7. Incurable diseases
AI is accelerating drug discovery, while nanotech and gene therapy offer new hope in fighting cancer, HIV, and other major illnesses. The focus is shifting from treatment to prevention — and one day, these diseases might be managed before symptoms even appear.
In February 2022, a team of scientists from New York-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City made a significant stride in the fight against curing HIV. Reports suggested that they had possibly cured HIV in a female patient for the first time. As previously reported, researchers used “a cutting-edge stem cell transplant method” called the “haplo-cord transplant,” an alternative cancer treatment method that is used for individuals who lack a human leukocyte antigen (HLA) donor. The HLA system is a complex mix of genes and chromosomes that are responsible for regulating the immune system.
First, the patient received a transplant of umbilical cord blood from an infant donor that contained enough of the stem cells used to promote a healthy immune system. The cord also contained an HIV-resistant genetic abnormality that has been found in previous cases to block the virus from multiplying in blood cells.
Then, the woman received a larger dose or “graft” of adult stem cells from another donor. Upon successfully grafting, the adult stem cells flourish and entirely replace the cord blood cells, in this case, creating a thriving immune system, and helping to cure the disease.
