Using HIV to Combat Cancer
Doctors Inject HIV to Save Girl's Life
This is a remarkable story and potential breakthrough. Obviously, this should only be performed as the proverbial last resort. It is interesting that a vector with such an atrocious history can be used in this manner. I do wonder what long-term effects this therapy could potentially have.
This is a remarkable story and potential breakthrough. Obviously, this should only be performed as the proverbial last resort. It is interesting that a vector with such an atrocious history can be used in this manner. I do wonder what long-term effects this therapy could potentially have.
I wished they showed how the doctors approached Emma's parents. I mean, they couldn't just say, "Can we get your signature here to inject HIV into your daughter?" I agree that there should be more studies on the long term effects of using HIV as the means to cure cancer. Also, if Emma and her family approves, they should follow Emma's life. Later on down the road, does she later show auto-immune symptoms? The initial effects and after photos show her living well.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I must say, Wow!! What a miracle! I wonder why they chose HIV as the means. I mean there are plenty other viruses out there, why that specific one? Was it because of its effectiveness or because it has been well studied? Would it have worked as well if they had used the the rhinovirus?
Maybe they're right. Maybe to "fight fire with fire" you have to get out the big guns on cancer. I mean, this is the whole premise of the show "Dexter:" using one serial killer to kill other serial killers. I would like to know more about how they genetically modified the virus so that it was so effective in assassinating her leukemia.
Wow, this is amazing. How could such a terrible thing lead to something this remarkable? It is so shocking to begin to believe that one of the most known "incurable killers" could be a potential healing process for another. How did Dr. June and his team even get the idea to use HIV as a treatment? Also, how did they modify it in such a way that ensures the virus to not invade the body as a disease? Considering the negative abilities of this virus, it doesn't surprise me that the built up antibodies in the T-cells have a similar attacking power without the signs of the effects of Chemotherapy. I too am curious of the possible long-term outcome. This would be such a remarkable advancement in medicine if it is found to be successful in many scenarios.
ReplyDeleteWhether is was a miracle or the fighting power of the HIV virus, this is an amazing story.
It is beyond incredible what science is able to do. I would feel the need to be cautious with using the HIV virus to cure cancer, but the fact that they were able to reprogram such a horrible virus and injecting healthy cells to do something good is incredible. This could be curing cancer for many
ReplyDeleteThis story is incredible. It would take a very brave physician to insert a virus like HIV into a patient as a form of treatment. When you think about it, this is really an ingenious feat taken on by these doctors. Having learned about viruses and how they can be manipulated and engineered, it is a wonder why something like this hasn’t been implemented sooner. Maybe its because people are just to afraid to do something as radical as this.
ReplyDeleteIn some ways, it is surprising to me that other viruses, diseases, and mutations in the body can arise to prevent or avert the negative effects of another type of virus/disease/mutation. However, I have read elsewhere about instances where a disorder such as sickle cell anemia actually provides resistance to malaria (see article below). This type of mutation would be beneficial, in some respects, to those who consistently have to worry about malaria contraction.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110428123931.htm
Information like this just increases my appreciation of the body and how it works in all of its complexity. It is amazing to me how something as horrifying and vicious as HIV or sickle cell anemia can be used to save lives.
This video was extremely captivating. To know that things so dangerous to us could be turned around and used for good. It is sort of biblical in a way. Just as the HIV virus was used for good, when we go through bad situations and make it out alive we are able to use it as a testimony. Overall, it makes me extremely happy to see that there are still people not giving up the fight that is cancer. When cancer hits a loved one, life becomes difficult beyond measure, but knowing that there could be ways around it offer just a small glimpse of hope and that is enough to pull anyone through. Stories like these are what push me forward so that one day maybe I could say that I made an impact on someones life.
ReplyDeleteCancer patients frequently have problems with cancer cells reappearing after treatment. Chemotherapy is not a treatment that can be used repeatedly without dangerous consequences. Surgically removing tumors is also not guaranteed to stop the cancer from coming back. Additionally, cancer patients have a lower chance of surviving cancer relapses. Many researchers and doctors are looking for different methods of treating cancer that stop the disease from recurring. A group of doctors tried an unusual yet ingenious method of treatment that involved genetic modification. They modified an HIV virus and used its ability to reprogram cells. They used the virus to reprogram the body’s natural defense cells, T-cells, to look for and attack cancer cells. The doctors injected these modified T-cells into the patients with staggering success. The patient’s cancer cells were completely decimated within a couple weeks. The modified T-cells literally provided a constant defense against cancer cell proliferation. This treatment thwarted the cancer cells’ ability to travel throughout the body undetected. It is interesting that the patient’s unmodified T-cells had to be wiped out with chemotherapy before the modified T-cells were injected. I did not understand why the unmodified T-cells would hinder the modified T-cells. Interestingly, the treatment causes fever and other flu like symptoms. These symptoms are due to the modified T-cells attacking the cancer. These symptoms are a sign that the cancer cells are under attack! This is probably the only time anyone would be happy to have flu like symptoms. I listed the article below where I obtained additional information about this treatment. Overall, a very exciting and unique method of treating cancer with extremely promising results.
