Why We've Only Cured HIV Seven Times

[@mal9369]

I hope to one day come back to this video and comment about how HIV has been entirely eradicated

[@icholi88]

I mean if people stop transmitting it, that could be tomorrow with the appropriate amount of education.

[@deepbluedivingexploration]

​@@icholi88 Not going to happen with all those anti vaccine sentiments in even generally well educated countries, yet alone in the third world countries where education is not in the top three issues on people's minds.

[@ops3892]

@@icholi88 impossible we don't live in a lala perfect land that will never happen with education. We have cures for plenty of other diseases that still pop up because of pure human arrogance. You can't educate someone that does not want to be educated.

[@bethsmith3421]

Wouldn't that be fantastic!

[@KenishiroMashiba]

Yeah, not gonna happen bro, HIV treatment is a multi billion dollar annually buisness.

[@controlfreak1963]

As a recent stem cell transplant survivor, it is an incredibly brutal ordeal with up to 20% not surviving the first year. GVHD (graft versus host disease) is the next horror to endure that lasts years or ends up taking you out. I'm 2 1/2 years into chronic GVHD and it's been pretty bad. It did cure my chronic leukemia of 20 years and there were no options left.

[@ffc1a28c7]

yup. I got AML in highschool and it was definitely brutal. Luckily, I didn't have any severe long-term side effects (just some standard reduced cell count, but they've mostly gone up to normal now) and I'm now at about 4.75 years post treatment (ngl, I very much am looking forward to the 5 year mark :P already have plans to get myself a cake lol).

[@blarblablarblar]

damn bruh. gl

[@ptonpc]

Good luck.

[@ikitoki]

Keep fighting, don't give up.

[@BKScience812]

​@@ffc1a28c7 It sounds like you got a second birthday. Congrats!

[@positivelyisabella]

I was born HIV positive in 91, I try my best to keep up to date on what’s going on in science around HIV. I genuinely believe there will be a cure in my life time. Thank you for shedding light on this topic

[@expertoflizardcorrugation3967]

I hope you get to see it.

[@Greyalien587]

How has life been? Do u notice anything? How has ur partners etc handled it? I know there is alot of misconceptions about the disease. Just a curious guy, u don’t need to answer if u don’t want to

[@inthemidwest3514]

i wis you the best of luck, dont give up.

[@saddane6897]

Personally i think evolution will be the winner in this race, the medicinal industri has little incentive to dive into HIV research and testing, they profit greatly from life-long medication.

[@venoltar]

@@saddane6897 Thankfully, these types of companies are unable to thrive world-wide (Though it is a real pity that the US is one of the more lucrative nations for this). So there will always be some countries that are working on an actual cure since the long-term treatment option is a burden to them rather than a profit generator.

[@ethanvance3834]

My wife is an infectious diseases doctor with a research focus on HIV. She has met three of these seven people. It's an amazing field!

[@angierobyn3853]

Your wife is amazing!

[@wrightcodyj]

I thank your wife sincerely. She is doing amazing work.

[@dressiknights]

4 people cured since 2023. That's quite the movement. Progress!

[@fabrisseterbrugghe8567]

I had a transfusion in a country where the blood supply was, I later found out, contaminated by HIV. The sheer terror I felt when I got tested for HIV has stayed with me for decades. I was lucky, and I know it.

[@adrianio1000]

Some people are outright immune to hiv. Maybe you should get tested and because a donor?

[@chrisjackson1215]

@@adrianio1000 Some people are resistant; not immune. Anything in a high enough dose can beat the immune system.

[@strategicbacon7349]

So the ccr5 mutation only protects against latent reservoir infections, not the entire disease?

[@mebreevee]

@strategicbacon7349 I think the latent reservoir infection is what continues to produce the virus through a person’s life. It does not prevent a person from getting it, it just takes away the virus’s ability to maintain its place in your body that allows it to keep hijacking cells. Kinda like how when you get mono, you will always technically have mono. It stays dormant in your body. Generally you can’t get it again, but it can “flare up” should you have another illness that sends your immune system into overdrive. I had a friend that got penumonia that led to her having a flare up.

[@justalonesoul5825]

France, I presume? As a belgian we always had access to french main channels and that scandal made a LOT of noise. If so, I can only imagine your terror for sure. Specially knowing how anxious I already am.

[@HonestLeigh]

I work for a non-profit that provides low- to no-cost healthcare for people with HIV. Watching the number of people cured climb over the last few years brings me such hope, along with the record number of people living with HIV to achieve viral suppression in the US last year. It reminds me that our goal of Ending the Epidemic is not impossible, and it gets closer every day.

[@toolbaggers]

The problem is that poor people in Africa and Asia will not be able to afford treatment even if there was a reliable cure. Millions still die from diarrheal diseases and malaria.

[@A_smith96]

@@toolbaggers Mother Natures trying hard to heal herself from our population

[@businesszeus6864]

@@toolbaggersand let’s not forget about tuberculosis!! but we can still take the win when it comes. yeah HIV research!! thank you @HonestLeigh for the help you provide :)

[@TheRealWilliamWhite]

​@@toolbaggersand Tuberculosis

[@Trekki200]

​@@toolbaggersThat and the fact that HIV meds right now are kinda laughably cheap. Like the generics antiretroviral medications cost cents per dose. Thats doable even in low income countries. Whatever comes out as a reliable HIV cure will likely cost millions per dose and probably never be used at a scale that makes that cost go down the way it did with the current meds.

