Stem Cell Transplant Cures HIV In 'Berlin Patient'

By Carly Schwartz 

On the heels of World AIDS Day comes a stunning medical breakthrough:
Doctors believe an HIV-positive man who underwent a stem cell transplant
has been cured as a result of the procedure.

Timothy Ray Brown, also known as the "Berlin Patient," received the transplant
in 2007 as part of a lengthy treatment course for leukemia. His doctors recently
published a report in the journal Blood affirming that the results of extensive
testing "strongly suggest that cure of HIV infection has been achieved."

Brown's case paves a path for constructing a permanent cure for HIV through
genetically-engineered stem cells.

Last week, Time named another AIDS-related discovery to its list of the
Top 10 Medical Breakthroughs of 2010. Recent studies show that healthy
individuals who take antiretrovirals, medicine commonly prescribed for
treating HIV, can reduce their risk of contracting the disease by up to 73 percent.

While these developments by no means prove a cure for the virus has been
found, they can certainly provide hope for the more than 33 million
people living with HIV worldwide. Alongside such findings, global efforts
to combat the epidemic have accelerated as of late, with new initiatives
emerging in the Philippines and South Africa this week.