by Liz Highleyman

A London man continues to have no detectable HIV 30 months after stopping antiretroviral therapy, according to a report at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI 2020). Research is being presented virtually this week after the in-person meeting in Boston was cancelled due to the coronavirus crisis.

In 2016, the man underwent a bone marrow transplant to treat lymphoma using stem cells from a donor with natural resistance to HIV. Since he stopped treatment, researchers have been unable to find functional HIV in his blood, semen, lymph nodes, gut tissue or cerebrospinal fluid.

Professor Ravindra Gupta of University College London first presented the case at last year's CROI. At that point, the man had been free of detectable virus for 18 months following his treatment interruption. Yesterday the New York Times revealed that the man, Adam Castillejo, had decided to go public as the 'London patient'.

"My message to everyone out there living and coping with HIV is to not give up hope," Castillejo told aidsmap.com. "I do hope that me going public will give some encouragement and empower people to keep breaking the stigma associated with HIV."

Last year, Gupta said that after two or three years without detectable virus, it would be appropriate to talk about a cure, adding that he was "highly confident this will be achieved." And indeed, he told aidsmap.com this week, "After 2.5 years off antiretrovirals and lack of evidence for any active virus, this almost certainly represents cure."

The latest findings strongly suggest that Castillejo has joined Timothy Ray Brown, formerly known as the Berlin patient, as the second person to permanently beat HIV. Read more via AIDSmap