Title of thread should say "Found" too tired

http://www.huffingtonpost.co m/2010..._n_796521.html

On the heels of World AIDS Day comes a stunning medical breakthrough: Doctors believe an HIV-positive man who underwent a stem cell transplant has been cured as a result of the procedure.

Timothy Ray Brown, also known as the "Berlin Patient," received the transplant in 2007 as part of a lengthy treatment course for leukemia. His doctors recently published a report in the journal Blood affirming that the results of extensive testing "strongly suggest that cure of HIV infection has been achieved."

Brown's case paves a path for constructing a permanent cure for HIV through genetically-engineered stem cells.

Last week, Time named another AIDS-related discovery to its list of the Top 10 Medical Breakthroughs of 2010. Recent studies show that healthy individuals who take antiretrovirals, medicine commonly prescribed for treating HIV, can reduce their risk of contracting the disease by up to 73 percent.

While these developments by no means prove a cure for the virus has been found, they can certainly provide hope for the more than 33 million people living with HIV worldwide. Alongside such findings, global efforts to combat the epidemic have accelerated as of late, with new initiatives emerging in the Philippines and South Africa this week.

I was just writing up a really nice thread for this. It was gonna be pretty. *sad face*

I do however hope this doesn't turn out to be little more than a once only fluke. If we have a potential aids treatment that's wonderful news. The only problem I see is there is no way the parts of the world that are most afflicted with AIDS will feasibly be able to afford stem cell treatments, should this prove to be a viable treatment after years of research.

This is the first time someone was cured of AIDS, but it isn't a 'cure' per say. Considering the circumstances involved, it was more of a one in a million shot. Amazing nonetheless.

Bring on the cures! Promiscuity shouldnt have a biological risk factor attached to it!

Originally Posted by PHLN

Bring on the cures! Promiscuity shouldnt have a biological risk factor attached to it!

Say that to a blistered ******.

Originally Posted by SilentWalker

This is the first time someone was cured of AIDS, but it isn't a 'cure' per say. Considering the circumstances involved, it was more of a one in a million shot. Amazing nonetheless.

It's actually not the first time a cure has been reported. There was a case years ago, and possibly others too...they just haven't been able to replicate or 100% validate them.

Originally Posted by REPLEKIA/.

I do however hope this doesn't turn out to be little more than a once only fluke.

I have a nasty feeling that's what it was. The patient got a stem cell transplant from a donor that carries a very rare mutation, CCR5del32, that confers 'resistance' to HIV infection. The likelihood of this being a practical cure is very low since a stem cell transplant requires years of chemotherapy and immunosuppressants, and there is a very small probability of a matching stem cell donor with the rare mutation for the majority of HIV patients.

EDIT: What SilentWalker said.

I can't imagine how happy that individual must be, there were probably a lot of times when he considered himself hopeless.

Cool .. Next, cancer

I don't understand why is it so hard to find a cure for one disease? wtf are all you life sci students and health sci students (who dont make it thru MCAT) doing after graduation anyways?? why dont u spend some time in labs trying to find a cure??? there are millions of students who pursue a degree in life sci and prove to be useless to the world!!

btw kudos to the people who seem to have "found the cure"..

Yeah those darn life science students are wasting their lives away helping people get healthy! How dare they!

Originally Posted by nikJ

I don't understand why is it so hard to find a cure for one disease? wtf are all you life sci students and health sci students (who dont make it thru MCAT) doing after graduation anyways?? why dont u spend some time in labs trying to find a cure??? there are millions of students who pursue a degree in life sci and prove to be useless to the world!!

btw kudos to the people who seem to have "found the cure"..