14 DAY TRIAL // “I Am the Berlin Patient: A Personal Reflection,” a recent article in the journal AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses, tells the tale of Timothy Ray Brown, the only person in the world to have until now been cured of HIV.
The article is authored by the former HIV patient himself and details how, after having lived with the virus in his body for about 12 years, the man was finally cured by a stem cell transplant in 2007.
How and when the man's ordeal began
Timothy Ray Brown explains that he tested positive for HIV in 1995, while attending university in Berlin, Germany. For about 10 years after receiving this diagnosis, he led a fairly normal life.
However, he eventually started feeling ill, and after having carried out tests, doctors told him that he had anemia and acute myeloid leukemia, which is a type of leukemia that affects the tissues that produce blood cellular components.
To overcome this condition, Timothy Ray Brown had to undergo chemotherapy. During the third round of treatment, he developed a severe infection, and still hoping to save his life, doctors put him in a medically induced coma.
The intervention that changed his life
After having recovered to a certain extent, he was told that he might still have a chance to get rid of both his leukemia and the HIV wreaking havoc in his body, just as long as he agreed to a stem cell transplant.
At first, the man was quite reticent. However, he eventually agreed to go ahead with the transplant. In his article, Timothy Ray Brown explains that the stem cells he received came from a patient naturally resistant to HIV.
The transplant was performed on February 6, 2007, and just 3 months later, the man no longer had any traces of HIV in his body. True, his leukemia returned and he had to undergo another stem cell transplant, but he is still HIV-free.
Timothy wants to rid the world of HIV
Since July 2012, when he started the Timothy Ray Brown Foundation under the World AIDS Institute, the former HIV patient has been working closely with medical experts, hoping to cure others of HIV.
Together with scientists with the World AIDS Institute, Timothy Ray Brown is now looking to help more people become informed about existing HIV trials and ongoing HIV research projects.
The man hopes that, the easier it is for patients to keep tabs on what HIV researchers are up to, the more volunteers will become involved in clinical trials. The end goal is to help these people become cured.
“The Timothy Ray Brown Foundation and the World AIDS Institute are starting the Cure Report, a guide to trials focused on curing HIV, vaccinating against HIV, and providing new information about HIV cure research.”
“I want to dedicate my life to supporting research to search for a cure or cures for HIV! I will not stop until HIV is cured!” Timothy Ray Brown writes in his article in the journal AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses.