A stem cell transplant has cured a man of HIV, researchers have announced.
The German patient, 53, is only the third person to be cured of the condition using the treatment.
He had not taken anti-retroviral medicine, or suppressants, for four years and has not relapsed.
Similar to the other two patients – one in Berlin and another in London), the man, in Dusseldorf, had the transplant to treat a blood disorder, which in his case was leukaemia, that had developed alongside the HIV infection.
More than 10 years after the transplant and four years after ending his HIV therapy, he is in good health.
“I still remember very well the sentence of my family doctor: ‘Don’t take it so hard. We will experience together that HIV can be cured’,” he said.
“At the time, I dismissed the statement as an alibi. Today, I am all the more proud of my worldwide team of doctors who succeeded in curing me of HIV – and at the same time, of course, of leukaemia.
“On Valentine’s Day this year, I celebrated the 10th anniversary of my bone marrow transplant in a big way. My bone marrow donor was present as a guest of honour.”
Researchers say the virus not returning is the result of thorough scientific and therapeutic preparation and monitoring, adding the study is the longest and most precise diagnostic monitoring of a patient following a stem cell transplantation.
A transplant destroys any unhealthy blood cells and replaces them with healthy ones removed from blood or bone marrow, and due to their high risk, are only carried out within the framework of treating other life-threatening conditions.
The team, which is led by medics at Dusseldorf University Hospital, hope the information they have gained will help more studies into cures for HIV.
