BREAKTHROUGH: First HIV-Positive Man Cured - Stem Cell Transplant Cures HIV In 'Berlin Patient'

[kpete]

Source: Huffington Post

BREAKTHROUGH: First HIV-Positive Man Cured
Stem Cell Transplant Cures HIV In 'Berlin Patient'

The Huffington Post | Carly Schwartz First Posted: 12-14-10 01:04 PM | Updated: 12-14-10 02:00 PM


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."

While Brown is the first person to ever be declared cured of HIV, his case paves a path for constructing a 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.

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/14/hiv-cure-berlin-patient_n_796521.html

---

another link:
http://www.khq.com/Global/story.asp?S=13671200

[Taverner]

1. HOLY FUCKING SHIT!!!!! THIS IS A BIG FUCKING DEAL!!!!!

Finally, some good news...

[eyepaddle]

47. If anything, I'd say your post is too understated. nt

:)

[Taverner]

52. Hey I spent 2.5 Years in Thailand fighting that viral demon

I saw lots of people, all up and down the spectrum, all dying or starting to die

Enough of THAT shit!

:hug:

[eyepaddle]

53. I'm with you.

I think we are on the same wavelencth, but I meant my post in all sincerity--I think this is news which cannot be overhyped.

Let's hope this is something they can really run with and have it become a widely (unviersally) available and effective cure.

[Name removed]

76. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[eyepaddle]

121. Wow, was somebody upset about my typos?

(I have a few splits on my fingertips from the cold dry air, so typing is a bit painful--and even under ideal circumstances I'm not that good at it.)

If that isn't it--let me just clarify once and for all--I am in NO WAY at all snarking on Taverner's post--I think the magnitude of this news cannot be overstated. The small caveat at the end is only because I haven't read the study and I am hoping that the patient wasn't just some genetic superhuman and that this cure will be something that the average patient can benefit from.

[axollot]

90. It's too many years late for my friend but I'm glad we may finally see an end

to this vicious nasty disease.
Cheers
Sandy

[cleanhippie]

2. Wow! At least the fundies cannot say HIV is gawds punishment for being gay anymore.

Did I mention I hate bigoted fundies?

[Taverner]

3. I would so love to give all fundies HIV and ask them how they feel about stem cells now

[brendan120678]

5. I don't think it was embryonic stem cells that were used...

for this research.

[Taverner]

7. Aren't fundies against all stem cells?

Whether embryonic or not?

[brendan120678]

9. No, just embryonic AFAIK...

because that involves fertilizing an egg with sperm (and therefore, in their opinion, creating a new human person).

[Taverner]

16. Oh but you're using LOGIC, and they know that logic is the work of the devil

And no that's not a joke church sign, its the real deal

[Lucky Luciano]

45. The First Church of Stupid. I am stunned, but only slightly..

[Ishoutandscream2]

77. Oh, man

:crazy: :wtf:

[tavalon]

120. Fuck, that is awful

And a very solid reminder as I come up on my thirty year anniversary of leaving the southern baptist church of why I left. Not the only reason, but certainly an important reason.

[paulkienitz]

23. yet I never hear of them objecting to in-vitro fertilization...?

Maybe they do, but I haven't heard it. It seems like creating unnatural chimaera embryos is okay if it results in somebody being pregnant.

Meanwhile, my girlfriend has a theory that the only reason researchers are pursuing embryonic stem cells at all is because you can't patent treatments using the patient's own adult stem cells, which are probably closer to producing useful treatments.

[immoderate]

29. They do object. It's a no-no. Like any other sex outside marriage.

But the rezultz iz belongz to themz!

--imm

[valerief]

35. Except when they NEEEEEEED their OWN children. Even though their god said no. nt

[immoderate]

64. Same place they get their abortions.

Back door.

--imm

[shimmergal]

128. Where's the sex in it?

I understand that egg extraction is painful. And in-vitro fertilization (without other factors) is largely employed by married couples anyway, isn't it?

[immoderate]

130. Sex is between one sperm and one egg.

I refuse to draw dirty pictures.

--imm

[boppers]

83. Well, you can patent treatments using adult stem cells, so that theory's wrong.

http://www.stemcellpatents.com/patents.php <--Multipotent, and Pleuripotent (adult) and Totipotent (embryonic) patents galore.

