Bone marrow transplants cleared the HIV virus from the bodies of two American patients, allowing them to stop taking antiretroviral medications.
One of the patients has been virus-free for four months without the help of antiretroviral drugs, the BBC reported.
HIV is tough to cure because it "hides" inside DNA forming "reservoirs" and becoming almost indestructible. HIV medications keep the virus under control in the bloodstream, but it comes back as soon as the drug regimen stops.
Two men who had been living with HIV for over 30 years received bone marrow transplants to treat lymphoma.
Bone marrow is responsible for creating new red blood cells and is considered a reservoir for the virus. After the transplants one patient remained HIV free for four years and the other for two, doctor's eventually recommended they stop taking the antiretroviral drugs.
No trace of the virus has been found in the men's bloodstreams since they stopped taking the medicine. One has been off of treatments for 15 weeks and the other for seven.
"We have not demonstrated a cure, we're going to need longer follow-up," Dr Timothy Henrich told the BBC. "What we can say is if the virus does stay away for a year or even two years after we stopped the treatment that the chances of the virus rebounding are going to be extremely low.
Timothy Brown (known as the "Berlin patient") is considered to be the first person cured of AIDS; he received a bone marrow transplant from a rare, HIV-resistant, donor.
The two American patients received their transplants from regular donors, who were not resistant to the virus.
A Mississippi baby was also said to have beaten HIV, doctors believe the antiretroviral drugs cleared up the virus before it had a chance to form reservoirs.
The new medical finding suggests bone marrow transplants may be a huge leap in the right direction for finding a cure.
"It is too early to know whether HIV has been eradicated from these men's bodies or whether it might return. However, the case suggests that what happened to Timothy Brown, the Berlin Patient was perhaps not a one-off," Dr. Michael Brady, the medical director of the Terrence Higgins Trust said.
Bone marrow transplants are extremely dangerous procedures with notable risks, this may pose a problem for HIV patients hoping for a quick cure.
"A bone marrow transplant is a complex and expensive procedure, which comes with significant risks. For most people with HIV, it would be more dangerous to undergo a transplant than to continue managing the virus with daily medication," Brady said.
