Stem Cell Therapy Cures Second HIV Patient
The New York Times reported that a second patient was cured of HIV after undergoing a form of allograft stem cell therapy. The news broke earlier this month on the 4th when papers like the ‘Times’ and The Wall Street Journal began reporting on the miraculous recovery of whom is being referred to as the “London Patient” (the first patient to be cured of HIV almost exactly 12 years ago was referred to as the “Berlin Patient”). Ironically, the bone marrow stem cell transplants that cured both patients of the virus were actually intended to treat cancer in each case. While there is still much more to be done to find a reasonable way to replicate the results for the more than 70 million people infected with the disease, this success proves that a cure for H.I.V. infection is possible. Bone-marrow transplantation on the scale necessary to treat patients with HIV is unlikely to be adopted as a realistic treatment option in the future....
