A story about a possibly "cured" individual from one of the UK's least reputable tabloids - The News of the World - is causing a bit of a stir. In typically crazed fashion (think Weekly World News), the paper uses the headline: " I'm the First in the World to be Cured of HIV." A young Scottish man, Andrew Stimpson, reportedly (and I'd stress that word) tested positive on an HIV antibody test in 2002 but has subsequently tested negative on three occasions since 2003. The story states that he developed symptoms of acute HIV infection in May 2002 and seroconverted in August. In October 2003 he was restested and the result was negative, which was confirmed by two further antibody tests. According to the article Stimpson's doctors at the Royal Chelsea and Westminster Hospital believe the tests were accurate. There aren't any details on viral load testing, just a single mention that he had "a low HIV count in his blood" after diagnosis. Stimpson says he just took a daily supplement regimen after learning of his status because antiretroviral therapy wasn't indicated. His initial reaction to learning of the negative tests was to threaten to sue the hospital, which seems to be how it emerged that the tests were accurate. It is perhaps worth noting that the hospital therefore also has a vested interest in claiming the test results were correct.
There seems to be a disagreement about the extent to which further research will be conducted on this case. The Chelsea & Westminster Hospital state that Stimpson has not returned for additional tests and make a plea for him to do so, while Stimpson gets quoted saying that he hopes he can contribute information that will help the search for a cure. Hopefully researchers will be able to analyze whether Stimpson developed HIV-specific T cell responses, since their presence would be further evidence that an exposure had occurred. Until further research is conducted this case remains an anecdote, and, unfortunately, one from a rather dubious source.
Ironically, in February of this year at the Retrovirus Conference a group of reputable Israeli researchers presented a poster abstract about an individual who has repeatedly tested negative (for both antibodies and viral RNA) after ceasing antiretroviral therapy some time ago. This case has received no media attention that I'm aware of.
UPDATE 11/14: "Man who says he beat HIV goes to ground." This Sydney Morning Herald article is based on a longer piece in today's Guardian. It appears that the story is unraveling:
"Campaigners are annoyed that having not yet undergone the vital tests, Mr Stimpson nevertheless signed contracts with the News of The World and the Mail on Sunday, both of which published his claims yesterday.
They also sounded a note of caution, noting that disclosures in his case arose not from medical research or peer review but from legal correspondence relating to an action Mr Stimpson was pursuing against the health trust. He had feared the positive results might have been wrong and had sought compensation. The trust's contention that both sets of blood tests were accurate emerged as it tried to defend itself from litigation."
UPDATE 11/16: And finally, the denouement: "Miracle HIV patient didn't have virus." The story includes this tortured quote from the Chelsea & Westminster Hospital: "It is probably there was never any evidence of him having the HIV virus," the Chelsea and Westminster NHS Trust admitted. "We don't know exactly what happened."
Comments