Is there a cure for AIDS? A young man may have found a breakthrough.

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around a young man, Andrew Stimpson, who is reported to have spontaneously cleared HIV from his system, raising questions about potential breakthroughs in AIDS treatment. Participants explore the implications of this case, the validity of the tests, and the broader context of HIV research.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants express hope that Mr. Stimpson's case could lead to more effective treatments or a cure for AIDS.
  • Others question the validity of the findings, suggesting that Mr. Stimpson may have been a false positive for HIV.
  • A participant notes that they would feel more optimistic if Mr. Stimpson had undergone experimental treatment prior to the negative tests.
  • There is a suggestion that understanding Mr. Stimpson's unique immune response could lead to new treatment avenues, despite the need for more cases to study.
  • Some participants express skepticism about the media coverage and the reliability of medical professionals involved in the case.
  • A participant references historical concerns about biological warfare and the potential for creating new microorganisms, although the relevance to the current discussion is unclear.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus; there are multiple competing views regarding the validity of Mr. Stimpson's case and its implications for HIV treatment. Some express optimism, while others remain skeptical about the findings and the medical community's handling of the situation.

Contextual Notes

There are unresolved questions regarding the accuracy of the HIV tests and the implications of Mr. Stimpson's case for understanding HIV clearance. The discussion reflects a mix of anecdotal evidence and scientific inquiry without definitive conclusions.

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A YOUNG British man thought to be the first person to have shaken off HIV, the virus that causes Aids, is to undergo further clinical tests in the hope of a breakthrough in treating the condition.

Andrew Stimpson, 25, said yesterday that he was willing to do all he could to help to tackle the condition, after it emerged that his body had apparently rid itself of the human immunodeficiency virus.

Mr Stimpson, a Scot living in London, was found to be HIV-positive in August 2002, but 14 months later a blood test suggested that he no longer carried the virus. A further three tests confirmed the finding.

Doctors believe that this first confirmed case of “spontaneous clearance” of HIV could offer important insights into the behaviour of the virus, and possible means of defeating it.

To date there has been anecdotal evidence of such a clearance of HIV — in a handful of cases in sub-Saharan Africa — while two patients in the 1980s appeared to shake off the virus. However, in those instances it was impossible to prove that the positive and negative blood tests came from the same person.

Mr Stimpson, who was seen at the Chelsea and Westminster Healthcare NHS Trust, in London, has agreed to undergo further tests with doctors to identify exactly what has happened. According to Mr Stimpson, he suffered depression after the initial diagnosis but otherwise he was well and took no medication apart from dietary supplements.

A spokeswoman for the Chelsea and Westminster trust confirmed yesterday that Mr Stimpson had an HIV-positive diagnosis, followed by a negative test, but she stopped short of saying that he was cured.

She insisted that there was no chance a mistake had crept into the testing system. “Those tests are both accurate, the positive and a negative; they are correct,” the spokeswoman said, adding that doctors had asked Mr Stimpson to undergo further clinical investigation to find an explanation.

...

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1871540,00.html
 
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that is excellent news. i hope this will lead to more effective treatment, cure, etc.

check out this excerpt from "Department of Defense Appropriations 1970":
The dramatic progress being made in the field of molecular biology led us to investigate the relevance of this field of science to biological warfare. A small group of experts considered this matter and provided the following observations:
1. All biological agents up the the present time are representitives of naturally occurring disease, and are thus known by scientists throughout the world. They are easily available to qualified scientists for research, either for
offensive or defensive purposes.
2. Within the next 5 to 10 years, it would probably be possible to make a new infective microorganism which could differ in certain important aspects from any known disease causing organisms. Most important of these is that it might be refractory to the immunological and therapeutic processes
upon when we depend to maintain our relative freedom from infectious disease...
etc :eek:
 
I would have been more hopeful if the person in the OP had "recovered" after undergoing some experimental line of treatment.
 
read this story and that he works making sandwiches.

i donno how this sits with those who buy those sandwiches but who cares :biggrin:

I want less press and more lab tests
 
Gokul43201 said:
I would have been more hopeful if the person in the OP had "recovered" after undergoing some experimental line of treatment.
Well, if there's something unique about his immune system that helped him fight it off successfully, then I'd be just as happy if they can find out what it is and learn how to take advantage of that, or induce the same thing in someone else. It might help develop a new treatment to understand why he's "special." Of course that would also be easier if there was more than one person to study, but sometimes you have to start with just one and wait for more to come along.
 
Sorry .
 
Saw that one coming. Stupid doctors. Stupid media.
 
I'm going to attempt to merge this thread with the one already started in Biology on this topic so we have all the information in one place.
 
  • #10
he might have been a false positive to the HIV test...
 
  • #11
x-treme said:
he might have been a false positive to the HIV test...
Yes, that's what happened, see posts above.
 
  • #12
ups!sorry,i missed it!bad start as i see(that was my first message) :-p
 

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