Two Bone Marrow Transplant Recipients Cured from HIV

Two patients who were previously diagnosed with HIV may have been treated after successful bone marrow transplant, U.S researchers reported earlier this week.

According to Timothy Henrich and Daniel Kuritzkes, physicians and researchers at the Boston Brigham and Women's Hospital confirmed that there were no detectable viruses among two patients considering they have stopped taking anti-retroviral therapies for almost four months.

Henrich said that although the results of the transplant seem to be favorable for the two patients, there have not been any concrete results whether or not they have really been completely cured from HIV.

He further said that yearly check-ups and monitoring is still required to check whether or not the impact of the bone marrow transplant to HIV is not persistent.

Last year, the two patients were diagnosed with HIV in their blood lymphocytes before undergoing transplant and were both on anti-retroviral therapy. Eight months after the transplant, their HIV became undetectable.

After they discontinued their anti-retroviral therapy in Spring, they were still diagnosed with HIV virus in their blood.

"There has been a 1,000 to 10,000 decrease in the size of the HIV reservoir in the patients' systems", Henrich said.

The bone marrow transplant was conducted because both patients were diagnosed with cancer in the blood. Thus, the success of the results is not absolute among all HIV patients.

If in case HIV virus is diagnosed in the two patients in the future, Henrich said that other studies and researchers may also be conducted.