Where the confusion usually lies is the frequently made error that "living organisms cannot be patented". This is only partially true. You cannot patent a naturally occurring organism, but you *can* patent the technique for taking something naturally occurring, and turning it into something novel. This how pharmaceutical companies make big money off of naturally occurring substances... they aren't patenting the substance, they're patenting the method.

[cleanhippie]

15. Doesn't matter. They do not know the difference and oppose them all.

They lead with their ignorance.

[cleanhippie]

14. Perfect!

[DeadEyeDyck]

99. the report said adult stem cells

and I don't think anyone has a problem with adult stem cells. It was the stem cells from fetuses that had them all worked up.

[xxqqqzme]

43. Funny thing about science -

Following the rabid religious rong, their God also makes possible the persons who do the research and develop the 'cures' for these diseases inflicted by their God.

[cleanhippie]

126. Why does that make science funny?

I see that it just makes religion more hypocritical.

[Creative]

82. But this will not phase the Jihadist fundies.

[wordpix]

104. no, they'll be saying this is more evidence for the animal-human hybrid

:applause:

[suffragette]

4. Wonderful news

Hearty K&R

[EmeraldCityGrl]

6. Absolutely amazing!

Stem cells are going to be the answer to so many diseases. The pharmaceutical and medical community are

are not very enthusiastic about stem cell procedures. Many medical procedures, treatments and drugs are going to become

obsolete.

[jsamuel]

8. good news, but old news, heard this a long while ago

note that they had to replace his bone marrow due to cancer and the HIV cure was an accident

This is not a procedure that most people would be able to go through. I don't think they entirely understand why it cured his infection.

[redirish28]

10. I think we just found a gold lining in that very dark cloud.

:applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause:

[La Lioness Priyanka]

11. omg. i hope this is not just a random error

[struggle4progress]

12. A Doctor, a Mutation and a Potential Cure for AIDS (2008)

... The breakthrough appears to be that Dr. Hütter, a soft-spoken hematologist who isn't an AIDS specialist, deliberately replaced the patient's bone marrow cells with those from a donor who has a naturally occurring genetic mutation that renders his cells immune to almost all strains of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS ... http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122602394113507555.html

Evidence for the cure of HIV infection by CCR5{Delta}32/{Delta}32 stem cell transplantation
Submitted September 23, 2010
accepted December 2, 2010
Kristina Allers, Gero Hütter, Jörg Hofmann, Christoph Loddenkemper, Kathrin Rieger, Eckhard Thiel and Thomas Schneider
... we found evidence for the replacement of long-lived host tissue cells with donor-derived cells indicating that the size of the viral reservoir has been reduced over time ...
http://bloodjournal.hematologylibrary.org/cgi/content/abstract/blood-2010-09-309591v1

[xxqqqzme]

44. '...naturally occurring genetic mutation...'

evolution?

"...naturally occurring genetic mutation...". I find a kind of tranquility in those four words.

This is wonderful news. May the quilt never have a new piece added to it

[Alcibiades]

112. This is evolution

evolution in progress. Apparently, this genetic mutation exists in as many people as it does in northern Europe because it has a protective effect against some disease--they used to think it was bubonic plague, but it may be smallpox. PBS did a show on this some years ago. Here's a link with more info.

http://www.wired.com/medtech/health/news/2005/01/66198

[kestrel91316]

13. WOW. Now on to curing ALL the afflicted and protecting ALL their contacts with

antiretrovirals.

I know that's a tall order, but the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

[BobTheSubgenius]

116. I agree.

It IS a huge undertaking...but how many people could be 'immunized' for the cost of treating one AIDS patient for what is now many, many years. I'm very happy that the prognosis is now those many, many years for perhaps most AIDS patients, but better to prevent 1000 than treat one.

[siligut]

17. Stem cells sure appear to offer hope in so many diseases

And now that researchers are able to obtain them from sources other than embryonic, hopefully there won't be a limit in their use.

[closeupready]

18. Wow - that is excellent news!

:woohoo:

[Joanne98]

19. The fundies are going to hate this!

:toast:

[iandhr]

20. This is extremely good news

[indimuse]

21. WOW! knr!! nt

[pinto]

22. Abstract from Blood (American Society of Hematology) -

The viral reservoir is a key to an effective cure. That's the source (latent HIV) for HIV rebound and replication if an anti-retroviral therapy ceases to be effective. While it remains to be seen if the researchers' claim of a "cure" holds, based on one patient in the study, this seems a big step along the way. Thanks for the snag. :thumbsup: :thumbsup: ~ pinto

Abstract

HIV entry into CD4+ cells requires interaction with a cellular receptor, generally either CCR5 or CXCR4. We have previously reported the case of an HIV-infected patient in whom viral replication remained absent despite discontinuation of antiretroviral therapy after transplantation with CCR5{Delta}32/{Delta}32 stem cells.

