Hope for a cure from AIDS. The unique case in the world of this 18-year-old girl infected with AIDS, in prolonged remission shows that we are on the right track.
The young girl was infected with the AIDS virus during her mother’s pregnancy. She was diagnosed with the disease when she was one month old. She is now in remission after stopping her treatment, which she followed early on until the age of six.
This incredible news was revealed by Dr Asier Sáez-Cirión of the Institut Pasteur, during the 8th conference on the pathogenesis of HIV which is being held until Wednesday in Vancouver, Canada.
The work carried out jointly by the Institut Pasteur, Inserm and the Assistance publique des Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP) specifies that the young Frenchwoman was treated with the antiretroviral zidovudine for six weeks after being diagnosed.
“Two months later, and following the scheduled discontinuation of prophylactic treatment, she had a very high viral load, leading to the initiation of treatment combining four antiretrovirals” during the first six years of her life, explained Dr Asier Sáez-Cirión, cited by LEXPRESS.fr.
A few months later, her family decided to stop treating the girl. A year has passed.
Reviewed by the doctors, the patient then presented “an undetectable viral load” hence the decision, in agreement with the medical team, not to resume treatment.
The importance of early treatment
This clinical case confirms that early treatment, namely after contamination, makes long-term remission possible thanks to antiretrovirals. For this, the study recommends a initiation of antiretroviral therapyof all children born to HIV-positive mothers as soon as possible after birth.
However, this discovery does not mean that we can still cure AIDS, scientists remain cautious. We cannot in fact anticipate the evolution of the young girl’s state of health.
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