Bone marrow 'cures HIV patient'
in what is potentially, the most significant piece of medical news in the last two decades... The BBC reports that German doctors have fought the disease to a standstill.
About one in 1,000 Europeans and Americans have a resistance to HIV
Doctors in Germany say a patient appears to have been cured of HIV by a bone marrow transplant from a donor who had a genetic resistance to the virus.
The researchers in Berlin said the man, who suffered from leukaemia and HIV, had shown no sign of either disease since the transplant two years ago.
But they stressed it was an unusual case which needed further investigation.
Experts said the result may boost interest in gene therapy for HIV.
Berlin's Charite clinic said the 42-year-old patient was an American living in Berlin, but the man has not been identified.
Genetic mutation
He had been infected with the human immunodeficiency virus, that causes Aids, for more than a decade and also had leukaemia.
The clinic said since the transplant was carried out 20 months ago, tests on the patient's bone marrow, blood and other organ tissues have all been clear.
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