HIV patients apparently virus-free, off antiretroviral drugs

Two HIV-infected men who had bone marrow transplants to treat their blood cancers have stopped taking their anti¬retroviral drugs and still show no sign of the virus, according to research released Wednesday that experts say represents significant developments in understanding the biology of the virus and the ongoing search for a cure. The researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston told an international AIDS conference in Malaysia that one patient stopped taking his antiretroviral therapy 15 weeks ago as of Wednesday and the other, seven weeks ago. In patients who stop taking medication, the virus comes back in two to four weeks. The researchers described the results as “exciting” but said they do not indicate that the men have been “cured.” Follow-up of at least one year is needed to understand the full impact, they said. Nevertheless, AIDS experts said the findings are important because they suggest that under the right conditions,...