Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) causing AIDS has been declared a global epidemic for a long time. It has been more than 30 years that the HIV/AIDS is out and we still don’t have any cure for it. While the number of patients affected with the disease has gone to millions, there is still no solution which can kill HIV.
However, there are a lot of breakthroughs in the field to finding a cure for HIV/AIDS during the half of the 2019 year passed. If the researches are continued at the same pace, there are high chances we might find a permanent solution soon. By the end of the year 2019, a possible cure for HIV/AIDS might be out in the research.
Second Patient to get Treated of HIV/AID
HIV/AIDS remission through stem cell transplant of CCR5 Genes known to resist HIV is done through stem cell transplant. It has been done before, and now the second patient showed remission. He was reportedly diagnosed with HIV positive in 2003 and took antiretroviral medications. Along with that, he was also diagnosed with advanced Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and he received chemotherapy.
Starstruck! With ‘The Berlin Patient’ Timothy Brown — the first patient cured of HIV. The second cure was “The London Patient” announced earlier this year. Fingers crossed on #HIVcure efforts that can be rolled out on an international scale #hivcure2019 #ias2019 pic.twitter.com/CYNH5yKHEx
— Louie Gangcuangco, MD, MSc (@GangcuangcoL) July 20, 2019
https://twitter.com/portmantoast/status/1149065493388488704
Later went through stem cell transplant with CCR5 Gene mutated donor and showed results similar to Timothy Ray Brown. He was the first person considered to be cured of HIV after stem cell transplant. At the time of study’s publication, the patient was off art drug for 18 months. Still, he sustained remission so was considered to be cured of HIV. This is in the hope that the same thing works for HIV/AIDS, and a cure is soon possible.
HIV Vaccines to have Human Trials
HIV vaccine entered the clinical trial phase, and the results will be out by the end of the 2019 year. Researchers from Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and the University of Nebraska Medical Center confirmed the vaccine they developed successfully killed HIV in a humanized model of mice. Johnson & Johnson also confirmed that an HIV vaccine they have been developing for decades is finally entering human clinical trials before 2019 ends.
Its results are anticipated to be released by 2023. Chinese researchers announced their HIV vaccine is entering the second phase of human testing within the year. The 2019 global update from the UNAIDS confirmed almost 38 million people are living with HIV worldwide, and 53 percent of the patients have successfully suppressed the virus through therapies. If the trials have a successful output, we might soon have a permanent vaccine that can cure HIV/AIDS for good.