ReplyDeletehttp://news.discovery.com/human/health/hiv-used-to-fight-cancer-110914.htm
This story is an incredible testimony to the power of creative thinking. Rather than traveling along old paths of cancer research, new methods of thinking that combat cancer are desperately needed. To take a dangerous virus like HIV and use it to transform a life ravaged by cancer is an amazing feat of boldness and creativity. The fight against cancer can only be successful if novel therapies are used in its treatment and possible prevention. I'm extremely interested to see what new therapies will emerge in the years to come.
ReplyDeleteWow...I feel like I need to take a couple of minutes to appreciate the courage of each and every person featured in this story. From little Emma and her battle with cancer, her parents and their relentless desire to save their baby, to even the doctors and their creative, albeit, risky plan to give this child a second chance at life. I have to admit, though, that my focus as I watched this video wasn't on the fascinating, crazy, new, technique that cures cancer with HIV, but on that precious, little girl's transformation from sickly and bed-ridden to beautiful and lively. It reminded me why I want to be a doctor. Being a medical professional shouldn't be about flaunting my intellectual abilities or contributing to the most prestigious research ventures. Instead, it should be about encouraging the forlorn, rekindling the disheartened, and even inspiring the defeated.
ReplyDeleteThe doctors who conducted this research set an example for me. They used their novel idea to give Emma a chance when everyone else had stamped her terminal. That, to me, is medicine at its best: giving hope to the hopeless, even Jesus did it and he was the greatest Healer ever known.
It is my sincere prayer that one day God will use me, just as He used these scientists, to turn an unfortunate story into a testimony.
We are always expecting to get a shot on having a miracle happen, specially where there is no other possible solution. In those moments that is when faith kicks in. It must been hard for the physicians to even consider injecting this virus on this little girl. I think becoming a doctor is more than just the merits or the prestige that it might give you. Becoming a doctor is about giving hope to the hopeless, letting them know that even it the worst case scenarios God is capable of working through their lives. In a broken world, God gives hope through miracles like this one. The fact is that this is an incredible approach to cure cancer. There is always a possibility that things might not work as we want them to, but I am so glad that Emma had a second chance to live. There are other aspects we must consider, like the ethical aspect of it and the long term results. According to article published in the New England Journal of Medicine, of the two kids in the trial, one seems to have had a complete remission. While, the other child's cancer came back just two months after the T cell treatment. We must remember that this is on experimental trials and things can go wrong, but this a promising approach on curing cancer, hopefully it could be applied to other types of very aggressive cancers.
ReplyDeleteReference: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4058440/
This is such an amazing testimony and who would've thought that something so terrible such as HIV could actually free a young girl from cancer. I would like to know how researchers came to this conclusion and if they have seen any long term effects because those can be just as worrisome. I can't imagine being the parent of Emma making the decision to inject their daughter with HIV to potentially save her life or to skip this possible treatment and take a safer course. It makes me wonder what other discoveries are out there if researchers can heal a young girl from cancer with an injection of HIV. It is truly amazing how our bodies work and how they are able to modify themselves just like Emma's T-cells had to do.
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ReplyDeleteWhat a miracle! I can't imagine how nerve rattling that situation must have been for Emma, the parents as well as the doctors! Especially after she got even more sick after the HIV was injected. I am going to look more into this method to see the quality of life of the patient after receiving the treatment. Maybe one day when we find a cure for HIV we can use the virus to cure cancer and then after use the HIV cure to rid them of that as well! One step at a time I suppose. I always find it interesting when scientists find usefulness in bacteria or viruses that are normally seen as bad things. This obviously should be a last resort however, at least for terminal cancer patients there could possibly be light at the end of the tunnel.
ReplyDeletePraise God for designing and inspiring the minds of the individuals/researchers/doctors/scientists who essentially make miracles happen, as presented in the video. It's awesome to see how something that has a negative connotation is used to produce good. It is very interesting, though, that many of the responses in the comments below the video show doubt in the therapy. I'd personally like to see data and results collected from such studies that verify the benefits of using HIV to treat cancer.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, this treatment definitely involved "Fire with Fire," as the video headline states. It's remarkable that such a dangerous method could be utilized to treat cancer. In fact, many of the responders to the video actually doubt the authenticity of the information. With that being said, is this a method that can be used on a large scale, or is too risky to market? Regardless, it is amazing that HIV was used to treat cancer in this instance, it still saved this child's life!
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, I hope novel techniques for cancer treatment continue to be developed and understood.
DeleteThis is my testimony on how i was cured by Dr Idahosa, i am Juliet Pius i had Hiv Disease for 2years and i tried all means to treat my self but no doctor could help me cure the Hiv permanently i even took some drugs that was prescribe to me by many doctors but none could work i felt it was going to stay permanently since i could not cure my self until one day i was browsing through the internet i saw different testimony with different people on how they were cured from the disease by Dr Idahosa i never wanted to try because i knew anything done with internet were always scam but because of the pain i have i gave it a try and email him and he replied back i told him my problem he prepared a portion and send it to me which he instructed i should take morning and night i did it constantly and suddenly i started having change in me, so my brothers and sisters am glad to say Dr Idahosa has cured me from my Hiv disease he can cure any disease or sickness if you give him a try, you can email him today at; (dridahosasolutioncenter@gmail.com) or whatssap him +2348134261542 he is a nice man.
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