First Person To Be Cured Of HIV Dies Of Cancer

First Person To Be Cured Of Hiv, Timothy Ray Brown – Known As The ‘berlin Patient‘ – Has Died After A Battle With Cancer.

International Aids Society (Ias) Made The Announcement On Wednesday, September 30.

The 54-year-old Made Medical History And Became A Symbol Of Hope For The Tens Of Millions Of People Living With The Virus That Causes Aids When He Was Cured More Than A Decade Ago.

He Had Been Living With A Recurrence Of Leukaemia For Several Months And Received Hospice Care At His Home In Palm Springs, California.

Ias President, Adeeba Kamarulzaman Stated;

On Behalf Of All Its Members… The Ias Sends Its Condolences To Timothy´s Partner, Tim, And His Family And Friends.

We Owe Timothy And His Doctor, Gero Hutter, A Great Deal Of Gratitude For Opening The Door For Scientists To Explore The Concept That A Cure For Hiv Is Possible.

Brown Was Diagnosed With Hiv While Was Studying In Berlin In 1995. A Decade Later, He Was Diagnosed With Leukaemia, A Cancer That Affects The Blood And Bone Marrow.

To Treat His Leukaemia, His Doctor At The Free University Of Berlin Used A Stem Cell Transplant From A Donor Who Had A Rare Genetic Mutation That Gave Him Natural Resistance To Hiv, Hoping It May Wipe Out Both Diseases.

It Took Two Painful And Dangerous Procedures, But It Was A Success: In 2008, Brown Was Declared Free Of The Two Ailments, And Was Initially Dubbed “the Berlin Patient” At A Medical Conference To Preserve His Anonymity.

Two Years After His Successful Treatment, He Decided To Break His Silence And Went On To Become A Public Figure, Giving Speeches And Interviews And Starting His Own Foundation.

Speaking With Afp In 2012, Brown Said;

I Am Living Proof That There Could Be A Cure For Aids. It’s Very Wonderful, Being Cured Of Hiv.

However, While Brown Remained Clear Of Hiv For More Than A Decade After Being Treated, He Had Suffered A Relapse Of Leukaemia In The Past Year.

Ten Years After Brown Was Cured Of Hiv, A Second Sufferer — Dubbed “the London Patient” — Was Revealed To Be In Remission 19 Months After Undergoing A Similar Procedure.

The Patient, Adam Castillejo, Is Currently Hiv-free. In August, A California Woman Was Reported To Have No Traces Of Hiv Despite Not Using Anti-retroviral Treatment.

It Is Thought She May Be The First Person To Be Cured Of Hiv Without Undergoing The Risky Bone Marrow Treatment.

Sharon Lewin, President-elect Of The Ias And Director Of The Doherty Institute In Melbourne, Australia, Praised Brown As A “champion And Advocate” Of A Cure For Hiv.

She Said;

It Is The Hope Of The Scientific Community That One Day We Can Honour His Legacy With A Safe, Cost-effective And Widely Accessible Strategy To Achieve Hiv Remission And Curs Using Gene Edition Or Techniques That Boost Immune Control.