Doctors Claim HIV-Positive Man Cured by Stem Cell Transplant
 

They should wait until a follow-up and the use of lab rats before they announce this.

Too late.

Uh...it is obviously too late for them to wait. ;)

I know, I know lol

So Magic Johnson's money isn't the cure?

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They really need more testing to confirm this. If this is true, that would be amazing and wonderful, but I totally concur that they kind of jumped the gun on this announcement.

Well, it's not like he had the stem cell transplant to treat his HIV, anyway. He had leukemia. I don't know if anyone would advocate taking a very dangerous treatment like a transplant to treat HIV which for many people is well treated with multi-drug therapy. It's interesting that he had this outcome...not so applicable for the bigger picture.

Drug treatments are relatively effective, sure - but they aren't particularly cost-effective, and if a one-time transplant can eliminate any future risk, it might be preferable over, say, 50 years of continuous drug cocktail, right? (not that the transplant is cheap, either, but I'm sure you see what I'm getting at)

I do agree that it's likely more of a curiosity than anything else at this point, though - particularly as a one-off in a poorly-controlled environment.

Transplant can kill you.

Taking the wrong drug cocktail can kill you. A bus that hits you in the crosswalk as you leave the HIV clinic can kill you. Et Cetera.

And I agree that this would be awesomely amazing if it were a concrete cure but they def jumped the gun on this one. I'd be interested to see what effect this has on the stem cell research debate if it's "proven" that stem cells can cure HIV.

Couldn't this guy just be the stem-cell version of the guy who had reportedly entirely fought off HIV within his own body? I'll have to see if I can find that story.

Blah blah, needs more tests, blah blah. Also, how do you guarantee a supply of blood from people with that gene mutation? Where's DS and his philosophical question thread: would you require people with the mutation to donate stem cells to save the lives of others?

ETFix a mistake

It's their civic duty!

http://www.blackfive.net/photos/unca...tivation03.jpg

Yeah, but in medicine, we don't exactly treat patients with dangerous remedies when less dangerous methods do a good job. Comparing the risk of a bus hitting you as you cross a street to the risks of a stem cell transplant displays a severe lack of knowledge of the risks involved. Taking "the wrong drug cocktail" is not a big risk. These drugs do have side effects, but stem cell transplants are VERY risky. Making light of that just shows your ignorance of the medical issues involved.

You can call me ignorant but you're being ignorant of my point: Ish happens. People die from all sorts of things so, if a person WANTS the all-or-nothing option, they should be allowed to do so if it's available.

I have personal recollection of a man who was treated with an HIV drug cocktail that DID kill him because it was the wrong combination of drugs for his body. Taking the wrong cocktail is "not a big risk" now but it wasn't always that way. There is reduced risk now because medicine is more advanced and the correct combinations can be pinpointed without so much trial-and-error. Who is to say that, if this option were worth pursuing and the proper research was done, stem cell research wouldn't be so risky for future generations? You speak as though stem cell transplants will always carry the risk they do now but given how many have said more research and testing should have been done before this announcement, I would think it'd be obvious that this thread isn't solely about the possibility of today.

Hmm, it says he received the transplant in 2007. They said he was fine and HIV-free in 2009, almost two years ago now. Sounds like they've given this time before releasing it to the public.