A Norwegian man who lived with HIV for more than a decade has become the 10th person in the world confirmed to be in long-term remission from the virus, according to new research.
The 63-year-old man, known as the “Oslo patient,” was diagnosed with HIV in 2006 and began antiretroviral therapy in 2010, eventually achieving “undetectable” status, meaning the virus could not be transmitted through sex but remained in his body.
In 2017, he developed fatigue and a sharp drop in blood cell counts, and was diagnosed the following year with myelodysplastic syndrome, a form of bone marrow cancer. After initially responding to treatment, he relapsed, prompting doctors to pursue a bone marrow transplant to replace his diseased cells.
His brother served as the donor, and doctors discovered that his stem cells carried a rare genetic mutation that makes them resistant to HIV, according to findings published April 13 in the journal Nature Microbiology.
The mutation, known as CCR5-delta 32, disables a protein on immune cells that HIV uses to enter and infect them. Because the brother carried two copies of the mutation, the virus was effectively locked out of those cells.
After identifying the mutation, a treatment team at Oslo University Hospital closely monitored the transplant to see whether it might “cure” the patient’s HIV or send the virus into remission.
Over five years, the team found that the donor’s HIV-resistant cells replaced the patient’s immune system and eliminated the receptor HIV uses to enter white blood cells, preventing the virus from infecting new cells and replicating.
Researchers also observed that his immune system’s T cells no longer behaved as though they were under attack from HIV.
According to the study, analyses of blood, gut, and bone marrow samples showed that “full donor chimerism” had been achieved, meaning nearly 100% of his blood-forming and immune cells were derived from the HIV-resistant stem cells. That milestone indicated the transplant had successfully replaced his diseased cells.
The patient stopped antiretroviral therapy after two years, and four years after the transplant, no intact HIV DNA was detected in his blood or gut. Researchers also found no virus capable of replicating, no immune response targeting HIV, and a decline in HIV-specific antibodies over time.
At his five-year follow-up, doctors found no traces of any “functioning” HIV DNA in his body.
Marius Trøseid, an author of the study, told Live Science the patient “feels like he has won the lottery twice.”
“He was cured of his bone marrow disease, which could be fatal, and he’s also now cured of HIV, most likely,” Trøseid said.
While the transplant appears to have been successful, doctors are hesitant to call it an outright “cure” because the procedure is not feasible on a larger scale.
As of 2024, nearly 41 million people worldwide are living with HIV, according to the World Health Organization.
Bone marrow stem cell transplants are considered “risky reboots of the immune system” that can lead to severe infections and are typically performed only as a last resort, according to ScienceAlert. Past research suggests that 10% to 20% of patients die within a year of undergoing the procedure.
In fact, the Oslo patient also experienced a severe complication known as “graft-versus-host disease,” in which the body attacks transplanted cells as foreign. He was treated with immune-modulating medication and recovered. Over time, the HIV-resistant cells took hold, effectively rebuilding his immune system and sending the virus into remission.
Despite the risks and the difficulty of replicating the procedure on a larger scale, researchers say the findings could help guide the development of more accessible treatments that may one day cure HIV.
The Minneapolis City Council is expected to consider directing staff to study a package of four proposed ordinances that would reverse the city’s decades-old ban on businesses facilitating "high-risk sexual conduct" -- enacted during the AIDS crisis of the 1980s -- and establish a regulatory framework for such venues.
One ordinance would add a new chapter to city code allowing adult sex venues and establishing licensing and business regulations for establishments where consenting adults can engage in sexual activity.
Another ordinance would amend the city’s zoning code to update definitions and standards for sexually oriented uses, eliminating "stigmatizing" language and reflecting advances in HIV prevention -- the original impetus for the 1988 bathhouse ban. A third ordinance would amend the city’s health and sanitation code, specifically provisions related to contagious diseases and so-called "high-risk sexual conduct."
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed a bill ensuring that some Floridians living with HIV can access three more months of life-saving antiretroviral medications through the state’s ADAP program.
ADAP, the AIDS Drug Assistance Program, is a state-level initiative that helps low-income and uninsured people living with HIV access medications that would otherwise be prohibitively expensive.
Amid stagnant federal funding and rising health care costs, many states’ ADAP programs have faced shortfalls, prompting cuts or stricter income eligibility requirements that reduce the number of people who qualify.
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