However, it was expected that the long-lived viral reservoir would lead to HIV rebound and disease progression during the process of immune reconstitution.

In the present study, we demonstrate successful reconstitution of CD4+ T cells at the systemic level as well as in the gut mucosal immune system following CCR5{Delta}32/{Delta}32 stem cell transplantation, while the patient remains without any sign of HIV infection. This was observed although recovered CD4+ T cells contain a high proportion of activated memory CD4+ T cells, i.e. the preferential targets of HIV, and are susceptible to productive infection with CXCR4-tropic HIV.

Furthermore, during the process of immune reconstitution, we found evidence for the replacement of long-lived host tissue cells with donor-derived cells indicating that the size of the viral reservoir has been reduced over time. In conclusion, our results strongly suggest that cure of HIV has been achieved in this patient.

Evidence for the cure of HIV infection by CCR5{Delta}32/{Delta}32 stem cell transplantation
Kristina Allers1, Gero Hütter2, Jörg Hofmann3, Christoph Loddenkemper4,


1 Department of Gastroenterology, Infectious Diseases, and Rheumatology, Medical Clinic I, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Charite - University Medicine Berlin, Germany;
2 Department of Hematology, Oncology, and Transfusion Medicine, Medical Clinic III, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Charite - University Medicine Berlin, Germany;
3 Institute of Medical Virology, Helmut-Ruska-Haus, Campus Mitte, Charite - University Medicine Berlin, Germany;
4 Institute of Pathology/Research Center ImmunoSciences (RCIS), Campus Benjamin Franklin, Charite - University Medicine Berlin, Germany

Copyright © 2010 by American Society of Hematology

[Uncle Joe]

24. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, kpete.:thumbsup:

[Odin2005]

25. HOLY CRAP!!!

[Luciferous]

26. That's great!

[nolabear]

27. This may be the single best news I've ever heard.

And the implications go far beyond HIV as well. Hooray!!

[tomg]

28. That is just such good

and hopeful news.

[florida08]

30. this must be wrong

From a country with universal health care? after all we have the best health care in the world..



I don't need that thing do I..

This is fandamntastic! Stem cell came from a special donor

Timothy Ray Brown, an HIV-positive American living in Germany, had leukemia and was undergoing chemotherapy, when he received a transplant of stem cells from a donor carrying a rare, inherited gene mutation associated with a reduced risk HIV.

The transplant appeared to wipe out both diseases, giving hope to doctors. Brown’s case was published in a February 2009 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

[laughingliberal]

36. The Western European mutation that protects people from contracting HIV has long been of interest...

to me. The carriers of this mutation seem to be descendants of those who survived the Black Plague despite massive exposure to those who had the disease.

[JackBeck]

40. CCR5 chemokine receptor.

One of the most recent drugs approved to treat HIV, Senzentry (get it...cell...entry), is a CCR5 receptor blocker. But your HIV must use the CCR5 chemokine receptor in order to use this drug, Some people have HIV that uses the CXCR4 chemokine receptor to enter the CD4 cell.

And you are absolutely correct when you mention that people who are descendants of the Black Plaque lack the CCR5 receptor, which is how their ancestors were able to survive.

[pinto]

81. Interesting developments Jack, no? Good to see.

:thumbsup:

[JackBeck]

89. Huge and exciting breakthrough.

Very encouraging, and while I would hold off declaring this a cure for everyone, it will definitely offer lots of critical insight into developing other medications. It's reminding me of the mid-90's when PI's were developed and HAART began.

:pals:

[florida08]

57. no kidding?

I had no idea..but that's interesting as hell..thanks

[enlightenment]

97. Entirely possible that in this country, the doctor would not

have been able to do the procedure because the patient's insurance coverage probably wouldn't cover a stem cell transplant (especially since he was HIV positive).

[florida08]

31. K&R for real medicine

:applause: :kick:

[katty]

32. this is INCREDIBLE!! great news!

[Blasphemer]

33. Amazing!

That is absolutely world-changing. I hope through continued stem-cell research, more cures for diseases are discovered.

