"Physicians Rid a Man's Body of AIDS Virus in Experiment"

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1989. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

"Physicians Rid a Man's Body of AIDS Virus in Experiment"

New York Times (12/19/89), P. A1
Kolata, Gina

Abstract: Doctors at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore reported yesterday that they eradicated HIV from the body of a man who later died of cancer. The doctors combined a bone marrow transplant with administration of AZT to actually rid the man of the AIDS virus "within the limits of detection," according to Rein Saral, the leader of the group that performed the transplant. This is the first time the virus has ever been completely eliminated, although doctors have been able to slow the progression of HIV in the past. Researchers caution that the new treatment will have to be performed on many more patients to be sure of its success, and that enormous costs are involved even if it proves effective. In addition, obtaining bone marrow involves practical difficulties and would limit application of the therapy. The patient was a 41-year-old man with AIDS and lymphoma, a cancer of the immune system. Doctors hoped to cure his lymphoma and eradicate HIV by giving him a bone marrow transplant, thus effectively replacing his infected immune cells at the source.

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