First fully documented case of someone recovering from HIV

[NeonVomit]

This gives great hope to many HIV and AIDS sufferers.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4432564.stm

Doctors say they want to investigate the case of a British man with HIV who apparently became clear of the virus.

Two Sunday newspapers report Scotsman Andrew Stimpson, who lives in London, was diagnosed as HIV-positive in 2002 but found to be clear in October 2003.

Chelsea and Westminster Healthcare NHS Trust, which carried out the tests, has asked him to undergo more. Mr Stimpson did not take any medication for HIV.

HIV experts say his case could help to reveal more about the disease.

A statement from the trust said: "We regret this has been a distressing time for Mr Stimpson and are happy to discuss any aspect of his care with him.

"This is a rare and complex case. When we became aware of Mr Stimpson's HIV negative test results we offered him further tests to help us investigate and find an explanation for the different results.

"So far Mr Stimpson has declined this offer. It is therefore difficult for us to comment any further."

A trust spokeswoman added: "We urge him, for the sake of himself and the HIV community, to come in and get tested.

"If he doesn't feel that he can come to Chelsea and Westminster then he should please go to another HIV specialist."

'Miracle'

There have been anecdotal accounts before from Africa of people shaking off the HIV virus, but the evidence in this case, as reported in the News of the World and the Mail on Sunday, appears to be conclusive, BBC health correspondent Adam Brimelow said.

Mr Stimpson, who is originally from Largs in Ayrshire, said: "There are 34.9 million people with HIV globally and I am just one person who managed to control it, to survive from it and to get rid of it from my body.

"For me that is unbelievable - it is a miracle. I think I'm one of the luckiest people alive."

Mr Stimpson told the newspapers that he became depressed and suicidal after being told he was HIV-positive but remained well and did not require medication.

Further tests

Some 14 months later he was offered another test by doctors, which came back negative.

He sought compensation but has apparently been told there is no case to answer because there was no fault with the testing procedure.

He has told the papers he would do anything he could to help find a cure.

Aids expert Dr Patrick Dixon, from international Aids group Acet, said the case was "very, very unusual".

Vaccine clue

"I've come across many anecdotal reports of this kind of thing happening in Africa, some quite recently, but it's difficult to verify them," he told BBC News 24.

"You have to be rock-solid sure that both samples came from the same person, no mix-up in the laboratory, no mistakes in the testing, etc.

"This is the first well-documented case."

He said the case was important because "inside his immune system is perhaps a key that could allow us to develop some kind of vaccine".

[MaFiaBoY]

"So far Mr Stimpson has declined this offer. It is therefore difficult for us to comment any further."

asshole

[Neorave]

Something tells me that this was a misdiagnosis!

[stratohawk]

Something tells me that this was a misdiagnosis!

yeah, one must be sceptical. I already read so much stuff like "the major breakthrough is near", "HIV to be healed by medication in next three years", "breakthrough in cancer research - new methods can get you over the illness".

My father did in the beginning of this year. Cancer. I hate all those promising articles, and for all the hopes we had that vanished in the end I'd really like to sue those who write such careless articels, make thousands of people hoping and then disappointing them so deeply.

What I hate the most are articles about how much gen-research can help in healing cancer and other deseases. Those are fucking opportunists, assholes who give everything to earn money and become famous. They abuse the name of "research in name of illness" for their own egoistic purposes.

I deeply hate them. They are the fucking parasites on this earth.

[stratoplayer]

Something tells me that this was a misdiagnosis!

yeah, one must be sceptical. I already read so much stuff like "the major breakthrough is near", "HIV to be healed by medication in next three years", "breakthrough in cancer research - new methods can get you over the illness".

My father did in the beginning of this year. Cancer. I hate all those promising articles, and for all the hopes we had that vanished in the end I'd really like to sue those who write such careless articels, make thousands of people hoping and then disappointing them so deeply.

What I hate the most are articles about how much gen-research can help in healing cancer and other deseases. Those are fucking opportunists, assholes who give everything to earn money and become famous. They abuse the name of "research in name of illness" for their own egoistic purposes.