[dave29]

34. WOAH.

!!

[rug]

37. It's been a long thirty years.

I hope this treatment holds.

[K8-EEE]

38. But....but...Germany has DEATH PANEL SOCIALIST HEALTH CARE!

How can they be curing "incurable" diseases over there?

[SocialistLez]

79. Ha. It's amazing what you can do when greed isn't your motivation. NT

[NorthCarolina]

96. +1,000,000

:applause:

[K8-EEE]

131. Yeah but

Our system has developed way more options on the brave fight against ugly yellow toenail fungus (UYTF) and restless legs syndrome (RLS.)

USA! USA!

[mb7588a]

39. Nothing to see here. Defund stem cell research. Move on. NT.

[and-justice-for-all]

41. Kick kick kick....nt

[cate94]

42. Great news!

Thanks for posting.

[forty6]

46. GREAT! So now, let's get all victims cured!

If THIS is really true, science conquers another illness. We should see millions of victims of this terrible illness cured within 2 years.

Let's get this disease reduced to victimize almost no-one like Polio and all the other deadly ones.

What is stopping us? Oh wait, it costs money! Damn! And the rich deserve to be rich, and the Christians deserve to be in judgement over these people who were infected. So we will wait another 10 years before a real treatment program comes about. Meanwhile, millions will die. So EFFn sad how we humans don't use our resources for good purposes!

[Recursion]

60. It requires a compatible donor with a specific, rare mutation

Which occurs in about 1% of Caucasians and 0% of people of African descent.

But, it's a start.

[MikeW]

71. not so fast

It takes (1) a brutal procedure to destroy the patients bone marrow

and (2) you need a compatible donor WITH the right gene mutation

so the likelihood that you'll cure millions with this procedure is pretty slim.

[Dogmudgeon]

80. Still, if the key is cellular chemokine dynamics ...

... the path is now open to a new chemotherapy that is much more effective.

It also offers the possibility to cure hundreds of other, non-HIV infections, as well as several classes of inherited disorders.

--d!

[kpete]

48. THE STUDY REPORT

HERE: http://bloodjournal.hematologylibrary.org/cgi/content/abstract/blood-2010-09-309591v1

Submitted September 23, 2010; accepted December 2, 2010.

Evidence for the cure of HIV infection by CCR5{Delta}32/{Delta}32 stem cell transplantation
Kristina Allers1,*, Gero Hütter2, Jörg Hofmann3, Christoph Loddenkemper4, Kathrin Rieger2, Eckhard Thiel2 and Thomas Schneider1

1 Department of Gastroenterology, Infectious Diseases, and Rheumatology, Medical Clinic I, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Charite - University Medicine Berlin, Germany; 2 Department of Hematology, Oncology, and Transfusion Medicine, Medical Clinic III, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Charite - University Medicine Berlin, Germany; 3 Institute of Medical Virology, Helmut-Ruska-Haus, Campus Mitte, Charite - University Medicine Berlin, Germany; 4 Institute of Pathology/Research Center ImmunoSciences (RCIS), Campus Benjamin Franklin, Charite - University Medicine Berlin, Germany

* Corresponding author; email: [e-mail]

Abstract

HIV entry into CD4+ cells requires interaction with a cellular receptor, generally either CCR5 or CXCR4. We have previously reported the case of an HIV-infected patient in whom viral replication remained absent despite discontinuation of antiretroviral therapy after transplantation with CCR5{Delta}32/{Delta}32 stem cells. However, it was expected that the long-lived viral reservoir would lead to HIV rebound and disease progression during the process of immune reconstitution. In the present study, we demonstrate successful reconstitution of CD4+ T cells at the systemic level as well as in the gut mucosal immune system following CCR5{Delta}32/{Delta}32 stem cell transplantation, while the patient remains without any sign of HIV infection. This was observed although recovered CD4+ T cells contain a high proportion of activated memory CD4+ T cells, i.e. the preferential targets of HIV, and are susceptible to productive infection with CXCR4-tropic HIV. Furthermore, during the process of immune reconstitution, we found evidence for the replacement of long-lived host tissue cells with donor-derived cells indicating that the size of the viral reservoir has been reduced over time. In conclusion, our results strongly suggest that cure of HIV has been achieved in this patient.

