NATURAL THERAPY
Woman diagnosed with HIV may be first to be ‘cured’ without taking drugs, experts claim
A WOMAN diagnosed with HIV could be the first person to be cured of the virus without the use of drugs, experts have claimed.
Loreen Willenberg was infected with the virus in 1992 and has previously shocked experts as her body has suppressed the virus for decades.
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The 66-year-old, from California, is believed to have beaten the virus without having to have a risky bone marrow transplant.
Only two other people are known to have been cured of HIV, both of which had to have bone marrow transplants.
Timothy Brown, also from California and Adam Castillejo from London, both underwent transplants which left their systems resistant to the virus.
It comes one month after a HIV patient claimed he was “cured of the virus” after an intense combination of drugs “flushed the virus from the body”.
The patient now says he has been given a “second chance at life” after receiving the treatment that experts say works like a temporary vaccine.
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The new research reveals how the body could in fact suppress HIV.
Experts at the University of California found that 63 people in their study controlled the infection without drugs.
They claim that the infection was sequestered in the body in a way that made it unable for it to reproduce.
Suggesting that some people may have achieved a “functional cure”.
It also suggests that people who have taken antiviral therapy could also be able to suppress the virus and stop taking the drugs.
Author of the study Dr. Steve Deeks said: “It does suggest that treatment itself can cure people, which goes against all the dogma.”
What are the symptoms of HIV?
Most infected people experience a short illness, similar to flu, two to six weeks after coming into contact with HIV.
These symptoms, which 80 per cent of infected people experience, are a sign that their body is trying to fight HIV. They include:
- Fever
- Sore throat
- Body rash
- Tiredness
- Joint and/or muscle pain
- Swollen glands
After this illness, which normally lasts one to two weeks, HIV sufferers will have no symptoms for up to 10 years - during which time they will look and feel well.
However, the virus will continue to cause progressive damage to a person's immune system.
Only once the immune system is already severely damaged will the person show new symptoms. These include:
- Weight loss
- Chronic diarrhoea
- Night sweats
- Skin problems
- Recurrent infections
- Serious, life-threatening illnesses
HIV is a virus that is tough to eradicate as it lurks within genes.
However caution is needed as the people who participated in the study are known as a group of “elite controllers”.
This means that they are able to keep their virus under control without drugs.
Dr Deeks added: “This unique group of individuals provided to me sort of a proof of concept that it is possible with the host immune response to achieve what is really, clinically, a cure.”
Charities have welcomed the findings of the study but have also heeded caution.
Dr Michael Brady, Medical Director at Terrence Higgins Trust said the research suggests someone living with HIV may be in remission without a bone marrow transplant.
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“However, the key word here is may and much more research needs to be done to confirm this and to better understand why it appears to be the case, especially as this wasn’t the main focus of this particular study.
“The two previous HIV patients who appear to be cured or in remission achieved this through a bone marrow transplant as part of cancer treatment. This is a dangerous and invasive procedure which means it can not be used as a ‘cure’ for others living with HIV.”
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Dr Brady added that this is particularly true when modern HIV treatment is easy to take and is highly effective at keeping the virus suppressed, protecting the immune system from damage and ensuring people cannot pass the virus on to others.
“The biggest issue for the majority of people living with HIV today is not the virus itself but the unacceptable stigma and out dated views which continue to surround the virus.”
Dr. Ranj Singh has HIV test LIVE on This Morning
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