Fifth person cured of HIV after stem cell transplant, researchers say

ThatRobGuy · Feb 20, 2023

https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/3866819-fifth-person-cured-of-hiv-after-stem-cell-transplant-researchers-say/

Researchers from Germany say a man has been cured of HIV following a stem cell transplant that was performed after several rounds of chemotherapy, making him the fifth known case of the virus being cured in an individual.

In the study published in the Nature science journal, German researchers detailed the case of a 53-year-old patient who was diagnosed with HIV in 2008. After their diagnosis, the patient was placed on antiretroviral therapy (ART) which suppressed the viral load within their system.

The patient was enrolled in the University Hospital Düsseldorf’s IciStem program, which explores potential HIV cures requiring stem cell transplants.

The patient was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia about three years after being diagnosed with HIV. Remission of their cancer was achieved through an initial round of chemotherapy but was followed by a relapse shortly after.

During the patient’s treatment for their cancer, they received a stem cell transplant from a female donor with whom they matched. This transplant occurred roughly two years after their cancer diagnosis and five years after being diagnosed with HIV.

The female donor had a mutation that is believed to confer resistance to HIV infection.

DaisyDay · Feb 20, 2023

Wow, that's great if it works out generally. Will insurance cover it? That's always a caveat here in the States.

The IbanezerScrooge · Feb 20, 2023

ThatRobGuy said:
The female donor had a mutation that is believed to confer resistance to HIV infection.

Ah, evolution! Ain't it grand!

iluvatar5150 · Feb 20, 2023

DaisyDay said:
Wow, that's great if it works out generally. Will insurance cover it?

Probably not if you work for a “religious” business.

ThatRobGuy · Feb 21, 2023

DaisyDay said:
Wow, that's great if it works out generally. Will insurance cover it? That's always a caveat here in the States.

I would hope so, as it would be cheaper for the insurance companies to pay for stem cell transplant than pay for lifelong, ongoing antiretroviral cocktails.

Even the cheaper-end prices for the drug cocktail is around $1400/month. (so if you had a patient who was in their 30's...multiply that by 12 months year, multiplied by 30+ years...comes up to a pretty hefty amount of cash the insurance company is ponying up even after the patient covers copays and deductibles)

A stem cell transplant is in the ballpark of $20,000-$50,000.

I think the larger challenge would be finding a person who's both a good donor match, and has the mutation that confers resistance to HIV.

iluvatar5150 said:
Probably not if you work for a “religious” business.

I know when people think "stem cells" they think abortion, however, it sounds like in this case (and most other cases), they used stem cells harvested from umbilical cord through a procedure that happens after the baby is born and doesn't change the delivery procedure.

Value of Umbilical Cord Blood Cells | Brigham and Women's Hospital

Learn about the value of umbilical cord blood cells at the Cord Blood Donation Program, Brigham and Women's Hospital.

www.brighamandwomens.org

iluvatar5150 · Feb 21, 2023

ThatRobGuy said:
I know when people think "stem cells" they think abortion, however, it sounds like in this case (and most other cases), they used stem cells harvested from umbilical cord through a procedure that happens after the baby is born and doesn't change the delivery procedure.

Value of Umbilical Cord Blood Cells | Brigham and Women's Hospital

Learn about the value of umbilical cord blood cells at the Cord Blood Donation Program, Brigham and Women's Hospital.

www.brighamandwomens.org

Oh yeah, I hadn’t even thought about the stem cell angle. I was thinking about the association with Teh Gheyz, which is enough to fuel a lawsuit about coverage for hiv prevention medication.

U.S. court ruling on HIV prevention, treatment drugs shines light on coverage gaps

A U.S. federal judge in Texas last week threw into uncertainty the future of employer insurance coverage for people at risk of contracting HIV. But even before then, the uptake and coverage of drugs related to HIV prevention and treatment, especially newer injectable drugs...

www.reuters.com

ecumeni · Feb 21, 2023

This makes me so angry. Let us kill babies and harvest their stem cells to cure obvious sinners.

PsaltiChrysostom · Feb 21, 2023

ecumeni said:
This makes me so angry. Let us kill babies and harvest their stem cells to cure obvious sinners.

What? umbilical cord stem cells are not from abortions:

Cord blood stem cells are collected from the umbilical cord and placenta after a baby is born. Cord and placental blood contain large numbers of blood-forming stem cells. The donated cord blood is screened, frozen and stored at a cord blood bank for future use if it meets screening requirements.

https://www.lls.org/sites/default/files/file_assets/cordbloodstemcelltransplantation.pdf

ecumeni · Feb 21, 2023

I only knew one person with HIV, and it developed into AIDS. He died. He was very homosexual. As a Christian I cannot support them.

Arcangl86 · Feb 21, 2023

ecumeni said:
This makes me so angry. Let us kill babies and harvest their stem cells to cure obvious sinners.

As was pointed out in a post before yours these stem cells were harvested from an unbilical cord after birth. Also, even if you think homosexuality is sin, there are plenty of straight people who have it.

ThatRobGuy · Feb 21, 2023

ecumeni said:
This makes me so angry. Let us kill babies and harvest their stem cells to cure obvious sinners.

They use umbilical cord blood collected after the baby is already delivered.

And it's a pretty broad assumption to assert that everyone with HIV are in that state due to some sort of "sinful activity". And even if they were, is curing them a bad thing?

While I don't have the same concepts of "sin" (being a non-religious person). I feel things like smoking and over-eating are bad. However, if they developed a procedure that could cure lung cancer and diabetes using umbilical cord blood, I'd would see that as a good thing.

Arcangl86 · Feb 21, 2023

ecumeni said:
I only knew one person with HIV, and it developed into AIDS. He died. He was very homosexual. As a Christian I cannot support them.

I'm assuming that doesn't extend to letting them die, especially if it can be in a way that doesn't harm somebody else.

ThatRobGuy · Feb 21, 2023

ecumeni said:
I only knew one person with HIV, and it developed into AIDS. He died. He was very homosexual. As a Christian I cannot support them.

Despite your single anecdote, the aggregated stats would dictate that there are other scenarios.

30% of new HIV infections occur in straight people
10% are the result of non-sexual activity
5% are from people who received tainted blood (typically in underdeveloped countries that don't have the same testing capabilities we have)

Prior to HIV testing being a regular practice, the risk of a mother transmitting HIV to the newborn baby was 40% (and many of those folks are still living with HIV till this day through no fault of their own)

comana · Feb 21, 2023

ecumeni said:
I only knew one person with HIV, and it developed into AIDS. He died. He was very homosexual. As a Christian I cannot support them.

Do you want them to die from AIDS? I just cannot understand not supporting medical advances such as this that may be a cure for a devastating disease.

Fifth person cured of HIV after stem cell transplant, researchers say

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