San Francisco Researchers Hopeful AIDS Cure Within Reach
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS)—The elimination of HIV from a man five years ago is offering hope that an AIDS cure is within reach. Timothy Ray Brown, a man who had HIV, no longer has the virus in his system.
Scientists are now looking to replicate the risky trial at California's stem cell institute where funding is underway for two projects expected to be in clinical trials within a couple of years.
KCBS' Margie Shafer Reports:
The original procedure performed in Berlin involved a stem-cell transplant with stem cells that were naturally resistant to HIV.
Jeff Sheehy, board member of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), said he's "altruistic" about the early stage safety trials.
"We're not going to promise a cure. We're just going to say, we hope nothing bad happens to you. And the people we recruit, we hope they understand that we're doing this to benefit the larger community," he said.
According to the World Health Organization, more than 33 million people world wide are living with HIV, and 2.7 million new infections occur every year.
(Copyright 2011 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
