Stem Cell Transplant Cures HIV In 'Berlin Patient' 12/14/10

[Shadows]

On the heels of World AIDS Day comes a stunning medical breakthrough: Doctors believe an HIV-positive man who underwent a stem cell transplant has been cured as a result of the procedure.

Timothy Ray Brown, also known as the "Berlin Patient," received the transplant in 2007 as part of a lengthy treatment course for leukemia. His doctors recently published a report in the journal Blood affirming that the results of extensive testing "strongly suggest that cure of HIV infection has been achieved."

Brown's case paves a path for constructing a permanent cure for HIV through genetically-engineered stem cells.

Last week, Time named another AIDS-related discovery to its list of the Top 10 Medical Breakthroughs of 2010. Recent studies show that healthy individuals who take antiretrovirals, medicine commonly prescribed for treating HIV, can reduce their risk of contracting the disease by up to 73 percent.

While these developments by no means prove a cure for the virus has been found, they can certainly provide hope for the more than 33 million people living with HIV worldwide. Alongside such findings, global efforts to combat the epidemic have accelerated as of late, with new initiatives emerging in the Philippines and South Africa this week.

Stem Cell Transplant Cures HIV In 'Berlin Patient'

 

[Pittsey]

lol

So if I take medicine for HIV, I can reduce my chances of getting HIV by 73%. The HIV medicine that is mega expensive. Yeah, I can see that working out. I'll stick with condoms.

 

[Chronic]

lol

So if I take medicine for HIV, I can reduce my chances of getting HIV by 73%. The HIV medicine that is mega expensive. Yeah, I can see that working out. I'll stick with condoms.

Just wait until the 2.0 version has been out for a while and you'll get the upgrade at a cheaper price.

 

[Flipmo]

It's okay, just wait for Honeycomb 3.0, it will solve all this HIV fiasco.

 

[Prize Gotti]

I read something a while back about some guys HIV being cured by a bone marrow transplant.

 

[dilla]

Or you could just not fuck people with AIDS. Or use someone else's syringes. This coonshit started probably started because people couldn't stop with the monkey sex. Let's cut that out too.

 

[Pittsey]

Anal sex is another no, no. The anal wall is not strong enough to withstand that kind of stress. Leads to bleeds.

 

[Prize Gotti]

Anal sex is another no, no. The anal wall is not strong enough to withstand that kind of stress. Leads to bleeds.

Don't worry baby, ill use more lube in future.

 

[Casey]

You gotta admit, this is a big deal. I wish all the stupid conversative christian morons that oppose stem cell research would shut the fuck up. I doubt they will though, it doesn't fit their collective characters.

I really hope that we'll see many more medical breakthroughs like this within the next few decades. More effective treatments for cancers, etc.

I believe that the power of the connected world through the internet has put us on the brink of a information and scientific renaissance that stands to make the human race evolve even more so than the industrial revolution did. On a side note, the death of religion is an almost inevitable result of this same renaissance, so ya know... there is hope for mankind if we don't blow ourselves up and shit.

 

[Shadows]

Does anyone know if this has a direct relationship with those BILLIONS of dollars Bill Gates gave to AIDS research?

You guys are also neglecting the idea that a lot of HIV has been contracted without anal, or even sex, with needles.

 

[dilla]

Does anyone know if this has a direct relationship with those BILLIONS of dollars Bill Gates gave to AIDS research?

You guys are also neglecting the idea that a lot of HIV has been contracted without anal, or even sex, with needles.

I can't be fucked to find all the ways in which one can contract AIDS, but common ways are sharing syringes, sex (basically exchanging of body fluid, save for saliva), and being born to a mother with AIDS. Or maybe the last one is herpes, because that is true as well.

But how else do you get AIDS?

 

[Pittsey]

You guys are also neglecting the idea that a lot of HIV has been contracted without anal, or even sex, with needles.

Depends on the country.

Worldwide... Most HIV infections are spread through unprotected sexual contact. Usually between heterosexuals.

The risk of HIV in Britain is pretty low if you are a native, straight and don't share needles. I come from a shit hole originally. I know a lot of drug users. Yet I know no-one who is openly HIV, nor of any rumours of such. I'd imagine that it would be a subject that would spread quickly.

I can't be fucked to find all the ways in which one can contract AIDS, but common ways are sharing syringes, sex (basically exchanging of body fluid, save for saliva), and being born to a mother with AIDS. Or maybe the last one is herpes, because that is true as well.

But how else do you get AIDS?

Blood transfusion.

 

[Casey]

Blood transfusion.

It's these tales that break my heart the most. Thankfully this happens much less these days due to more thorough tests of blood donors. I always remember the story of Ryan White, the teenager in the 80's who contracted AIDS through a blood transfusion he needed due to being a hemophiliac.

He wasn't allowed to return to school for a long time (he was literally expelled for being HIV positive), there were all sorts of untrue rumors that he was gay and had been having unprotected sex and what not, but he was just a kid, he was only 13 when he was diagnosed. AIDS wasn't well understood at the time so a lot of people were very ignorant about it, but his life was made a living hell by people, as if he didn't already have enough to deal with.

He ended up being one of the most public figures in the fight against AIDS due to fighting a legal battle against the school and the media coverage, and he spread a great deal of awareness about it, did national ad campaigns for AIDS research and appeared on many shows.

He eventually died at the age of 18 and compared to public perception of AIDS when he was first diagnosed, he really helped the public realize the truth and shake the stigma of AIDS just being some dirty gay sex related disease. It's just heartbreaking though because it wasn't even anything he did that caused him to get it.

To this day, there's an act of US government named after him that provides care for AIDS patients. Obama just renewed it recently.

 

[Tha_Wood]

as a born again christian i am opposed to this.

 

[dilla]

This thread was created to to bash Christians, not appreciate the hard work of the scientists.

Fact.

 

[raywaters11]

Our Lord works in mysterious ways..