The Berlin Patient: Eradication of HIV with CCR5 Deficient Hematopoietic Stem Cells
Gero Hütter, MD
Production Manager, Institute of Transfusion Medicine and Immunology
Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
(Formerly of the Charité Hospital, Berlin, Germany)
COPYRIGHT: Videos of live meetings of PRN in NYC are owned and published by Physicians’ Research Network, Inc. Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved.
| Learning Objectives for The Berlin Patient: Eradication of HIV with CCR5 Deficient Hematopoietic Stem Cells | Top of page |
At the completion of this educational session, participants should be able to:
- Understand the strategy of stem cell transplantation in HIV patients.
- Know the importance of CCR5 for maintaining HIV infection.
- Discuss the topics of functional and sterilizing cure.
Gero Hütter developed and performed the first allogeneic transplantation with natural CCR5 depleted stem cells in a leukemia patient with HIV-infection in 2004, during his residency in hematology, oncology and transfusion medicine at Charité Hospital in Berlin, Germany. Since then, Timothy Brown, now known as “the Berlin patient,” has not resumed antiretroviral therapy, nor has he had a relapse of HIV disease. In 2009 Dr Hütter became the head of the stem cell unit of the Institute of Transfusion Medicine and Immunology Mannheim of the Heidelberg University. There, he directs the research group of personalized stem therapy, which is supported by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation.
| More about the Berlin Patient: Eradication of HIV with CCR5 Deficient Hematopoietic Stem Cells | Top of page |
Almost everybody has heard of the "Berlin Patient" and many may have also seen him on morning talk shows, but how many clinicians have had an opportunity to meet and listen to his doctor from Berlin? In this video you will hear Gero Hütter tell about his rationale for performing a bone marrow transplant with CCR5 deficient hematopoietic stem cells, the long term outcomes for his patient, further research to understand if he has been "cured," and attempts to repeat this unique success. Please also see PRN's video of Pablo Tebas, who spoke on gene therapy and other research based on Gero Hütter's "Berlin patient."
