Paul Edmonds, 67, was the fifth person in the world to be cured of HIV. After a stem cell transplant carried out in 2019, he managed to get rid of the virus he had been living with for 33 years.
Edmonds’ identity was revealed in a ABC TV show, from United States. He learned of the cure in July last year, but only on 03/4 his identity became public.
How the cure works
The first known case of someone who was cured, that of Timothy Ray Brown, occurred in 2009. The other four that have news were only possible more than a decade later. In Edmonds’ case, he has been off HIV medication for two years.
Paul Edmonds was cured by receiving a stem cell transplant from an HIV-resistant person. In the world there are only approximately 1% of people who have the CCR5 gene, which neutralizes the virus.
The treatment is considered very risky as it can lead to death and is not indicated to treat HIV, but for leukemia, which Edmonds had been diagnosed with in 2018.
“It was the second time I faced death, but I wasn’t ready to die. I like my life,” says Edmonds of stem cell transplantation.
According to the City of Hope hospital, where he was treated, elderly people with HIV often develop this type of leukemia as a consequence of an immune system weakened by decades of fighting AIDS.
“Using chemotherapy on a patient like Edmonds, who was also taking antiretroviral medications to halt the development of HIV, would be a risk because chemo also weakens the immune system. That’s why the hospital started offering stem cell transplants to patients living with both diseases,” explained the City of Hope in a statement.
HIV is the abbreviation for the human immunodeficiency virus. Causer of aids, attacks the immune system, responsible for defending the body against diseases. The first symptoms are very similar to those of the flu, such as fever and malaise. Therefore, most cases go unnoticed.Getty Images
*** AidsLow immunity allows the appearance of opportunistic diseases, which are named for taking advantage of the body’s weakness. With this, the most advanced stage of the disease, AIDS, is reached.Anna Shvets/Pexels
***Remedy medication health tabletAntiretroviral (ARV) drugs emerged in the 1980s to prevent HIV from multiplying in the body. These drugs help to prevent the weakening of the immune system.Hugo Barreto/Metropolises
***MedicineThe regular use of ARVs is essential to increase the time and quality of life of people living with HIV and reduce the number of hospitalizations and opportunistic infections.iStock
***aids hivThe treatment is a combination of drugs that may vary according to the viral load, the person’s general state of health and professional activity, due to side effects.iStock
*** medicine medicine health pill alopadaIn 2021, a new drug for the treatment of HIV, which combines two different substances in a single pill, was approved by the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) Hugo Barreto/Metropolises
*** vaccine syringesThe biotechnology company Moderna, together with the scientific research organization Iavi, announced in early 2022 the application of the first doses of an experimental vaccine against HIV in humansArthur Menescal/Metrópoles Special
***vaccineThe phase 1 trial seeks to analyze whether doses of the vaccine, which use messenger RNA, can induce an immune response in cells and guide the rapid development of broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAb) against the virusArthur Menescal/Metrópoles Special
***Red color ribbon awareness on young woman hand background: World aids day symbolic concept .In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention approved the first injectable drug to prevent HIV in risk groups, including people who have sex with individuals with the virus.spukkato/iStock
***injection, prosthesis mafiaApretude works with two initial injections given one month apart. Afterwards, the treatment continues with applications every two months.iStock
***joshua-coleman-AVqs0ItdMQM-unsplash-600×400PrEP HIV is a treatment available in the Unified Health System (SUS) specifically designed to prevent infection by the AIDS virus with the use of antiretroviral drugsJoshua Coleman/Unsplash
*** couple aidsThese drugs act directly on the virus, preventing its replication and entry into cells, which is why it is an effective method for preventing HIV infection.iStock
*** condom, condomIt is important that, even with PrEP, condoms continue to be used during sexual intercourse: the drug does not prevent pregnancy or the transmission of other sexually transmitted diseases, such as chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis, for example. Keith Brofsky/Getty Images
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A life of love and struggle
Edmonds has lived with HIV since 1988 and says he has lived through all the darkest stages of the disease, when having it was almost a death sentence. “Having HIV was like a curse. I was afraid to test myself because a positive was the certainty of death, ”she said.
“I lost many friends, more than I can count and this moment is a moment of hope, but also of memory for all those we lost”, said the retiree, to the TV program.
“I’ve been through a lot of therapy in my life and I want to tell my story to bring hope to people living with HIV,” added Edmonds. His husband Arnie House, with whom he has been since 1989, is one of those people.
Paul Edmonds, fifth person to be cured of HIV in the world, gives an interview – MetrópolesPaul Edmonds, the fifth person to be cured of HIV in the world, gives an interview to the American broadcaster ABCPlayback/ABC TV
Paul Edmonds, fifth person to be cured of HIV in the world, gives an interview – MetrópolesPaul Edmonds, with her husband, Arnie House. The two have been married since the late 1980s.Playback/ABC TV
Paul Edmonds, the fifth person to be cured of HIV in the world, gives an interview. File photo shows him in the 1980s with his husband Arnie House – MetropolisPaul Edmonds, with her husband, Arnie House, around the time they met and discovered they both had HIVPlayback/ABC TV
Paul Edmonds, the fifth person to be cured of HIV in the world, gives an interview. File photo shows him in the 1980s – MetrópolesPaul Edmonds thought he was going to die in 1988 when he learned he had the virusPlayback/ABC TV
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House told the ABC show that he was just as happy with Edmonds’s cure as he would have been with his own. “When I met him, I whispered in his ear: I want to get to know you better. Three decades later, we still know each other”, said the husband.
“I’m grateful to have found a donor, grateful to be alive, I’m infinitely grateful.”
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