[@trishapellis]

Imagine going into your blood cancer treatment and once you're done, doctors tell you "Oh look. It cured your HIV too. We didn't even know that was possible."

[@N-cromancer]

Had to happen once somewhere

[@wilavg]

They probably knew it was possible

[@RichardSarah-s6p]

DR ABIOLA ON YT CURED ME FROM HIV I AM SO GREATFUL ....

[@trishapellis]

@@wilavg The video literally says that for the Geneva patient, they couldn't find a donor with any CCR5 mutations - not even one, just none at all - and so they used one without, purely for the sake of curing their blood cancer, with no intention of also curing the HIV because they believed that double CCR5 mutation was necessary to cure HIV. They truly believed it was impossible to cure the patient of their HIV with the donor they had. In the case of the Next Berlin Patient, other people had already received stem cell transplants from donors with only one CCR5 mutation instead of 2 and it didn't cure their HIV. The doctors surrounding the Next Berlin Patient were probably not AS shocked as the ones treating the Geneva patient, exactly because the Geneva patient already existed... but they definitely weren't expecting this to happen.

[@endarius1992]

@@wilavg agreed, the healthcare industry is for profit, solving does not make profit as easily as continued care.

[@makefutur]

Imagine getting cured of cancer and HIV in one lucky shot. Those people most feel incredible

[@JRandaII]

Yeah. Let’s just hope that they thank science and not gawd…

[@Gandhi_Physique]

@@JRandaII Right, that is so annoying. Some dude can make a universe and all life in it, but leaves scientists to find a way to cure someone.. then gets all the credit.

[@MarkTolmanMA]

My life was greatly improved by the introduction of PrEP. It really reduced my fear of infection.

[@apburner1]

Wouldn't changing your behavior be much more effective?

[@loadings3819]

@@apburner1 its like a 99% reduction rate, its like telling a chick on birth control to just abstain from sex instead. Everyone taking extra precaution means theres way less chance then just trying to hope people tell the truth. Its like a third fail safe. more security is never wrong

[@mebreevee]

@@loadings3819 As a chick on birth control who abstains from sex (a personal decision, i take the birth control for hormone issues) I still really respect and appreciate prevention. I’m not one to really tell people how to live their life.

[@businesszeus6864]

@@apburner1what a useless comment

[@wasd____]

@@apburner1 Wouldn't not blaming the victims be much more effective?

[@Kazner0h]

It's amazing to see all the progress that we've made against HIV. What was once a death sentence is now a condition that, when treated, does not impact one's quality of life and is not even transmissible. We've already overcome a lot of the dangers, and we're so close to just eliminating it once and for all.

[@BougGroug]

Waiting for a day where I can come back to this video and find a comment saying "the number is over a million now!"

[@macdaddynick1751]

The number is over a million now!

[@BougGroug]

@macdaddynick1751 ok, I should've specified that it has to be true. That's on me

[@RichardSarah-s6p]

DR ABIOLA ON YT CURED ME FROM HIV I AM SO GREATFUL ....

[@macdaddynick1751]

@@BougGroug I forgive you. =)

[@Wolfstarzan]

I think it's more common that HIV will disappear since you have the modern therapy and modern protection software.

[@AlvarM]

As someone living with HIV I clocked on this faster than any other video ever ❤

[@WAbookworm]

💗

[@user-fx1tk6ng9b]

❤❤

[@itchy7879]

I remember when this number was 1! This is amazing progress :0

[@KaizerRemix]

Numbers 2-7 only came out in the last 5 years.

[@toolbaggers]

The Berlin patient still died of leukemia at the age of 54.

[@RichardSarah-s6p]

DR ABIOLA ON YT CURED ME FROM HIV I AM SO GREATFUL ....

[@mortenjohansen5781]

Just imagine a vaccine against HIV. I was born in the sixties so I've seen and known people who died of AID's, such a waste.

[@tobyk.4911]

Even if there were a vaccine already, unfortunately probably many people would not take it. We do have vaccines against polio and measles, and these diseases should have been eliminated about 20 years ago - but the fights against measles and polio don't even make progress anymore, apparently. Anti-vaccination opinions and disinformation are spreading on social media - well, like viruses - and with such people coming into powerful positions like the Taliban in Afghanistan and R. F. Kennedy Jr. (as new secretary for health) in the USA, it really doesn't get better

[@iExploder]

Sadly, these days most people wouldn't take it. :P

[@bass2762]

@@iExploder Survival of the fittest :P Edit: Natural selection is probably more fitting now that I think about it heh

[@oinkmagoink9129]

@@iExploderokay you blindly take whatever anybody tells you and let’s see who lives longer

[@valtarijunkkala]

@@oinkmagoink9129 "blindly" and "anybody" are quite wild. "based on research" and "recommended by healthcare professionals" is quite different.

[@carpemkarzi]

Was working in hospitals when drs refused to put AIDS or HIV in a patients chart fearing the stigma, so we got things like ‘Failure to thrive’ and the like. I truly hope they can crack this horrible disease and get that number considerably higher.

[@noahsabin7386]

Failure to thrive is one helluva euphemism

[@neovoid5008]

7 minutes into the future here. We are at 7 people cured

[@blakake]

I comment 7 minutes later

[@classarank7youtubeherokeyb63]

How far are we now?

[@cryonuess]

Wow, thanks for the update!

[@ClaudiaCarranza1]

18mins into the future, the number remains unchanged

[@Corqii]

@@blakake i comment 7 minutes later

[@zappababe8577]

The stigma against people with HIV and AIDS in the 80s was absolutely dreadful. Princess Diana did an awful lot to tackle that stigma when she shook the hand of a man who had AIDS. She did a really good thing right there.

