"HIV virus returns after cure hope rose; 2 Boston patients had transplants of marrow, halted powerful drugs" by Kay Lazar | Globe Staff, December 06, 2013
Boston researchers are reporting the return of the HIV virus in two patients who had become virus-free after undergoing bone marrow transplants, dashing hopes of a possible cure that had generated widespread excitement.
Related: Cure For AIDS Has Been Found
The rebound of the virus shows its persistence, and that it can hide in places in the body where it’s hard to find, said the lead scientist, Dr. Timothy Henrich of Brigham and Women’s Hospital. But he said the team has gleaned significant clues from the cases for designing next-generation treatments to battle the virus, which causes AIDS.
They never cure anything anymore, notice that?
Henrich, who presented the preliminary findings Thursday at an international conference of AIDS researchers in Florida, said doctors pinpointed signs of the virus in both patients, who had beaten back the infections to undetectable levels earlier this year. The patients underwent bone marrow transplants several years ago for cancer, and had since stopped their powerful antiretroviral medications, which are typically given to those infected with the virus to keep it in check....
The two patients in the Boston study had battled HIV for years. They agreed to stop taking their HIV medications earlier this year to test whether the medicine was holding the infections in check, or whether it was the transplant of healthy donor bone marrow cells each received that was vanquishing signs of the virus in their bodies....
Henrich said the reemergence of the virus demonstrates that HIV reservoirs — latent cells that carry the genetic code of HIV — are lurking deeper in the body and are more persistent than scientists had realized....
And it's back to the drawing board.
--more--"
At least the pharmaceuticals will still be able to sell life-pre$erving drugs.
