What Is HIV?
HIV, which is short for Human Immunodeficiency Virus, is a virus whose primary function is to attack the cells in the body that fight against diseases and viruses. Ultimately, not only will you be more vulnerable to other diseases and sicknesses, it will be much harder for the body to fight them off. Therefore, this disease is very serious, and if had needs to be treated as soon as possible. That way, the cells in the body are not destroyed because of the virus. However, it is a very difficult process, and a 100% effective “cure” has not yet been tried many times, due to the complicated process.
Currently, Is There Medicine To Help Despite There Being No Cure?
Currently, there is no known cure. However, there are medicines, that when taken, will certainly help reduce it. It will reduce it enough that way people will still be able to enjoy life despite having this virus. “Luckily, however, effective treatment with HIV medicine (called antiretroviral therapy or ART) is available. If taken as prescribed, HIV medicine can reduce the amount of HIV in the blood,” according to HIV.gov. Therefore, even though there is no 100% effective cure, there are remedies available to help with HIV.
Is The Cure Closer Than Ever Before?
Over the past years, there have been four people that have been completely cured of HIV. Although that is a low number of people, certainly using the method that saved their lives can save many more lives. This treatment, which has been given to the past four people, is still being fully researched before it becomes a go-to solution. Making sure this cure is 100% effective is the goal. People receiving this cure, in short, are being given “stem cell” treatment.
What Is This Stem Cell Treatment? What Does It Entail?
This stem cell treatment is one that is incredibly dangerous, and very risky. It is typically for those that have no other options left. “A stem cell transplant is a high-risk procedure that effectively replaces a person’s immune system. The primary goal is to cure someone’s cancer, but the procedure has also led to an HIV cure in a handful of cases,” according to ABC News. Therefore, trying to help with cancer treatment, HIV has clearly been cured within these four cases. A fifth case where HIV has been cured has arisen, as medical treatments get better and better as days go by.
Who Is The 5th Patient That Got Cured of HIV?
This fifth patient has been battling with HIV for a very long period of time, almost 15 years. “The Düsseldorf patient first tested positive for HIV in 2008. Six months into starting treatment, he was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML),” according to Newsweek. Battling both HIV and Cancer at the same time is very difficult and certainly very tiring for the patient. Therefore, the doctors decided they had to do the riskiest treatment, which in this case is stem cell treatment.
The mortality rate of this treatment is very low, but it still has to be done. “The transplanted bone marrow contains healthy stem cells that are able to develop into different blood cell types and thus restore a healthy cell population in the patient’s blood,” according to Newsweek.
As aforementioned in the quote above, this treatment was given to the fifth patient, and ultimately, cured his HIV.
The Future of Medicine
As there are many people suffering from HIV, there is a hope that in the near future, a consistent cure can be found for just HIV. However, for those that are battling cancer and HIV at the same time, there is a cure that is disposable. Despite it being a very risky treatment option, it has to be done in order to live a long, and prosperous life.
Written by David Loran Jr
Sources:
Newsweek: Another Person Appears To Have Been Cured of HIV After Stem Cell Transplant
ABC News: 5th person confirmed to be cured of HIV
HIV.gov: What is HIV?
Featured and Top Image Courtesy of Ryan Somma‘s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inset Image Courtesy of Axelle Geelen’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