[@3nertia]

I may technically be too young, but, I miss Princess Diana. I believe she was genuinely trying to use her stature to help the common people. Wouldn't be surprised if her family had her killed for it >_>

[@DS-re4vs]

She truly was the People’s Princess ❤

[@asterlyons8564]

Yes, Diana's work in fighting the stigma was so important. And the the US, Tammy Faye Bakker helped the cause by interviewing an AIDS patient and really humanizing the cost of the epidemic to her religious audience.

[@asterlyons8564]

Yes, Diana's work in fighting the stigma was so important. And the the US, Tammy Faye Bakker helped the cause by interviewing an AIDS patient and really humanizing the cost of the epidemic to her religious audience.

[@SsjHokage]

You mean the stigma to stay away from a transmittable death sentence at the time? It’s absolutely stupid to normalize it.

[@christopherg2347]

9:25 CRISPR is like the "Find and Replace" tool in text editors. You are better _very_ certain you get the Find part right!

[@Slarti]

CRISPR is a very blunt instrument and not particularly accurate.

[@ancientswordrage]

I know regex, I should be fine... Right?

[@christopherg2347]

@@Slarti It is as accurate as the search term.

[@Mr.Majestic77]

A therapeutic HIV cure involving HLPs (HIV-virus-like-particles) and JAK inhibitor (Ruxolitinib) combination therepy would possibly be a more immediate approach to cure HIV, the use of CRISPR-CAS9 and/or CRISPR-CAS12 to cure HIV, which could be decades away. The FDA approved Janus Kinase (JAK) 1/2 inhibitor, Ruxolitinib, developed by Incyte Corporation (Wilmington, DE, USA), which is currently used as a medication to manage and treat myelofibrosis, polycythemia vera, and steroid-refractory acute graft-versus-host disease, may have the ability to inhibit HIV-1 replication and reduce HIV-induced activation, modulate immune activation, which is crucial in controlling viral replication and maintaining immune health in individuals with HIV, impact cell survival, influencing the lifespan of reservoir cells and potentially limiting viral reservoir longevity, mitigating the chronic inflammation and immune dysfunction often observed in individuals with HIV, and may have the ability to infiltrate monocytes/macrophages. Ruxolitinib is the first potent, selective, oral JAK1/JAK2 inhibitor, FDA approved on September 22, 2021. A study presented at the CROI (Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infectious) in 2024 found that ruxolitinib (JAK inhibitor) can decay the HIV1 reservoir, resset immune balance in people with HIV on ART, reverse immune dysfunction caused by HIV, and contribute to a long-term cure strategy. HLPs (HIV-virus-like-particles) was developed by an international team or researchers led by Professor Eric Arts at Western University's Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry in London, Ontario, and Dr Jamie Mann, Senior Lecturer at the University of Bristol. If or when HLPs are eventually approved by the FDA, HLPs would be effective and affordable. HLPs are dead HIV particles, hosting a comprehensive set of HIV proteins that may increase immune response without infecting a person. HLP specifically targets just the immune cells, containing latent HIV1 reservoir, purging those cells of their HIV. In a study using blood samples from people with chronic HIV, HLPs were 100 times more effective than other HIV cure therapeutics. If successful in human clinical trials, HLPs could be used by millions of people to treat HIV. There's the possibility of JAK 1/2 inhibitor, Ruxolitinib and HLP (HIV-virus-like-particles), as a combined therapy to cure HIV, with the following steps: 1.Ruxolitinib (JAK 1/2 inhibitor) decaying the HIV1 reservoir. 2.Ruxolitinib resseting immune balance in people with HIV on ART. 3.Ruxolitinib reversing immune dysfunction caused by HIV. 4.HLP (HIV-virus-like-particles) increasing immune response without infecting a person 5.HLP specifically targeting just the immune cells containing latent HIV1 reservoir, purging those cells of their HIV. 6.A combined Ruxolitinib and HLP therapy contributing to a long-term cure strategy.

[@jfitzpatrick6108]

A complex topic very clearly explained in lay terms! Thank you for that!

[@aniuncensored]

So many of the comments are utterly disappointing. It's a phenomenal break through to be at 7 patients cured fully in 2024, for those of us who grew up watching our heroes and peer groups die of HIV/AIDS in the 80's and 90's and right into the early 00's being a queer kid growing up and watching the ones who were 5-15 years older die or be battle hardened from holding their friends and lovers close in death is something that's been quickly forgotten by those left behind. We're spoiled by the wonder and changes in society, between prep and post exposure prophylaxis all the way to effective treatments that can take people from full blown AIDS to undetectable in a matter of months. I am supremely grateful that my own children are growing up in a better world. However, nothing would make me happier than to hear a reliable cure had been found along with a successful vaccine. HIV has been a dark chapter that had brought out some of the true monsters in humanity. We could put an end to it and move on. ❤

[@MynameisBrianZX]

Look up the complications of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and listen to any survivors, then reevaluate your haste to criticize people’s hopefulness.

[@arnaldosantoro6812]

Sensationalistic news gets more attention. Medicine which makes hiv untransmittable should be given more headlines. That stuff makes hiv a problem of the past. Sadly, our societies stayed in the '80 regarding stigma and medical information.

