Currently there has been a new discovery that could possibly cure people of the lethal disease AIDS. Medical doctors in Berlin claim that they had cured an American of AIDS by transplanting blood stem cells (bone marrow transplant) of somebody naturally resistant to the virus. The man had been infected with the virus for over ten years and has currently been free of the virus for 20 months.
Many doctors claim that the likelihood of finding someone with the correct tissue match and that is naturally resistant to the HIV virus is rare.
People who are naturally resistant to the HIV virus have a mutation in the CCR5 gene that is called CCR5-delta32. The mutation causes the protein to no longer reside on the outside of the cell surface anymore. In most HIV cases the virus cannot infect cells if there is no CCR5 on the surface of a cell. People with only one copy of the CCR5 makes the progression of the disease much slower. People with two copies of the CCR5 are completely resistant to the virus. People of European descent are more likely to have these mutations. Caucasian people that have both CCR5 mutations make up about 1 percent of the population. Caucasian people that have one mutation of the CCR5 protein make about 20 percent of the population. The mutations of CCR5 protein is not prevalent throughout Asian and African populations.
http://www.thetech.org/genetics/news.php?id=13
Furthermore the procedure is risky. Patients must receive a bone marrow transplant, radiation, and consume many pills with side effects. The chances of dying are high, ranging from 10 to 30 percent.
However, this new procedure may bring light and hope for researchers and victims alike. But what does the reader think? Does it matter becuase the cost of the procedure would cut out HIV positive populations in poorer areas of the world? Is the risky procedure worth the effort?
I don't think cost should matter right now. If there is a potential cure, we have to keep studying and experimenting. Even if it turns out to not be the ideal, it will spur new research and possibly uncover other more efficient treatments.
Thanks for the information!
"Consistency is not a human trait" - Maude, from Harold and Maude
It just so happens that Dr. Gupta from CNN also blogged about this "cure." My conclusions about this procedure are drawn from what he said.
It would be misleading to call this a "cure" for AIDS. A procedure like this would not be able to realistically cure even a tiny fraction of the tens of millions of people worldwide living with AIDS. For example, you note that 1% of Caucasians have the mutant, HIV-resistant gene. But you didn't mention that 0% of Asians and Africans have it- so where are they supposed to get their bone marrow transplants from (this question is especially important considering the African AIDS epidemic)? Besides, it is logistically impossible to provide some thirty million HIV infected people with bone marrow transplants. Only the wealthy would be able to get them. This AIDS cure applies to rich, white people only.
All the same, it is a positive turn of events in the battle against AIDS, because it shows AIDS can be beaten. Now we just need to find more practical solutions.
I should have added that the mutation is only present in Europeans, Eastern Asians, and Island Pacificers ( opps!!!)
however, the articles i have read didn't mention if donors had to have both mutations of the CCR5 proteins.
if the donor only had one mutation of the protein, then it would be more likely to find more donors.
and yes this is in some way a solution to the problem if a wealthy person gets infected; it opens the floodgates of opportunities . However, as you said i can agree with you this is not the whole solution to the problem. the real problem here is poverty.
perhaps researchers will find a way to artificially create mutations within the cells.
and mass produce it for a less cost effective way to prevent HIV?
for now all is hopeful thinking.
There is another possible break through possibility here:
http://www.naturalsolutionsradio.com/articles/article.html?id=23088&filt...
This one would be more universal then exceptional. Its a good thing to talk about since research is getting pushed out of our minds with all the financial snafu thats been going on lately.
Love is like a box of chocolates; if you chose wisely you won’t be disappointed and have to spit it out. ~T
i read the article, it sounds interesting, but i wonder how doctors would be apply or create this souped up T-cells into the body?
thanks for the interesting read!!!
a good read, I have to look into it.
"when you hold a pen, you are at war" Attributed to Voltaire
It makes sense; people who survived the plague are those with the mutation against HIV. Now, their descendants are those with the mutation. In order to be 'cured' of the virus, the donor would need to have both mutations, but it is feasible to see something develop within the next few decades that would place this mutation in those with HIV, in order to cure them of it. That I would see as more feasible than giving people bone marrow transplants.
~C
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Great blog. Very informative. I have a nephew who contracted the virus through a contaminated transfusion at a young age. If there is ever a solid cure I don't think cost or risky procedure would personally matter to his family when compared to life with AIDS. ~angi~
This is one of those things you have to weigh the risks and benefits. If this works and it can be done why not try. This is how research goes. You find something it works you keep tweeking it to make it work better. So I understand not everyone is going to be able to be cured but starting with a few even one. That is one person who can live. One person who won't have to take that gammot of pills a day. What if that person is to be our next president, our next great leader. Would it be worth it then? To me someone from a third world country diserves just as much as someone who is a great leader. Saving a human life would be worth it.
*^*TheycallmeTiff84*^*
Hmmm....electing some one for president who had AIDS... I wonder if that would ever really happen? oe if there would be some prejudice against it?
Love is like a box of chocolates; if you chose wisely you won’t be disappointed and have to spit it out. ~T
interesting thought. people with HIV are not even allowed to travel overseas nor are people with HIV from different countries are allowed to travel to the United States.
this in itself is discrimination, but i understand the reason behind it.
i don't think a person infected with the HIV virus would get elected. there would be so many questions about their past and a risk factor if he or she becomes president.
I do not mean to sound X-ist but I do believe before that happens we would need to elect a woman/ a homosexual/ non-christian leader (random order). Their validity can be argued, with HIV/AIDS question and stigma will be harder to over come, especially since more often then not it is true.
To one step closer
Love is like a box of chocolates; if you chose wisely you won’t be disappointed and have to spit it out. ~T
well we just elected a black man. that is a step in some direction.
but i think even with a women or homosexual in office it would be extremely difficult to get a person with HIV elected to office.
did you know that the CDC actually called AIDS GRID( gay-related immunodeficiency Disorder) first.
I do believe that people whose lives are marred by HIV and AIDS need compassion, and that they are unfairly discriminated against, usually out of fear (Magic Johnson being forced to retire, for example, by players who thought they could contract HIV on the court by playing with him). But a president with AIDS is a liability, and that's not being discriminatory. I would be hesitant to vote for any person who had a chronic disease that had a 0% survival rate. Hopefully a cure for AIDS one day will make this all a moot discussion.
I am glad to have read this blog today even though you posted it about 2 weeks ago :)
thanks for sharing and I am up for cures regardless of the money,
willing to donate money I do not need for school and food so we can slowly lessen the HIV virus.
ALSO, if anyone is interested please click http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaxSoNoHIWg
"The heart's memory eliminates the bad and magnifies the good."
- Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Love in the Time of Cholera
"close your eyes, clear your heart..." http://www.progressiveu.org/012450-old-and-gold-times-change-my-immigran...
ummm.... do you know what is being sung in that video? It was good but it might have been more powerful if I could understand the words
Love is like a box of chocolates; if you chose wisely you won’t be disappointed and have to spit it out. ~T
"A person doesn't die when he should but when he can."
- Gabriel Garcia Marquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude
"close your eyes, clear your heart..." Akhri Alvida--Last Goodbye<