Norwegian man cured of HIV after stem cell transplant from brother

A Norwegian man, referred to as the 'Oslo patient', has been effectively cured of HIV following a stem cell transplant from his brother. Doctors announced on Monday that the patient's brother carried a rare, virus-blocking genetic mutation. The 63-year-old man, who had been living with HIV since 2006, was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome, a fatal blood cancer, in 2017. During the search for a donor to treat both conditions, doctors discovered on the day of the 2020 transplant that his elder brother possessed the necessary CCR5 gene mutation, which blocks HIV from entering the body's cells. Two years post-transplant, the patient ceased antiretroviral drugs, and researchers found no trace of the virus in his blood, gut, or bone marrow samples. Doctor Anders Myhre of Oslo University Hospital, lead author of a study in Nature Microbiology, stated that the patient is "for all practical purposes, cured." This high-risk procedure, which has cured about 10 people worldwide, is not a feasible option for the millions living with HIV, as it is reserved for those with both HIV and deadly blood cancer. However, researchers believe studying these rare cases can provide insights into HIV and aid in finding a cure for all patients. The Oslo patient is the first to receive such a transplant from a family member, with his immune system being completely replaced by the donor's.