[@dreammaker9642]

I mean it’s not like it’s new, polio has killed so many and was so much worse… rabbits is a death sentence the minute you show symptoms… Tuberculosis has a cure yet millions die of it in Africa but you don’t care bout them because they are poor Africans and “they all so sick, god probably doesn’t like them anyway” (if you get that reference legend lol)… malaria also kills thousands and the Spanish flu has killed more people you are able to count. Sure HIV had a big PR campaign cause someone has to raise money but there are lot more serious diseases in the world we have cure for but won’t give to people because of where they were born and the Color of their skin… rather than complaining about people making jokes I’d much rather you feel outraged about that and do something about that… perhaps the more people do then maybe these people won’t have to die of diseases we’ve already cured…. I know they aren’t all Freddy mercury but they people too and they also have loved ones just like you… they were just unlucky to be born in the wrong place unlike you…. Use some of your privilege and have your own listen to you cause they won’t listen to me even if my skin ressembles theirs my dna doesn’t

[@normalchannel2185]

@@arnaldosantoro6812 Honestly, i'd rather have optimistic sensationalistic news than the shitshow the current news system is

[@3nertia]

@@arnaldosantoro6812 More profitable to prolong a disease rather than cure it anyway heh

[@the_everafter]

I can only imagine the mix of emotions those seven must have had. Doctor walks in "so ive got good news and bad news, the bad news is, you have blood cancer. The good news is theres this new thing where we can replace all of your blood and it will cure your cancer AND your HIV." I know thats mega simplistic. But yeah i can only imagine the mix of emotions these seven were feeling

[@RichardSarah-s6p]

DR ABIOLA ON YT CURED ME FROM HIV I AM SO GREATFUL ....

[@wasdered1034]

"And it will cost you about 800,000 dollars

[@katherinevallo2326]

Before they tested blood like they do now I had a friend who ended up getting HIV that progressed to AIDS because of a blood transfusion. I saw how HIV affected her and how it progressed to AIDS. I was her caretaker as she died from the disease. I wouldn't wish it on anybody. I am happy that at least 7 people have been cured. I hope one day HIV will be cured for all with the illness. I love Crispr. Hopefully, it can help cure HIV one day and make it a disease of the past like smallpox.

[@Desthecatlady]

Thank you for this video! I have been following these HIV stem cell treatment cases for maybe 2 years, and I consistently fail to explain it clearly lol. Now I will just link this video. 😀

[@enrique3055]

Thank you for your videos, man.❤

[@BuildinWings]

"Only" seven, like it's not a massive breakthrough for what was once a death sentence.

[@physicsunderstander4958]

Honestly though, it's absolutely insane to think that 40 years ago this disease was equivalent to having the grim reaper knocking on your door, absolute certain death within months to a few miserable years at most. And now it's possible to live a completely normal life if you just take a pill every day. Even if we can't reliably cure it, the fact that people can live complete lives without symptoms or complications is crazy.

[@KyrilPG]

HAART arriving in the mid nineties already changed that, while not curing. Millions are already living almost normally thanks to that. The 7 that were cured had to go through something quite difficult.

[@nuuuuuuuut]

They werent implying that at all.. the fact of the matter 7 still isnt very many.

[@fletcher5148]

im pretty sure the entire point of the video was to address what a massive acomplishment we've made, i highly doubt the scishow team was making a video about dumb it is we've "only" cured 7 people

[@brightsparkey1965]

Pharmaceutical companies are working to correct this back to zero

[@patja89]

I wonder if you all could make a video similar to this one about treatments for autoimmune disorders, the current clinical trials etc etc

[@RichardSarah-s6p]

DR ABIOLA ON YT CURED ME FROM HIV I AM SO GREATFUL ....

[@KS-es5nh]

SARS-CoV-2 also attacks t-cells and causes immune system issues 💔 I hope we can find a cure for Long COVID someday.

[@SlimThrull]

22 hours and the number is still seven. Will check again tomorrow.

[@jonathanc.5364]

Liar

[@Carlos-vn4ec]

woah i had no idea that hiv was curable at all. Really inspiring to see how far we’ve come and how much effort is going into eventually cutting and eradicating hiv

[@TheSleepSteward]

jPeople, please sign up to whatever organization is in your country to become a stem cell donor! You can literally save a life. And it's not that hard to sign up nor is it that much work to help save a life. We desperately need new donors because there's just not enough people to cover the amount of transplants we need. The more people, the higher the chance to find a match with a donor. And some populations are more needed than others due to genetic diversity but everyone is needed from all backgrounds; you may be someone's last chance at a good life.

[@mebreevee]

If you say, have a connective tissue disorder, would they even take my stem cells? At what point do they become faulty?

[@sophiedowney1077]

Commenting because this needs to be at the top! It's really easy to become a potential donor too! All you need to do is sign up, and they send you a free kit with a q tip to swap your cheek, and then you send it back on their dime. And then if they find someone who needs it and matches your DNA, they will ask you for a donation.

[@sophiedowney1077]

​@@mebreeveeas long as the disorder is purely of the connective tissue and not of the immune cells, you might still be able to donate. You would have to look into it. And if not, donating blood (or platelets) is always good. Blood donation is one of the most efficient methods of charitable donation, because it can save up to 3 lives, for only like half an hour of your time. I decided to try donating two years ago, and then I found out that not only am I O-(universal donor and desperately in demand), but I'm also CMV -, which means that my blood is safe enough for premature babies. So now I donate as often as I am able, even though it's honestly not great on my body because I'm barely above the weight limit. But it's worth it knowing I'm helping babies. (Plus the T shirts are fun)

[@dreammaker9642]

If you saw how I exist you’d probably not want to risk catching what have but I’d give it 😂 let’s just hope my weirdness is unrelated

[@mebreevee]

@@dreammaker9642 I relate to that hard. I mostly don’t want to risk giving my kid hEDS in a 50-50 gamble or any of my slew of mental health issues should I ever reproduce.

