LONDON — A case study published in the journal Nature details the successful treatment of a patient in London, who is now in long-term HIV remission.<br /><br />CNN reports that a man known as the London patient has become the second person in the world to be cleared of HIV after the Berlin patient more than a decade ago.<br /><br />According to the New York Times, the two men achieved the milestones after undergoing bone marrow stem cell transplants intended to treat their cancer.<br /><br />In both instances, patients received stem cells from donors with a rare genetic mutation of the protein CCR5, making them HIV-resistant.<br /><br />HIV typically uses the CCR5 on the surface of immune cells to enter those cells, but is unable to latch on to the mutated version of the protein.<br /><br />According to the New York Times, the transplanted immune cells replaced the London patient's vulnerable cells, and destroyed the cancer without any harmful side effects.<br />He remained on antiretroviral drugs until stopping in September 2017. The Guardian reports that blood tests have shown no signs of the virus for the past 18 months.<br /><br />Anton Pozniak, president of the International Aids Society, says the findings reaffirm the belief that AIDS is curable.<br /><br />He told the Guardian that the hope is there will eventually be a safe, cost-effective, and easy way to achieve results with gene technology or antibody techniques.
