by Jason Stotts
Science is doing amazing things recently (take that religion!). They recently found a cure for HIV through stem-cell implants (1,2) and are looking into applying this breakthrough to more people to hopefully cure HIV once and for all. Now, they’re starting to use a neutered form of the HIV virus to infect a person’s T-cells and cause them to actively attack a person’s cancer. That’s right, they’re starting to use HIV to get rid of cancer. Praise Science. (NYTimes – read the whole article)
PHILADELPHIA — A year ago, when chemotherapy stopped working against his leukemia, William Ludwig signed up to be the first patient treated in a bold experiment at the University of Pennsylvania. Mr. Ludwig, then 65, a retired corrections officer from Bridgeton, N.J., felt his life draining away and thought he had nothing to lose.
Doctors removed a billion of his T-cells — a type of white blood cell that fights viruses and tumors — and gave them new genes that would program the cells to attack his cancer. Then the altered cells were dripped back into Mr. Ludwig’s veins.
At first, nothing happened. But after 10 days, hell broke loose in his hospital room. He began shaking with chills. His temperature shot up. His blood pressure shot down. He became so ill that doctors moved him into intensive care and warned that he might die. His family gathered at the hospital, fearing the worst.
A few weeks later, the fevers were gone. And so was the leukemia.