure following a stem cell transplant all helped in separating out the many components of the transplant that were absolutely critical to a cure,' Lewin said.