Scientists claimed on Tuesday that a leukemia sufferer from the United States has become the first female and the 3rd person known to be cured of HIV after getting stem cells from a source who was innately immune to the virus that produces AIDS. It is also the first time that umbilical cord blood has been used in the treatment of a middle-aged biracial woman, which was reported at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Denver. This is a fresh strategy that may make the therapy more accessible to more individuals.
For 14 months, the woman was in remission and clear of the HIV virus after getting cord blood to cure her severe myeloid leukemia. She has avoided the use of powerful antiretroviral therapies, which are commonly used to treat HIV.
Men who had gotten adult stem cells, which are more often employed in bone marrow transplants, had developed leukemia in the two previously reported instances. Patients included in the experiment first receive chemotherapy to eliminate malignant immune cells from their bodies. Surgeons then transfer stem cells from patients who have a particular genetic defect that prevents them from producing receptors that the virus uses to infect cells into their bodies. Scientists think that as a result of this, people’s immune systems become resistant to HIV.
According to the findings of the research, the transplant of HIV-resistant cells is a crucial factor in the success of the procedure. Researchers previously speculated that a frequent stem cell transplant side effect termed graft-versus-host illness, in which the donor immune response assaults the recipient’s immune system, had a part in the potential therapy. However, the research has now been disproved.