[@samsoncooper1]

It was a big focus for health research in the late 1980s into the 2000s, not so much since 2015-2017. It has slowly been plodding along, but with lower funding than a lot of other diseases. The problem with it is that a lot of the people suffering most aren't from Western nations and as such the funding has dried up. In richer countries that suffer with the epidemic, we have seen a steady rise in funding but in poorer countries we have seen a drop-off in recent years, especially when taking into account inflationary measures. It is also important to note that nobody has been 'cured' of HIV from sub-Saharan Africa, the most effected area and that the amount of trials for research into the disease don't take place here.

[@EVILLASER]

This is a really enlightening comment. People often forget that solutions at home don't always translate to problems solved for the whole world.

[@AquibMohammedAyman]

Wow scishow in a different time!

[@EmyN]

This is all so fascinating, and hopeful!

[@LC_JSE]

How do we know it’s “cured”? As mentioned even the smallest amount in reservoirs is enough to bring it back. Is it like how ppl are “cure” from cancer? Like you go into remission for a duration and after certain time point you are “cured”? If so how long is that remission time?

[@KaizerRemix]

If we're being technical, these people are termed as being in long-term remission rather than cured. But they're extremely closely monitored with regular viral loads done so that if there's any indication that they have replicating viruses they'll restart therapy. Timothy Ray Brown (the Berlin patient) eventually passed away from relapsed cancer without his HIV returning.

[@DawnDavidson]

@@KaizerRemixthat’s very hopeful. I’m sad he passed away from his cancer, but the fact that the HIV never came back by that point is very hopeful indeed.

[@HeyItsEmilyLove]

I just love their voice. It’s so soothing

[@Fighterfilms1]

Their? It’s one person speaking

[@TheIrieman15]

@@Fighterfilms1 🤭🤣

[@parchalama]

23andMe says I have one copy of the Delta 32 mutation. Supposedly it got more common in Europe because of the plague.

[@sophiedowney1077]

You should see if you can join the national bone marrow donor registry, or whatever your country's equivalent is. You could end up curing someone else's AIDS too!

[@ArnovanWyk-q2j]

you are correct - its the result of a mutagen if I am remembering right, came about as treatment against the plague, can be reproduced today still but that has some ethical issues. about 11% Caucasians have partial or complete immunity to HIV because of the CCR 5 deficiency.

[@michelletheado]

I'm homozygous CCR5-delta-32 - I was one of the donors for UPenns "Zinc Finger" research program into a potential treatment for HIV-1. While it's a promising angle for treatment of that particular variant of the virus, it has the side effect of leaving your immune system compromised to several other viruses - most notable of which is flavivirus variants such as Dengue, West Nile, Yellow Fever, Zika, etc. It's better than nothing, but it's not a panacea :(

[@dreammaker9642]

And I’m genetically resistant to malaria because my ancestors have been dealing with it. Genetics is basically a case of the survivors bias, if a gene helps against a disease that spreads then those with it have a easier time surviving and reproducing while those who don’t well don’t…. Darwinism at its finest survival of the fittest or luckiest I suppose 😂

[@trishapellis]

The phrase "it got more common because of the plague" almost makes it sound like more people developed the same mutation after they survived the plague. When what really happened is all the people who did NOT have that mutation died, so the percentage of that mutation in the general population was much higher afterward. Language is funny.

[@pedrostormrage]

8:45 "You probably see where this is going: why not rewrite CCR5 to the mutated version, so HIV can't get in?" I was actually thinking about messing with the HIV DNA reservoir so it becomes non-functional (essentially downgrading the viral DNA to "junk DNA"). But yeah, it makes sense you'd try to stop the viral replication cycle at the earliest point possible (avoiding the infection), but it wouldn't work for the cells already infected.

[@dwirandypradhika6752]

Not me checking the comments for update on number of cured patients, mere hours after the video is up

[@baronghede2365]

I hope we add Herb's and holistic treatments into HIV/AIDS research.

[@ShengTheCraftsman]

please talk about HPV, it wasn't talk about enough at all

[@animationlivegerman5989]

As a becoming vet-tech I would actually say that B-Lymphocytes are the thing that does the most damage to intruding germs.

[@chatbear69]

Reid gets smarter and more handsome every time I see him. Keep up the good work my man.

[@inventionist172]

I remember a few years ago there were only 2-3 people cured. It keeps going up every year!!

[@JamesRichardsPlays]

Having been born in 1982, this is quite exciting. I got to see what has happened in the 1990's to now. This is so exciting for medical science, its information and ideas can be applied to so many other parts of our human lives. I love this stuff!

[@richardg8092]

As some-one who watched most of my friends die from HIV in the '80's, when there was no effective treatment, I get particularly irritable when I now hear HIV+ ppl whinge about the 'burden' of having to take ONE pill a day. ONE pill which keeps them alive and thriving. Do you hear people with high cholesterol or high blood pressure complaining about taking a pill a day that keeps them alive? No. I hope for a cure for HIV as much as much as anyone does, but it's time to be THANKFUL for the progress that's been made - for pretty damned obvious reasons. So, take your med, live with an undetectable viral load and get on with you life like everybody else does. There. I said it.

[@debeosakwe5966]

Watched this 7 minutes after it released. Can confirm still only 7 people cured

[@coytheboy]

41 minutes after. Bad news, still only 7.