[mstinamotorcity]

67. I tell you one thing

if you can read around here you sure can learn a lot of facts. Thanks KPETE!!! You know this one took me a minute.lol. I am glad to see the work progressing for a real cure. And I hope they can work fast so we don't need to lose anyone else to this disease.

[LanternWaste]

49. I hope this is the breakthrough that acts as the catalyst for an actual cure....

I certainly hope this is THE breakthrough that acts as the catalyst for an actual cure.

I've allowed my hopes to rise in the past, only to have reality weigh them back down-- keeping my fingers crossed...!

[foxfeet]

50. K&R

Waiting with bated breath to see if this holds up. Great news in any event.

[John Kerry VonErich]

51. Don't put the cart before the horse. Let time tell.

I give 5 years at the most before I believe that, otherwise it's in remission.

[bitchkitty]

54. Oh my God!

You've no idea how this makes me feel. I've lost so many friends and loved ones to AIDS. I'm ecstatic but so sad at the same time. Too late for Billy! :(

[WolverineDG]

55. May this truly be the cure to this horrific disease nt

[me b zola]

56. Recommended!!

:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[Love Bug]

58. Crossing my fingers that this turns out to be true for more than him...

[Recursion]

59. "Very little practical application", unfortunately (yet)

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2010/12/14/doctors-claim-hiv-positive-man-cured-stem-cell-transplant/

(Yes, it's Fox; that's the longest article out there right now.)

It requires a compatible donor with a specific genetic mutation.

Still, it's a start.

[Xenotime]

61. Too little too late.

We have lost three family members to HIV. Oh well.

[no limit]

68. I'm so sorry to hear that. Hopefully they can stop others from dying

[shawn703]

62. How long will for-profit insurance companies consider this treatment "experimental"?

My bet is that it will be for a long, long time. Some diseases, among them HIV and cancer, are more profitable if they aren't curable.

[HopeHoops]

63. Hmm. Right wing spin: "Gay dude deserved AIDS and GOD doesn't want stem cells to be used."

Dead babies and all, you know the line.

It sounds like they actually used an existing stem cell line but I'm sure the right wing spin machine is already running at full steam. This is perhaps the most profound medical breakthrough in history but the GOP will fight any and all efforts to let it become available in the US. People will be traveling to Europe or damn near every non-US country in the world to get the treatment because GOD doesn't want stem cells used for such things.

Sorry to throw water on the fire. I'm actually blown away with excitement over this discovery. Unfortunately, I know where the right wing rhetoric is going to go.

[Auggie]

65. What a breakthrough! First HIV, next...?

[XanaDUer]

66. Let's hope cancer

I've lost too many friends and loved ones to that scourge already. Good news on this breakthrough.

[MikeW]

69. people need to read the article in detail ... the title is way misleading

[stray cat]

86. Not a miracle cure nor would I encourage people to try to get Leukemia!

[Occulus]

95. Yes it is, and you don't have to.

The fact that we've apparently found a cure for a virus is miracle enough. The fact that it's HIV is a huge bonus. Furthermore, the fact that he was being treated for leukemia is incidental to the fact that the procedure he underwent cured his HIV infection.

In fact.... it's a medical miracle all the way around the table.

[MikeW]

110. except you need a bone marrow donor which is like finding a needle in a haystack

[Hosnon]

127. I think you're missing the major point here. Prior to this, HIV had NEVER been cured.

Now, it appears that it has.

Going from impossible to possible (however remote) is a HUGE leap. And I trust that medical science will build from this.

[InvisibleTouch]

70. I wonder if he has to take immunosuppressive drugs...

...for the rest of his life, like organ-transplant recipients? Or are stem cells undifferentiated enough that the body doesn't attack them as foreign?

[quakerboy]

94. good question

On edit, from what I was reading, it used phrases like "reestablished immune system" which seem to imply that he has a new immune system that hopefully is mostly in harmony with his body. But I could be misreading it all

[NYMdaveNYI]

72. So, we’ve cured it? nt

[fascisthunter]

73. awesome

[Politicub]

74. Wow - I gasped when I read this

Real science and research are important.

Imagine if a cure is found!!!

[DesertFlower]

75. OMG. this is wonderful news.

i've known so many people who died of AIDS.

[emilyg]

78. Great news.

[Creative]

84. Cool...

Next, a cure for cancer...?

[Forkboy]

85. Please let this be real.

[Colobo]

87. This would be the news of the century... let's hope it is true!

[Quixote1818]

88. I guess the Fundy's will have to come up with another reason God hates gays

I mean why would God allow a cure for a disease he started to kill all the gays?

