UK Man Declared Cured of HIV

A 40-year-old man from London, England, has been declared completely cured of HIV.

In 2003, Adam Castillejo – codenamed “London Patient” to protect his identity – was diagnosed with HIV, a life-long disease that attacks the body’s immune system. Nine years later, he developed advanced Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

The Londoner later underwent a stem cell transplant to treat the lymphoma. Soon, it was found that his donor carried a HIV-resistant gene mutation known as CCR5-delta 32.

Ultimately, both the lymphoma and HIV went into remission, prompting Castillejo to stop taking his antiretroviral medication in October 2017.

Now, according to medical researchers who carried out tests on him, Castillejo has no detectable active HIV infection in his blood, semen or tissues. Due to the presence of minute, inactive of HIV, however, he will continue to be monitored, albeit less frequently.

The Londoner is the second man ever to be declared free of HIV – in 2011, a man based in Berlin was confirmed to be completely cured of the disease after undergoing similar treatment.

Although the treatment is not a definite HIV cure, Castillejo’s case is surely a step in the right directions towards treating the disease.

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