Second HIV patient appears cured after stem cell transplant
A London man appears to be HIV-free after doctors performed a stem cell transplant to cure his lymphoma, a type of cancer, according to the journal Nature.
Fox News Medical Correspondent Dr. Marc Siegel said the stem cells of the donor, who had been HIV-positive, also contained HIV-resistant genes, and the recipient's body naturally improved its immune system to accommodate the new cells -- killing the cancer and the HIV at the same time.
"We've turned HIV into a chronic disease already with these anti-viral drugs, but they have side effects," Dr. Siegel explained to FOX Business' Stuart Varney on Tuesday. "This stem cell is creating an immune system that is immune to HIV."
When asked on Varney & Co. if the stem cell treatment could be used and marketed toward other illnesses, Dr. Siegel said it would be easier than ever if the cells were reproduced in a laboratory, carefully and ethically.
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"We don't need to find these rare donors. You know why? We have a genetic editor," Dr. Siegel explained. "It's been misused in embryos, but we can use it in grownup people, and we can engineer cells to be resistant. This exact gene we can manufacture this mutation ourselves using the technology of the future."