Two HIV-positive patients in the United States who had undergone bone marrow transplants for cancer have stopped anti-retroviral therapy and are showing no detectable signs of the HIV virus.
The news was presented at the International Aids Society Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Wednesday. According to the Associated Press, Harvard University researchers warn it's still too early to conclude if the men are officially cured but it's encouraging that the virus has not rebounded in the patients' blood months after treatment ended.
Timothy Brown was the first person recorded to have been cured of HIV back in 2007 after receiving a stem cell transplant to treat his leukemia. His doctors report he was cured just two years later. They had used the cells from a donor who had rare mutation providing him resistance against the virus. Of his situation, he told CNN, " I don't wish what I went through on my worst enemy, but I'm hoping that it can be done in a more simple way, that can be translated to a cure for the entire world, all people that have HIV."
Since Brown's case, no one's seen similar results until now with the two patients.
Researcher of the Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston Timothy Henrich says, "While these results are exciting, they do not yet indicate that the men have been cured. Only time will tell... The HIV virus may be hiding in other organs and could return months later." The men will have to forgo further testing of their blood and cells for at least a year before the doctors reach any conclusion.
The chief executive of The Foundation of AIDS research, Kevin Frost, said in a statement, "While stem cell transplantation is not a viable option for people with HIV on a broad scale because of its costs and complexity, these new cases could lead us to new approaches to treating and ultimately even eradicating HIV."