HIV Aids Cure: Virus Undetected in Teen 12 Years After Treatment Was Stopped

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Is it possible to cure HIV? It looks like the possibility is soon within grasp as a study has discovered that a French girl, born with the virus, has been in remission for 12 years already since the day she stopped taking medications.

News Australia reports that an 18-year-old girl, who was born with HIV, has been doing well without treatment since the day she stopped taking medication when she was six years old.

Asier Saez-Cirion, a researcher from HIV, Inflammation and Persistence Unit at the Institut Pasteur in Paris, France, said a case like this has never happened before. Saez-Cirion added that the HIV can still be detected in the cells of the woman but there is no viral replication noted in the plasma. It is still a miracle how the girl has controlled the infection since there is no genetic factors seen in her that might cause the remission.

Nature writes that the case of the woman is also the longest known pediatric HIV incidence that has shown no side effects, which makes the researchers positive about the possible findings they can have once a further study or observation is done.

Physician and virologist Deborah Persaud of John Hopkins Children's Center in Maryland said previous cases, where children stopped taking treatment, have shown short-lived remission then goes back again to the condition where the virus needs to be contained. 

The study will be presented at the annual International AIDS Society in Canada to encourage further research on the case of the girl and several other patients with HIV. Additional cases, like the "Mississippi baby" and "VISCONTI cohort," will also be presented.

CNN adds that the team is now exploring where and how this ability started and is hopeful that they may find how to control the infection or at least identify the main factors in the body that can help in the remission process of HIV patients. Somehow, the researchers believe that with this discovery, a "cure" can be the final result, where they are able to contain the virus in its lowest level and prevent development of complications to the immune system.

Nobel laureate Francoise Barre-Sinoussi, who helped in the discovery of HIV in 1983, said that from this patient, a lot of knowledge can be extracted and used, that is why this discovery has made everyone excited. He also said that it can give them the idea about the right strategy to use in the future and may even bring progress to full remission or if given a chance, cure for HIV and AIDS.