Comments | kc_risenphoenix: Stem Cell Transplant has Cured HIV Infection in 'Berlin Patient', say Doctors

kc_risenphoenix

Stem Cell Transplant has Cured HIV Infection in 'Berlin Patient', say Doctors

Dec 14, 2010 16:50

Stem Cell Transplant has Cured HIV Infection in 'Berlin Patient', say Doctors
Keith Alcorn
Published: 13 December 2010 Doctors who carried out a stem cell transplant on an HIV-infected man with leukaemia in 2007 say they now believe the man to have been cured of HIV infection as a result of the treatment, which introduced stem cells which happened ( Read more... )

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Comments 18

wesleysgirl December 14 2010, 22:54:52 UTC

It certainly sounds promising, and I'd love to hear what more scientifically minded people think about it. I have to admit my brain stopped processing about ten paragraphs in...

kc_risenphoenix December 14 2010, 23:00:13 UTC

I have to admit my brain stopped processing about ten paragraphs in...

That is just what I was saying. Wouldn't it be amazing if this is the beginning of the end?!

hippiegal22 December 14 2010, 22:58:32 UTC

Well it's nice to hear some good news in the media for a change.

Sad to say some people are going to twist this blessing into controversy down the road I'm afraid.

kc_risenphoenix December 14 2010, 23:00:45 UTC

Screw them.

sorry

But that is how I feel.

hippiegal22 December 14 2010, 23:09:47 UTC

LOL!

I feel that way about so many people in the news. :)

kaymyth December 14 2010, 23:05:33 UTC

I've heard about that genetic mutation before, and huzzah for SCIENCE! finding a way to make it into a potential cure for everybody.

As a bit of trivia, this is also the exact same mutation that makes people immune to bubonic plague. :D

kc_risenphoenix December 14 2010, 23:09:50 UTC

You know, I've often wondered if I might have this mutation. First, I was very active sexually from about '79 to '81 or '82, and that was before we knew about HIV and that you should wear condoms. Almost every single person I knew in those days is dead. I also had a VERY sexually active boyfriend once who was cheating like it was going out of style, and cheating unsafely. He became HIV+, but we didn't realize it until several months after he seroconverted. We never had safe sex. I didn't realize we should have to.

And I am HIV negative through some miracle.

I am not running out there and testing it, but I've some stupid things in my life and always wound up negative...

kaymyth December 14 2010, 23:17:46 UTC

It's entirely possible. It's also likely that you could get genetically tested for the mutation to know for sure. And then you could also live in the knowledge that were you to accidentally get zapped back into the Middle Ages, you would be safe from contracting Plague!

dischargie December 14 2010, 23:16:51 UTC

I can understand why people are against stem cell science because you have to take it from an embryo, so you have to take it from a pregnant woman...so I sometimes think it's easier for a guy to be pro stem cell science

I don't say I am against it just that I can understand the concerns.

But of course I'd be very happy if this would indeed lead to something good for the future and for the fight against HIV.

kc_risenphoenix December 14 2010, 23:33:41 UTC

While stem cells can be derived from aborted fetuses and even adults, the best source for stem cells is the small clump of cells that compose the early zygote only a few days following conception. Therefore, to best investigate the latent possibilities inherent in stem cells, scientists wish to use the approximately 100,000 "excess" frozen pre-embryos that are "left over" from earlier IVF attempts.

http://www.aish.com/ci/sam/48969936.html

In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a process by which egg cells are fertilised by sperm outside the body, in vitro

There are ways to obtain stem cells without having to take them from a pregnant woman. If the only way to get them was from pregnant women, I would be totally and completely against stem cell research...

dischargie December 14 2010, 23:37:18 UTC

I know what in vitro is ;) But for this the woman and the men should give consent for the use of their egg cells or sperm...not sure if that is possible or not since I haven't researched that much on this topic.

I think it's always hard to judge someone if it's about ethics since they are so different all over the world. One reason I never would get involved in a discussion about if they should allow stem cell science or not

kc_risenphoenix December 14 2010, 23:41:49 UTC

Please please don't think I was saying you were stupid or anything! Gosh, I hate that written words can't convey our tone of voice. Forgive me if it looked like that is what I was saying.

Women should be asked permission for the use of their fertilized eggs. I agree.

But I also think people could volunteer to donate eggs and sperm so that we could have the stem cells needed to save lives and change the world.

Ethics are a tricky thing, aren't they? Frustrating. Because some people's ethics say that being gay is wrong, interracial marriage is wrong, women teaching males over 13 is wrong, women working period is wrong...

It is hard to know where to draw the line. *sigh*

(((HUG)))

Thread 7

silk_knickers December 15 2010, 04:38:04 UTC

So, I heard about this case a year or two ago. Basically, this is a bone marrow transplant, the kind that's been used to treat leukemia for decades. (It is not the same kind of stem cell as the embryonic stem cells that are so controversial. These are "hematopoietic" stem cells, which is a fancy way of saying stem cells that can make blood. The donors in this case are adults; they take some bone marrow from the hip with a big needle; it's painful but the donor heals with no problem ( ... )