I deeply hate them. They are the fucking parasites on this earth.

i know how you feel, my mom lost her dad to a heart attack even though he was supposedly in perfect health and had had a full medical exam in houston and was 100%...

and i do think this is a sham, i mean, he was diagnosed one year and the next he was fine, i mean what the fuck! how can you recover like that without any sort of treatment? and the fuckhead then refuses to be checked again?

[stratohawk]

one of the badest thing is to play with people who suffer: give them hope, only that they get the publicity for their projects, their reserches. But not for the good purpose, but to make them richer. That's why I don't give a fuck about such news. Breakthrough in HIV-treatment - ridiculous.
And all those bastards of company managers who refuse to give those poor suffering africans medication that at least eases their pains of the AIDS desease, because they have the patent rights and the people in the poor countries can't efford it.

I say it, those are the parasites of mankind. They have no consciousness. I feel nothing than contempt for them.

[Heiserich]

I just read that the doctors now exclude any mistake. They checked the results from the new and the first HIV-Tests three years ago again and it seems that this story is really true. And Stimpson now has agreed into additional checks. At first he thought they made a mistake in the first place and he had lived three years with the wrong belief to have AIDS, that's why he was so angry.

Who knows, maybe this is really a big step forwards to a remedy.

[NeonVomit]

I just read that the doctors now exclude any mistake. They checked the results from the new and the first HIV-Tests three years ago again and it seems that this story is really true. And Stimpson now has agreed into additional checks. At first he thought they made a mistake in the first place and he had lived three years with the wrong belief to have AIDS, that's why he was so angry.

Who knows, maybe this is really a big step forwards to a remedy.

That's the thing, it wouldn't have been reported by the BBC if it wasn't something with serious prospects.

Try reading the article fully before making judgements.

[stratohawk]

I read the article this morning in the newspaper, too. But as I said: I read so many stuff about breakthroughs and new developments and never heard of those again. To prevent yourself from being disappointed you shouldn't give too much of those reports, no matter who announces them. After all the reports I've read/seen/heard about major developments in treating cancer I don't give a damn about them anymore, because they ARE STILL NOT REALITY!!! That's the point. I read that stuff way long before someone got ill of my family, I read it while he was ill, and I still find such articles now after he's dead. WTF whas it good for? Only bloody publicity.

It's okay if you take these news as a new hope for HIV-patient, and maybe it is. But I tell you again, until there's nothing out on market like medicin that really helps I don't give a dime. Yeah, could be something that helps to develop something, but this still can last ten years or so. All those who now get hope from such a report but won't live long enough to get the benefits of the results - what did it help?

Not in this case with the HIV-patient who seems to be healed, but in many other cases it's only fucking publicity for pharmacy-corporations and scientists, those bastards who only want the attention of the media and don't care about the patients that desperately believe in these advances but never get anything of it that helps them.

[Heiserich]

Not in this case with the HIV-patient who seems to be healed, but in many other cases it's only fucking publicity for pharmacy-corporations and scientists, those bastards who only want the attention of the media and don't care about the patients that desperately believe in these advances but never get anything of it that helps them.

Of course there are many betrayers around that play games with the hope and desparation of ill people. There is a doctor (he's really a doctor) from Germany, Dr. Rath, who told people, his vitamin-pills (!) are a remedy for everything: Cancer, Aids etc. He treated a little boy who had cancer, telling his parents he would surely heal... Now the boy has died, and Dr. Rath is travelling through Southafrica, treating HIV-Patients and trying to get money from the southafrican government for that. Don't know why this sucker is still not in jail.

[Neorave]

They're talking about this on Glenn Beck (and, btw, for this post, I'm going on the assumption that this guy was tested positive for HIV). Pretty much it's all about his rights, he has the right to not be tested. But, because he wants to be a dick, he doesn't want to. They even told him that it would be some simple tests, like drawing blood and peeing in a cup. But he still refuses...why? Because he has rights. He has the right to not be tested. So, I think what they need to do is play on this guy's emotions, show him that the hope of humanity rests on testing his blood and urine. How would you feel about that?