With the release of Bohemian Rhapsody in November of last year came once again the topic of AIDS. The movie portrayed a big part of who Freddie Mercury was, his sexuality, and what unfortunately came along with it: AIDS.
Mercury was diagnosed in 1987, but did not confirm the rumors until 1991. During that time many people didn’t want to make their diagnosis public as many of them were still in the closet and ashamed.
But along with other celebrities, Freddie’s announcement was one of the several that raised awareness to the epidemic of AIDS.
In 1985, Oscar-nominated Star, Rock Hudson also announced that he had tested positive which brought two things: more understanding of the epidemic and the first major movie star to ever come out as homosexual.
Within, two months of Hudson’s announcement that he had tested positive Congress approved an increase in funding for AIDS research.
Which brings us to the great improvement that has occurred since then. 12 years after the first reported case of cured H.I.V./AIDS, comes the news of the “London patient”, the second patient who seems to have been cured of AIDS.
Both of these patients received bone-marrow transplants as a treatment for cancer and not for H.I.V. The transplant is risky, with major side effects, and might not be a realistic cure in the long term, but introducing immune cells to the body modified to resist H.I.V. can be a practical treatment for now.
The first patient, “Berlin patient”, later identified as Timothy Ray Brown had to go through a near death experience to be cured. Even being placed into an induced coma from intense complications after the bone-marrow transplant.
But for the “London patient”, things were different and they even quit taking anti-H.I.V. drugs in 2017. In both cases the transplants came with a protein called CCR5.
However, there is another form of H.I.V. called X4 that requires a different protein, CXCR4, to enter the cells. Meaning only 50 percent of infected people require CCR5 and the other 50 require CXCR4.
But, this is only the beginning of what seems to be the possibility of a cure something that once used to be a dream.
Although, Freddie Mercury and Rock Hudson didn’t live long enough to see the progress. Both had a great impact on the awareness of the epidemic. The Mercury Phoenix Trust, established 21 years ago, has raised and donated over $15 million for the cause.Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson’s co-star and major celebrity, was inspired to dedicate her time to become a spokesperson and fundraiser, creating ‘The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation’ and raising about $100 million for AIDS research.