[@CollineinfachCollinex]

still 7 here :(

[@villerintanthillith1762]

Man 8 hours and still only 7, it's joever

[@mrman6025]

Neat, haven’t been this early for sci show before. Interesting episode. Lets find out

[@NightridingDoom]

one thing that everyone seems to miss, is that all the HIV patients that got the cure, got a mismatch of the CCR5 gene after the transplant. So HIV most likely is vulnerable to any change to that gene

[@MissMTurner]

I am one of the people who carries 2 copies of the CCR5 deta 32 mutation. I basically have natural immunity to HIV.

[@EVILLASER]

Resistance, sure, but CCR5 is also only one of the two known co-receptors for HIV-1. There's another co-receptor, CXCR4, which HIV-1 can use to gain entry to cells independent of CCR5.

[@平和-v1z]

Highly informational, thank you!

[@gustavludwig9719]

7 is still bigger than cured rabies

[@CritterKeeper01]

@gustavludwig9719 True! Jeanna Giese notwithstanding, the Milwaukee protocol seems to be a failure.

[@katra5673]

That's actually not true. The number of survivors of rabies is 15.

[@UserAccount-ThisOne]

i mean it does make sense, HIV is incredibly sneaky, it literally silences your defense mechanisms and engraves itself into your DNA so it can just pop back up even if it gets completely eradicated... Rabies just boils your body and melts your brain over the span of a few weeks, even if its nowhere near as intrusive as HIV the speed that it eviscerates your body is what makes it so deadly.

[@mr_hary]

Survive rabies is to shut down the body untul the rabies pass. But its still a risk procedure

[@tatiana4050]

​@@mr_hary milwaukee is not considered valid treatment for rabies.

[@jhill4874]

What about autologous stem cell transplant. This is a medical procedure that involves removing a patient's healthy stem cells, storing them, and then returning them to the patient after treatment. I've had this treatment. It's not simple and requires a minimum of two weeks in a completely sterile room while the stem cells rebuild the patient's bone marrow. This also eliminates all existing immunities like childhood diseases (chicken pox, measles, etc.) and anything you were vaccinated against. I am no longer immune to smallpox, for example. Thank goodness smallpox is no longer an issue. Polio as well. Expensive and involved.

[@rloach067]

great video! slightly irritated that the captions don't fully match the audio, though. Does the person that makes the captions knows something SciShow writers don't? was the next berlin patient a "he" or fully annonymous? i do hope to see an universal HIV cure in my lifetime

[@mybachhertzbaud3074]

@rloach067 I too hope to see a cure for both of those thing you discussed.😁

[@aliengeo]

Yeah, that's a really disruptive discrepancy. The goal of captions is to render what's said as text.

[@D-Paws]

This makes me feel like we are so close to curing old age.

[@andyanderson2143]

"1% of certain populations" what does that mean? Which populations? What percentage is that of all people?

[@Thesillyfox3]

www.google.com/search?q=who+has+gebe+mutation+that+has+double+ccr5&rlz=1CDGOYI_enUS821US822&oq=who+has+gebe+mutation+that+has+double+ccr5&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOdIBCTM1OTcyajBqN6gCFLACAeIDBBgBIF8&hl=en-US&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8

[@jphysics]

Probably the population from where it was sampled. Probably more detail in that study

[@vithefirst6173]

I assume it was meaning 1% of the populations that were included in the study, though I'm not sure why they didn't just say that it was 1% of the study's sample size

[@wide-eyedeel5582]

"1% of certain populations at best." In the populations with the highest rate of the mutation, the mutation only has a 1% prevalence.

[@willalogicalwf]

The people that are immune to the bubonic plague are immune to the AIDS/HIV virus and vice versa. Both diseases attack the immune system in the same way, sooo..... Europeans or their descendants are usually the only populations with this immunity

[@crimsonraen]

Yay for hopeful videos! Here's hoping we can figure this one out! :D

[@nwabuezeozuzu6370]

2:21 hey there, 5 hours into the future, we're still at 7 people cured.

[@qwertzuiop1230]

Wow this is so cool. I feel like living in the future. Just image what CRISPR will be able to do in a couple of decades. Makes me really glad to be studying biology

[@EVILLASER]

Just you wait until you read up on base editors and prime editors, the v2 and v3 versions of Cas9, lol

[@OliveAmanita2682]

I don't want to be "that person," (i love SciShow) but at 1:24, it's said that HIV is a retrovirus, which means it "puts its DNA into YOUR DNA" That's just a description of a virus. A RETROvirus uses RNA, not DNA. Which is what makes treating it that much harder. Shoulda been something like: "It puts its RNA into YOUR DNA" and perhaps a brief description about RNA. I don't mean to bash them or anything, but I feel like this should have been caught somewhere along the chain.

[@KaizerRemix]

Retroviruses convert their RNA into DNA before insertion into the host genome. No RNA is inserted into DNA. Most RNA or DNA viruses do not insert their genetic material into the genome amd knowing about the specifics of HIV replication isn't actually important for the topic of the video.

[@enadegheeghaghe6369]

You are wrong. HIV is an RNA virus but once it enters the human cell, the reverse transcriptace enzymes converts the HIV RNA into DNA which is then incorporated into the host cell DNA. RNA cannot bind to DNA. Scishow left out some details for simplicity but they were correct.

