Child cured of HIV by a different method

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Mar. 3, 2013 — Dr. Deborah Persaud of Johns Hopkins University today described the first documented case of a child being cured of HIV. The landmark findings were announced at the 2013 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Atlanta, GA.





Dr. Persaud, an amfAR grantee, detailed the case of a two-year-old child in Mississippi diagnosed with HIV at birth and immediately put on antiretroviral therapy. At 18 months, the child ceased taking antiretrovirals and was lost to follow-up. When brought back into care at 23 months, despite being off treatment for five months, the child was found to have an undetectable viral load. A battery of subsequent highly sensitive tests confirmed the absence of HIV.

Confirmation of the cure was made possible by a grant the Foundation awarded to Dr. Persaud and Dr. Katherine Luzuriaga of the University of Massachusetts in September 2012. The grant allowed Drs. Persaud and Luzuriaga to establish a research collaboratory to explore and document possible pediatric HIV cure cases. The collaboratory includes renowned researchers Drs. Stephen Spector and Doug Richman at the University of California, San Diego; Dr. Frank Maldarelli at the National Cancer Institute; and Dr. Tae-Wook Chun at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

"The child's pediatrician in Mississippi was aware of the work we were doing, and quickly notified our team as soon as this young patient's case came to her attention," said Dr. Rowena Johnston, amfAR vice president and director of research. "Because the collaboratory was already in place, the researchers were able to mobilize immediately and perform the tests necessary to determine if this was in fact a case of a child being cured."

According to Dr. Persaud, comprehensive tests have confirmed beyond doubt that both mother and child were HIV positive when the child was born, and today no signs of HIV infection in the child can be detected by the most sensitive means available.

The only other documented case of an HIV cure to date remains that of Timothy Brown, the so-called "Berlin patient." In 2006, while on treatment for HIV, Mr. Brown was diagnosed with leukemia. His physician was able to treat his leukemia with a stem-cell transplant from a person who was born with a genetic mutation causing immunity to HIV infection. Following the transplant, Mr. Brown was able to stop HIV treatment without experiencing a return of his HIV disease.

This new case points to the tantalizing possibility that different populations of HIV-positive people might be cured in different ways. While Mr. Brown's case was the outcome of a complex, high-risk, and expensive series of procedures, this new case appears to have been the direct result of a comparatively inexpensive course of antiretroviral therapy.

"Given that this cure appears to have been achieved by antiretroviral therapy alone," said Dr. Johnston, "it is also imperative that we learn more about a newborn's immune system, how it differs from an adult's, and what factors made it possible for the child to be cured."

The Mississippi case also underscores the importance of identifying HIV-positive pregnant women, expanding access to treatment regimens than can prevent mother-to-child transmission, and of immediately putting infants on antiretroviral therapy in the event that they are born HIV positive.

"We are proud to have played a leading role in bringing this first pediatric HIV cure to light," said amfAR CEO Kevin Robert Frost. "The case is a startling reminder that a cure for HIV could come in ways we never anticipated, and we hope this is the first of many children cured of HIV in the months and years to come."

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I hope that this wasn't just an anomaly and that something testable could come out of this.

Hope that this is indeed a miracle and could change the future.

While an interesting development, it doesn't show a cure so much as a preventive measure that works. The true barrier to a cure for AIDS is finding and eliminating dormant populations of the virus and they didn't manage to show that in this case.

It does present a possible way to prevent newborns from getting the disease though which is significant in itself.

@Moonlapse; , you should know that HIV is not AIDS. :|

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Originally Posted by Locked

@Moonlapse; , you should know that HIV is not AIDS. :|

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Yes but by curing HIV you are also curing aids. Although it's more of a prevention rather than a cure concerning aid's specifically.

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Originally Posted by KhainiWest

Yes but by curing HIV you are also curing aids. Although it's more of a prevention rather than a cure concerning aid's specifically.

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Curing AIDS is on a completely different league than curing HIV. The title is inherently misleading.

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Originally Posted by KhainiWest

Yes but by curing HIV you are also curing aids. Although it's more of a prevention rather than a cure concerning aid's specifically.

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He's right. I committed a biology no-no, and I should have known better. :(


@Locked Ty for the correction. It must be a combination of the blasted pills I'm on and being out of school for 2 years. :f3:

Hi, I'm an idiot.
I always thought HIV and AIDS were the same thing, if not connected with one another.
Can someone explain why this preventative measure won't affect AIDS?

I remember learning about this crap, I just can't remember what I learned.

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Originally Posted by Razmos

Hi, I'm an idiot.
I always thought HIV and AIDS were the same thing, if not connected with one another.
Can someone explain why this preventative measure won't affect AIDS?

I remember learning about this crap, I just can't remember what I learned.

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HIV is the virus, AIDS is the disease. To cure AIDS you not only need to rid the body of all free HIV particles but all the dormant viruses as well. This showed that with aggressive anti-viral therapy they were able to stop HIV from forming those dormant colonies.

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Originally Posted by Razmos

Hi, I'm an idiot.
I always thought HIV and AIDS were the same thing, if not connected with one another.
Can someone explain why this preventative measure won't affect AIDS?

I remember learning about this crap, I just can't remember what I learned.

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HIV is a retrovirus. It converts its RNA into DNA and integrates it into the victim's genome. Like darkstars said, clearing the virus from the body because it would reman integrated with the DNA in the helper T cells, among other things. I thought the article said AIDS but I guess I didnt read it thoroughly enough.

Article seems to suggest that efforts were directed at the detection of HIV particles, which makes me think that nothing on genomic analysis of any sort was carried out.

It's not a bad thing to publicise tbf but when the reason is unclear then there is little additional cause to celebrate. The virologists would now be worrying about suppressing the change from lysogenic to lytic cycle.

Hadriel

Wow, so maybe now my state won't be known for obesity, but for the cure of HIV. I'm so proud of my state right now.