News / Health
Aids 'cure' found, German doctors claim
29 Dec 2010 at 12:39hrs | Views
An American man is still HIV-free more than three years after receiving a stem cell transplant, suggesting the first cure of the virus that causes Aids, German doctors said on Wednesday.
But while the highly risky technique used on the man known as the "Berlin Patient" would not work for most of the 33 million people with HIV worldwide, scientists say the research shows important progress toward a universal cure.
"Our results strongly suggest that the cure of HIV has been achieved in this patient," said the study in the peer-reviewed journal Blood, a publication of the American Society of Haematology. South African authorities are, however, sceptical.
Head of the HIV/Aids and STI programme for the Department of Health Thobile Mbengashe said he would need to look into the case of the "Berlin Patient" but added that as of now there was still no cure for the virus.
"Even though it is not detectable it does not mean the virus has been cured, it is still lying dormant. It does not mean it does not exist," he said yesterday.
Mbengashe explained that once on treatment like ARVs, the count can be reduced to the point where it cannot, at that stage, be detected.
"It does not means it has actually been cleared in the reservoir of the body. Viral packages will always lay dormant inside the individual's cells.
"You have to really have a situation where you have to apply this to a number of patients until a very controlled environment. "As of now there is no cure," he said.
The latest findings show that the patient, 44-year-old Timothy Ray Brown, continues to show no trace of the Aids-causing virus.
Jay Levy, an Aids and cancer researcher at the University of California, described the latest research as evidence of a "functional cure".
"I mean, one person is not sufficient. It is an encouraging first step but you need to show it again. "Three years is not enough. We will know that in 10 years," said Levy regarding the study's assertion.
"It is too early to say you're cured, but they have done a nice job."
But while the highly risky technique used on the man known as the "Berlin Patient" would not work for most of the 33 million people with HIV worldwide, scientists say the research shows important progress toward a universal cure.
"Our results strongly suggest that the cure of HIV has been achieved in this patient," said the study in the peer-reviewed journal Blood, a publication of the American Society of Haematology. South African authorities are, however, sceptical.
Head of the HIV/Aids and STI programme for the Department of Health Thobile Mbengashe said he would need to look into the case of the "Berlin Patient" but added that as of now there was still no cure for the virus.
"Even though it is not detectable it does not mean the virus has been cured, it is still lying dormant. It does not mean it does not exist," he said yesterday.
Mbengashe explained that once on treatment like ARVs, the count can be reduced to the point where it cannot, at that stage, be detected.
"It does not means it has actually been cleared in the reservoir of the body. Viral packages will always lay dormant inside the individual's cells.
"You have to really have a situation where you have to apply this to a number of patients until a very controlled environment. "As of now there is no cure," he said.
The latest findings show that the patient, 44-year-old Timothy Ray Brown, continues to show no trace of the Aids-causing virus.
Jay Levy, an Aids and cancer researcher at the University of California, described the latest research as evidence of a "functional cure".
"I mean, one person is not sufficient. It is an encouraging first step but you need to show it again. "Three years is not enough. We will know that in 10 years," said Levy regarding the study's assertion.
"It is too early to say you're cured, but they have done a nice job."
Source - Sapa