[@blauw67]

Viruses almost exclusively use RNA, However there are a few DNA viruses (yes DNA virus is the scientific term). So just because it is a virus, doesn't mean that it uses RNA for its replication. Now you are correct that the HIV virus uses RNA for its main replication, and I do agree they should've used, "its generic material, into your genetic material"

[@dreammaker9642]

No bud common viruses don’t add themselves to your genome only the infected cells dna causing them to stop doing what they suppose to and just make more viruses until they die and release more viruses to infect other cells… retroviruses are different as they add themselves to the cells DNA without disrupting it hence why your immune system doesn’t notice it since the cells don’t produce the brisk proteins which would normally give them away and have your immune system attack them. Instead they just stay there and when your cells divide the viral addition gets passe down too eventually infecting every new cells which other viruses don’t do. Once it’s at a certain stage then the viral DNA becomes active and starts replicating the viral proteins (which I believe is the point you switch to full blown aids) by then since the virus infected your immune system and the very Tcells in charge of nuking everything so by then your are toast and now have no immune system to speak of. Logically this is why blood cancer becomes common because there’s no immune system to stop tumours so they just run rent free and by then you are at risk from any pathogen. Now you can’t expect them to go in details on the life cycle of retroviruses cause it would take a whole fcked hour or two my like my bloody biology lectures did and honestly unless you trying to become a doctor you have no real reason to give a fck whether the virus starts its life cycle as RNA cause it makes no difference to the context of the video and would just serve to confuse people who didn’t bother getting a biology degree because they had better things to do. Those who are curious have Google and it’s free, I know you just wanted to tell use you know the difference between DNA and RNA viruses and congratulations you studied your lesson you are ready for the exam… still unnecessary information for the average Joe

[@enadegheeghaghe6369]

@@OliveAmanita2682 HIV has a reverse transcriptace enzyme that converts the HIV RNA to DNA which is then merged with the host cell DNA. Some HIV medication block that transcriptase enzyme stopping viral replication /preventing more cells from being infected

[@theantichrist5191]

this guy and Hank are my favorite hosts

[@64BitMatt]

2:20 hey, future here, no change.

[@null-0]

This was posted 3hrs ago 🔥🔥🔥

[@yazeedz7081]

Thanks Will Sasso

[@KingsleyIII]

"An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure." Practice safe sex.

[@Alex-cq1zr]

Would be great if lots of politicians didn't oppose contraception or sex ed... or thought that HIV is a divine punishment and thus shouldn't be opposed

[@RobertHouse101]

Too late for those of us dying before we knew this retrovirus existed. I'm talking years. The first infections began in the 1950s. Saying to practice safe sex to them is thoughtless. Still today, people who are HIV+ get the eye of "you practiced unsafe sex," otherwise meaning you deserve it. No disease should be shamed. It's a f'ing disease.

[@jonb4155]

Tell that to the Catholic Church, who aggressively prevent the distribution of, and education about, contraceptive use in parts of the world where they have a stranglehold like the more rural parts of Africa. Coincidentally, the more rural parts of Africa are still a breeding ground for the virus.

[@IceMetalPunk]

True. But it's also important to remember that sex isn't the only way to transmit HIV. So even if everyone in the world never got sexually-transmitted HIV again, people would still continue to get HIV.

[@ironically_iconic9848]

@@Alex-cq1zrso real and so sad :(

[@toad5545]

I wish you had mentioned the really cool research on how some snake venoms might be able to be used to prevent HIV infection. I dont know a whole lot about it and how well it would work in vivo, but i plan to study biochemistry to learn more about snake venom and its use in medicine. Its a very cool area of study, and gives us all the more reasons to be nice to scary snakes

[@JLep44]

Sadly, I remain skeptical of big pharma and fear that a cure isn’t truly their goal. There’s more money to be made by having someone take a medication every day for the rest of their life. Cures aren’t as profitable.

[@KinJohn-f4y]

I'm feeling better now, no more pain . His medication worked according to his prescription, now I'm HIV free.. 0:05 ❤❤❤

[@adnan7698]

0:18 Tom Riddle ahh logic

[@animatixreaction7203]

The problem is people who have greed on income and swallowing the funds rather than the promise of a scientist and doctor to create a cure.

[@carterwegler9205]

As of 10 minutes after video posting its still 7 people.

[@HarrisonMartinson]

No way... really?

[@mircea7733]

Yeah... wise words... I wonder what the world would be without wise people like you...

[@thelonenoob2489]

We need cure . We need cure. We need cure . 😭

[@marcialabrahantes3369]

bro recorded this on the way to his luau vacation

[@dennisdawson9896]

That shirt makes me say “Aloha”!

[@notrocksiza]

14 minutes later. 7 people cured

[@Cocoanutty0]

I was wondering if CRISPR would be involved. Glad to know its continuing to be a huge breakthrough.

[@Mark-jr8pi]

Anyone watching in 2076?

[@christopherleadholm6677]

Long time no see!

[@tag180rotax]

Cure = pay 1 time. Treat = pay for life

[@jimbucket2996]

Shh, don't give any ideas.

[@thomassaldana2465]

So, there is a solution here. If the bottleneck comes from the donor needing to have two very specific mutations, then we need to start human genetic modification. We don't even need to modify the genes of a full-blown person; bone marrow could be extracted, and then the cells in that bone marrow could be genetically engineered to give them that particular mutation. From there, they can be lab-grown to produce a sufficient dose, and then transplanted into the recipient. Obviously, there's more research to be done to make that process work, but the biggest hurdle is the restriction on human genetic engineering. We, as a species, need to collectively grow up a bit. Edit: So, I started typing this comment within the first minute or two of the video, and then...he started talking about the same thing I was thinking. Well, that's interesting.

