Two HIV-positive patients have no detectable HIV in their blood cells after undergoing bone marrow transplants, according to researchers at Brigham and Women Hospital in Boston.
The virus was easily detected in blood lymphocytes of men before his transplant, but became undetectable by the eight months following the transplant. Men have been in anti-retroviral therapy.
Timothy Henrich, MD and Daniel Kuritzkes, MD, medical researchers at the Division of Infectious Diseases at BWH, presented their cases at the International Conference on AIDS. "This gives us some important information. This suggests that under the coverage of antiretroviral therapy, the cells that repopulate the patient's immune system appear to be protected from re-infection with HIV," said Kuritzkes.
A bone marrow transplant patient was two years ago, the other was four years ago. Both were performed at the Dana-Farber / Brigham and Cancer Center of Women.
Over time, as the patients' cells were replaced by donor cells, traces of HIV have been lost. Now, patients have no detectable HIV DNA or RNA in their blood.
The level of HIV antibodies, a measure of HIV exposure was also reduced in both men. "We expected that HIV away from the plasma of patients, but it is surprising that we can not find any trace of HIV in their cells.
"The next step is to determine whether there is any trace of HIV in their tissue." Said Henrich.
The virus was easily detected in blood lymphocytes of men before his transplant, but became undetectable by the eight months following the transplant. Men have been in anti-retroviral therapy.
Timothy Henrich, MD and Daniel Kuritzkes, MD, medical researchers at the Division of Infectious Diseases at BWH, presented their cases at the International Conference on AIDS. "This gives us some important information. This suggests that under the coverage of antiretroviral therapy, the cells that repopulate the patient's immune system appear to be protected from re-infection with HIV," said Kuritzkes.
A bone marrow transplant patient was two years ago, the other was four years ago. Both were performed at the Dana-Farber / Brigham and Cancer Center of Women.
Over time, as the patients' cells were replaced by donor cells, traces of HIV have been lost. Now, patients have no detectable HIV DNA or RNA in their blood.
The level of HIV antibodies, a measure of HIV exposure was also reduced in both men. "We expected that HIV away from the plasma of patients, but it is surprising that we can not find any trace of HIV in their cells.
"The next step is to determine whether there is any trace of HIV in their tissue." Said Henrich.
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