Man believed cured of AIDS says he's still cured

by JOSH LEDERMAN

(AP) — The first person believed to have been cured of AIDS says reports he still has the HIV virus are false.

Timothy Ray Brown, also known as the "Berlin patient," says doctors have told him he's "cured of AIDS and will remain cured."

Brown had a blood stem cell transplant in 2007 to treat leukemia, using a donor with a rare gene mutation that provides natural resistance to HIV. Doctors declared him "cured" soon after.

But researchers in California recently found traces of in his tissues. Brown says any remnants of the virus still in his body are dead and can't replicate.

Brown addressed the media in the U.S. for the first time Tuesday, appearing frail but energetic. He announced the formation of a new foundation in his name.

add to favorites email to friend print save as pdf

Related Stories

Report: Transplant may have cured man of AIDS

Dec 15, 2010

A very unusual blood transplant appears to have cured an American man living in Berlin of infection with the AIDS virus, but doctors say the approach is not practical for wide use. The man, who is in his 40s, had a blood ...

30 years after first AIDS cases, hope for a cure

Jun 03, 2011

(AP) -- Sunday marks 30 years since the first AIDS cases were reported in the United States. And this anniversary brings fresh hope for something many had come to think was impossible: finding a cure.

Gene therapy reduces HIV levels in small trials

Sep 20, 2011

(Medical Xpress) -- This weekend at the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy in Chicago, Illinois, researchers from two different study groups, one on the east coast and one on the west coast, ...

Recommended for you

Respect may be the key to stopping patient 'no shows'

14 hours ago

People with HIV are more likely to keep their scheduled medical appointments—and their disease under control—if they feel their physician listens, explains things clearly and knows them as a person, not just a "case," ...

Study details age disparities in HIV continuum of care

Jun 17, 2013

Age disparities exist in the continuum of care for patients with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) with people younger than 45 years less likely to be aware of their infection or to have a suppressed viral load, according ...

Cost-effective: Universal HIV testing in India

Jun 10, 2013

In India most people who are HIV positive don't know it, yet testing and treatment are relatively cheap and available. It would therefore meet international standards of cost-effectiveness—and save millions of lives for ...

User comments

More news stories

Study suggests new approach to fight lung cancer

Recent research has shown that cancer cells have a much different – and more complex – metabolism than normal cells. Now, scientists at The University of Texas at Dallas have found that exploiting these differences might ...

Getting enough sleep could help prevent type 2 diabetes

Men who lose sleep during the work week may be able to lower their risk of developing Type 2 diabetes by getting more hours of sleep, according to Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute (LA BioMed) research findings presented ...

Aspirin may fight cancer by slowing DNA damage

Aspirin is known to lower risk for some cancers, and a new study led by a UC San Francisco scientist points to a possible explanation, with the discovery that aspirin slows the accumulation of DNA mutations in abnormal cells ...