[@fairybeliever4479]

I’m from 2062. HIV has mostly been cured. I say mostly, because most part of the world can’t afford the treatment. Poor people still suffer.

[@adrianio1000]

Is the aforementioned poor part of the world America?

[@fairybeliever4479]

@ it’s different from state to state.

[@JustGreggin]

Yes, because the creators of the cure made it free to the public, but American insurance and pharmaceutical companies decided to monetize it instead. The classic American dream.

[@lasagnajohn]

So, we still haven't cured ignorance about why capitalism beats socialism huh?

[@adrianio1000]

@@lasagnajohn in capitalism some are rich and some are poor. In socialism everyone is poor.

[@Change_231]

Hey guys, I'm 19 and i tried testing the hiv test and it says nonreactive. So, I have to come back and get tested again in 3 months. This overthinking is killing me...

[@MetalHendrix.]

Because thats the amount of People that could afford it?

[@robotguy4]

Seven times? Last time I heard about it that number was 5.

[@GorriaAltxor]

heads up, your subtitles use he/him when you talk about the next berlin patient and the geneva patient, rather than the they/them in the audio of the video

[@IaconDawnshire]

🙄

[@AbdallahBiri]

Pathetic..

[@vinidestiny3112]

Hi everyone, I work as a chemist for Merck, and I thought we had released a preventive medication, a kind of vaccine, a few years ago. At least in Germany, it should already be available. As far as I know, it hasn’t failed-I thought it was successfully launched. Don’t you have it where you are? It’s a small implant that’s inserted into the arm and continuously releases a certain amount of the active substance. Am I mistaken, or is it just not available in your region?

[@CaptainChaooooos]

The money isn’t in the cure.

[@Infernoraptor]

"It involves wiping out your immune system" Um, why wouldnt this be an option for people with fatal autoimmune diseases? Or does it not impact the specific parts of the immume system at play?

[@horizon319]

Why cure when you can manage and charge for the patient's lifetime? - Corporate America

[@SimuLord]

Big Pharma and the long-term care industry are the greatest enemies of generational wealth. The focus we have on longevity as a society means they can bleed us dry and leave nothing for our heirs. My retirement and end-of-life plan is red meat and energy drinks.

[@wasd____]

Because part of "corporate America" is the insurance industry, and insurance companies would MUCH rather pay for a cure, once, for maybe at worst a few thousand dollars, than pay out hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars for lifetime treatment of a chronic incurable disease.

[@Kes22497]

Great video, but I wanted to point out that the captions change the pronouns for the patients from they/them in the audio track to he/him in the subs consistently.

[@RichardSarah-s6p]

dr abiola on youtube cured my hiv virus completely ...

[@luvotheoduntsu708]

Hey guys timetraveller here. A message from Bernie Sanders that only "only 1% of the 1% will get 99% of the cure."💔

[@Tola5657]

Really interesting ,did not know there was even 1 it had happened for

[@nobelwarprize]

I’m HIV negative. 🤓 and also a virgin.

[@kashiichan]

Virgins can still be HIV positive, if they get it via blood transfusion or inherit it from a parent.

[@Dietconsulting]

You could have been HIV+ve and a virgin before blood was properly screened.

[@user-qw1rx1dq6n]

8:57 naive question here but why not use crispr as it was originally intended and insert the mechanism into the cell for it to then remove the latent reservoir

[@KGWoodz]

Stoping kids from saying first

[@KGWoodz]

48 secs

[@DamonACrabtree]

First

[@gabriela.herrera]

*stopping

[@KGWoodz]

@@DamonACrabtreelol shut up

[@drakkaw]

That is not HIV. That's a cancer.

[@Groovygal2026]

My MOM worked on the hiv vaccine!

[@vivianyayraahorlu5943]

Pls how do I get something

[@ethervagabond]

I'm watching this 18 hours in the future. Now there's 7 people who've been cured.

[@SunakoHokkaido]

Without watching the video - why? Money

[@woodfur00]

Not this time

[@UserAccount-ThisOne]

for once, its not actually about money... i dont believe it either ive looked all over the context to see if my gaze can be set upon any sort of greedy gremlin schemes, but nope. this time its just raw difficulty with how HIV works.

[@IceMetalPunk]

Maybe watch the science video before assuming a capitalist reason for a scientific struggle?

[@woodfur00]

@@IceMetalPunk Or, you know, watch the video before commenting in general

[@IceMetalPunk]

@@woodfur00 Meh, sometimes there are valid reasons for doing so. I often comment while I'm still watching a video, because I have thoughts that I'd forget by the time the video ends.

[@princeofexcess]

Research is progressing too slowly, and we need to better assess the balance between risk and reward in medical field. It's acceptable to take calculated risks, even if it means some lives may be lost, particularly when individuals are willing to take those risks in pursuit of a cure. This doesn't imply making reckless decisions; instead, it calls for rigorous analysis that isn't solely driven by our innate fears. Human nature tends to overemphasize negative outcomes, but to make rational decisions, we must value saving lives on a nearly equal footing with the cost of losing one for the equation to be fair. While avoiding death at all costs is evolutionarily sensible, it doesn't hold up statistically or when crafting effective policies.

[@AmandaBrooks-j8i]

Quick note: the captions during the introduction of the Next Berlin patient use "he" and "guy" instead of the speaker's "they" and "person".

[@ODISeth]

I wonder if the captions were taken from an early version of the script, and that part wasn’t updated. Good eye!

[@thaumatomane]

Due to this video I just signed up to be a stem cell donor. I wish I could find out if I had that mutation.