Health: a third case of probable HIV cure announced in Germany

This is a new victory for scientists at the Institut Pasteur in Paris. After the patients in Berlin (Germany) and London (United Kingdom), the announcement of a third case of probable cure of HIV in Düsseldorf (Germany) brings hope. “We have a reproducible therapeutic approach where we can actually achieve these exceptional results”explains Asier Saez-Ciron, researcher and head of immune control at the Institut Pasteur.

The CCR5-delta-32 genetic mutation

The therapeutic scenario is pretty much the same. A man with HIV is diagnosed with leukemia. The doctors then recommend a bone marrow transplant, but they will select a donor with the CCR5-delta-32 genetic mutation. Behind this code name, there is a capacity to never contract the AIDS virus. Only 1% of the population has this mutation. To defeat AIDS, researchers are exploring the avenue of gene therapy. The idea is to introduce the CCR5-delta-32 mutation into people living with HIV without going through a bone marrow transplant.