6: The Berlin Patient and the Quest to Cure HIV

I spent a good portion of the last episode telling you that HIV cannot be cured and our best option is to keep it under control with medication. But here’s the thing: I wasn’t telling you the whole truth. In a handful of cases, people have been declared cured of HIV. The first was known as the Berlin Patient, and since then, fewer than 10 cases have followed. Today, I’d like to share their story and explain why we shouldn’t hold out hope for a miracle pill—because this cure isn't some simple medication. Instead, these people received a high-risk bone marrow transplant from a donor genetically resistant to HIV. * If you enjoyed this episode and want to stay updated on more virology stories, please follow @virology_podcast or @karolina_science on Instagram :). The podcast is also available in Czech as “Podcast o virech”. * Sources: T. R. Brown, 2015: I Am the Berlin Patient: A Personal Reflection • G. Hütter, 2009: Long-Term Control of HIV by CCR5 Delta32/Delta32 Stem-Cell Transplantation • R. K. Gupta, 2019: HIV-1 remission following CCR5Δ32/Δ32 haematopoietic stem-cell transplantation • J. Hsu, 2023: HIV-1 remission and possible cure in a woman after haplo-cord blood transplant • W. A. Paxton, 1996: Relative resistance to HIV-1 infection of CD4 lymphocytes from persons who remain uninfected despite multiple high-risk sexual exposure • J. Novembre, 2005: The geographic spread of the CCR5 Delta32 HIV-resistance allele • A. P. Galvani, 2005: The evolutionary history of the CCR5-Delta32 HIV-resistance mutation • L. Kordelas, 2014: Shift of HIV tropism in stem-cell transplantation with CCR5 Delta32 mutation • T. J. Henrich, 2014: Antiretroviral-free HIV-1 remission and viral rebound after allogeneic stem cell transplantation: report of 2 cases • S. Yandrapally, 2021: HIV co-receptor-tropism: cellular and molecular events behind the enigmatic co-receptor switching