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It is a remission that gives rise to new hopes in the fight against HIV. An HIV-positive person would probably be cured after receiving a bone marrow transplant. Explanations with Damien Mascret, present on the 20 Hours set, Thursday July 20.
An HIV-positive person would probably be cured after receiving a bone marrow transplant. What is it exactly? “This is the 6th HIV-positive patient who seems to be in remission, but it should be noted that this is once again a very special situation. This patient, treated in Geneva, who wishes to remain anonymous, had been HIV-positive since the beginning of the 1990s and, like the 5 others, declared very aggressive leukemia.reports the doctor and journalist Damien Mascret present on the set of 20 Hours, Thursday July 20. In 2018, he therefore received a bone marrow transplant, “a reset of the immune system which made it possible to stop, in 2021, the treatment against HIV, without seeing the reappearance of the AIDS virus”he continues.
A treatment that cannot be generalized
This 6th remission is a step forward “because this time the patient received a particular bone marrow transplant”. Indeed, the previous patients had received bone marrow from donors naturally possessing an HIV resistance gene. “The doctors performed a marrow transplant without the resistance gene. So there are more compatible donors. But be careful, it’s a very heavy treatment, and for patients who have leukemia”says Damien Mascret. A treatment that cannot therefore be generalized to all people.