The sad thing is I know a LOT of people who think this way.

[The Hitman]

91. As Peter Griffin said

"WHY ARE WE NOT FUNDING THIS!?!"

[DesertDiamond]

92. People have already done this with detoxification and nutrition, but there's no patent for that.

[blondeatlast]

93. Wonderful. stem cells offer so many of us hope (I'm a lifetime insulin dependent diabetic).

This is absolutely, totally, incredibly astonishingly, thrillingly awesome news!

[Little Star]

98. Holy Moley! Great news! n/t

[lonestarnot]

100. Wooooooodamnwhooo! Almost sounds too good to be true!

:scared:

[JerseygirlCT]

101. Wish I could recommend several times

What amazing, wonderful, news!

[SalmonChantedEvening]

102. Tears of Joy.

[AnnieBW]

103. Cautiously optimistic

Okay, I'm cautiously optimistic about this. Let's see what happens with other patients. If so, this could be a HUGE FUCKING DEAL for both AIDS and stem cell research.

[riderinthestorm]

105. Another joyful K & R!! nt

[McCamy Taylor]

106. Some math. 600,000 people times minimum cost $100,000 bone marrow tranplantation

equals 60 billion dollars. Could be as much as 4 times this amount or $240 billion dollars

Retroviral therapy minimum cost per person per year $10,000 times 225,000,000 adult Americans who will no longer need to buy condoms because they can take retrovirals instead equals $2.25 trillion dollars a year. This is to prevent 75% of HIV cases. Note that 25% of Americans will catch HIV anyway and therefore will bounce back to the first group, meaning that 10s of thousands to 100s of thousands of us will need bone marrow transplants annually. Estimated annual cost to the US----$2.5 trillion dollars.

Current health care expenditures in the United States per year equals $2.3 trillion in 2008.

New estimated annual health care expenditures in the US equals $5 trillion.

Whoopee! Medical science is going to allow us to double our health care expenditures overnight.

As we say in America, "Who needs an ounce of prevention when we can get a ton of cure?"

[Dappleganger]

107. OMG!!

This is wonderful news!!! Oh please oh please let cancer be next on the list of cures!!!

:bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :party: :party:

[myrna minx]

108. K&R n/t

[derby378]

109. YYYYEEEAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!

:applause::applause::applause:

[David Zephyr]

111. Pat Robertson never healed anyone. Science, doctors and medicine do.

Wonderful news.

Like so many millions of others, this is joyous news that we have longed to hear.

[complain jane]

113. Bittersweet

as I'm sure it is for so many. Wonderful, awesome, great news- but I, like probably just about everyone, wishes this could have happened in time to have saved a loved one of my own who died of HIV complications.

[caseymoz]

114. Hope it turns out to be true.

If it is, it reaches a couple of milestones. It's world-changing.

[HEyHEY]

115. Why can't I find this anywhere besides huffington post? No BBC, or anything

[AllyCat]

117. No wonder the Fundies don't want stem cell research.

I am celebrating on my end however.

[PuffedMica]

118. K&R

[tavalon]

119. That is so fucking awesome, I'm damn near speechless

I've always hated this disease in a way I don't hate other diseases. I think it's because it strikes through something that should be life giving and life affirming and just joyful - sex. And it murders even as it stigmatizes.

[Deep13]

122. I think we need to test it on more than one guy to draw any conclusions. nt

[raccoon]

123. Some GOOD NEWS here! rec'd. nt

[davidwparker]

124. Way to go Berlin !!!!

We had a set back in the USA. We call it the Bush years.

[Omaha Steve]

125. K&R!

[VeryConfused]

129. Very good news

of course if bush hadn't banned stem cell research in this Country the cure would probably been quicker and in this country.

[AlbertCat]

132. if bush hadn't banned stem cell research in this Country

Yeah.... what about all those poor frozen fetuses? (that were gonna be destroyed anyway)

Religion as it is in this day and age is just plain counterproductive and wrong.

[VeryConfused]

133. Religion isn't the problem

it's so many of the people practicing their religion that is the problem.

[Nothing Without Hope]

134. LINK: An earlier CNN report on possibly the same patient from Feb. 2009

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/02/11/health.hiv.stemcell/index.html?eref=rss_latest

[sarcasmo]

135. Kick, back to the top.