Hi! As we move on towards the HIV/AIDS epidemic, I wanted to share this article that was published little more than a month (!!!!) ago about a procedure that let an HIV patient go into long term remission.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/04/health/aids-cure-london-patient.html
The doctors gave the patient a bone marrow transplant, one that wasn't done to treat his HIV but his cancer. The transplant lets him generate immune cells that are resistant to the HIV virus, successfully leading to a "cure" for HIV. I'm still really amazed that this happened and it seems like a reliable method for a cure for HIV is approaching quickly. While we wait for that, there are other medication that, when taken regularly, effectively suppresses both the symptoms and the transmission of HIV. HIV isn't such a scary disease anymore, and we need to break the stigma surrounding it.
Wow! This is really unbelievable. It is exciting to think about how HIV has become less scary recently, especially with PrEP. But it's also tough to know what to think about (as the article said) calling it a "cure" when there have been only two cases separated by 12 years. It will be really cool to see how this progresses though.
ReplyDeleteI'm curious about how accessible this "cure" will be in the years to come. When, if ever, will it be more cost effective to undergo the transplant rather than simply taking medications?
ReplyDelete