For The First Time Ever, A Man Has Been Officially Cured Of HIV

This post isn't about finding a job in the healthcare industry, but the news was so amazing, I felt that I had to share it with you. According to several recent reports, for the first time ever, a man has been officially cured of HIV. Yes, you read that right. Officially cured. Although the medical treatment he received was risky and could well have killed him, it gives us all a glimmer of hope that an honest to goodness cure might be found within our lifetimes.

I don't need to tell you how devastating the HIV virus is. I am old enough to remember the 80's and early 90's when so many people were dying from this disease. For many years, it was thought to be God's plague sent to eliminate homosexuals, and there was little to no medical research about it. In a very shameful period of our history, before it was officially called HIV, it was called GRID, standing for Gay Related Immune Disorder.

After watching several people I cared about die from the virus, I was hopeful when research found a way to manage the illness through the use of medications. But still, the outlook for finding a cure seemed bleak. But, this new breakthrough opens the door to the possibility that we may be able to get rid of this virus for good.

Timothy Brown was diagnosed with leukemia along with HIV in 2007. And since HIV is considered a manageable disease, the biggest concern for his doctors at Germany's Charite Universitatsmedizin Berlin hospital was the bone cancer. The treatment he received was very aggressive, including chemotherapy that wiped out majority of his immune system.

After the radiation, he underwent a very risky stem-cell transplant that is so dangerous that almost a third of the patients don't survive the treatment. When the doctors chose the stem cell donor, they selected someone who has a very rare genetic mutation that makes him almost invulnerable to HIV. With his immune system wiped out by the chemotherapy, the healthy stem-cell transplant caused his immune system to become charged with the HIV resistant cells.

In the few days following the stem-cell transplant, doctors were optimistic about having destroyed the virus, but weren't willing to say that the virus was gone for good. But now, after not having not taken the HIV antiretroviral drugs since his stem-cell transplant, and after having extensive testing, all of which show no signs of the HIV virus, his doctors have declared him officially cured.

It isn't clear yet what this means for the future treatment of the virus. The procedure that Brown underwent is risky and caused him tremendous amounts of suffering. Not many people would be strong enough to attempt it or be able to afford it. But it does give us all hope just knowing that it can be cured and not just managed with medication. This medical miracle will open up new areas for research and provide clues for researchers to find a viable cure.

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