Site divulga possível avanço na pesquisa contra o HIV

O site "The Huffington Post" divulgou nesta terça-feira (14) que Timothy Ray Brown, conhecido como o "Paciente de Berlim", pode ser a primeira pessoa a ter se livrado do vírus HIV, causador da Aids, após tratamento com células-tronco. O caso de Brown, no entanto, é algo isolado, segundo os cientistas.

Médicos que monitoram o paciente afirmam que ele não possui mais o vírus, como resultado da aplicação de células-tronco em 2007, em meio a um tratamento contra leucemia.

O caso foi apresentado pela primeira vez em 2008, em uma conferência médica. Depois, foi publicado em 2009 em uma das principais revistas médicas do mundo, a "New England Journal of Medicine" (leia reportagem do G1 na época). Até então, no entanto, os médicos falavam apenas em um "desaparecimento" do HIV.

Agora, na revista científica Blood, da Sociedade Americana de Hematologia, eles afirmam que Brown foi "curado". "Nossos resultados sugerem fortemente que a cura do HIV foi alcançada neste paciente", diz o estudo, publicado em dezembro deste ano. 

Entenda o caso

Timothy Ray Brown era HIV positivo, mas nunca chegou a desenvolver a Aids. Para evitar o surgimento da doença, ele tomava diariamente medicamentos antirretrovirais. Quando descobriu que tinha leucemia e precisaria passar por um transplante de médula óssea, Brown teve que parar com a medicação contra o HIV. Em todos os outros pacientes, a interrupção faz a doença aparecer em questão de semanas. Em Brown, isso não aconteceu.

Os cientistas acreditam que a doença não se desenvolveu porque, para o tratamento contra a leucemia, Brown recebeu um transplante de células-tronco com uma mutação -- elas não possuíam um receptor chamado CCR5, que é vital à multiplicação do vírus da Aids. Como consequência, o organismo dele conseguiu recompor as células de defesa que tinham sido atingidas pelo vírus.

O caso de Brown é um avanço na busca pela cura do HIV, com base na aplicação de células-tronco geneticamente alteradas. O vírus da Aids infecta 33 milhões de pessoas em todo o mundo.

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