An HIV cure for a 53-year-old German man has been reported by researchers.
Although the specifics of his effective therapy were first disclosed at a symposium in 2019, doctors could not at that time confirm he had been declared cured.
Researchers revealed today that despite ceasing his HIV medication four years ago, the Düsseldorf patient still has no virus in his body.
Dr. Bjorn-Erik Ole Jensen, who provided the case's specifics in a recent journal in "Nature Medicine,"
noted that the treatment "truly cures" the disease rather than just providing long-term remission.
There is still more work to be done, but this obviously encouraging symbol gives me hope, said Jensen.
Most HIV infections last a lifetime, and the virus can never be completely removed. People with HIV can live long, robust lives because of modern medicine.
The patient from Düsseldorf joins a select club of individuals who have under unusual circumstances been cured following a stem cell transplant,
which is generally only carried out in cancer patients who have no other choices.