Functional HIV healing in newborns

Miraculous "functional healing" in baby is confirmed

24/10/2013

Already in the spring there was the amazing news about a baby who had been cured of his HIV infection. A US medical professional reported at a congress that having a baby rid of his condition. The physician had pushed the dangerous virus below the detection limit by administering several drugs. Many experts were very skeptical about this statement. From a scientific point of view, observations had yet to be made to avoid making any hasty allegations.

In one of the world's most prestigious journals, the New England Journal of Medicine, the girl's fate has been reported, and scientists have been unable to detect any viruses even after discontinuing the medication. In this case one can of a „functional healing“ speak

The now 30-month-old girl from the state of Mississippi, had been infected with the HIV virus in the womb and received three antiretroviral drugs within 30 hours after birth. Actually, such an aggressive combination therapy is started at the earliest in the age of 30 months. In a study after 29 days no HI virus had been detectable

When the girl was 18 months old, the doctors lost contact with the patient for five months. By this time at the latest, the mother put the medication on their own. To the astonishment of the doctors, the girl showed no signs of infection

This can not be a coincidence. The observations suggest that the child's recovery is "probably the result of very early aggressive antiviral therapy," virologist Deborah Persaud of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore said. The treatment had prevented the HI virus from settling in the child's immune cells.

Extensive study should take place
At the beginning of 2014, a US-funded study will be launched to investigate the early aggressive treatment of newborns to a greater extent. In fact, in 98% of cases, infection with the baby can be prevented by treating pregnant mothers. Nevertheless, more than 260,000 children are born each year who have been infected with HIV in the womb.

These cases are particularly common in developing countries. There is only one case that has been cured by AIDS. The US citizen Timothy Brown was treated in Berlin by a bone marrow transplant and entered the history of medicine as the "Berliner Patient". Thereafter, a similar procedure was used to treat two more patients in Boston, with encouraging results. In all three men came as a result of leukemia to bone marrow donors, whose course had a positive effect on the disease. However, this risky and expensive transplantation is not an option for all HIV-infected people. (Fr)

Picture: Dieter Hopf