Was Magic Johnson cured of AIDS?

HIV/Aids has now become a chronic disease that can be managed medically for many years (unfortunately, not all cases respond well to treatment and many people do not have access to or can afford treatment).

HIV can be a manageable condition. Some people respond well to treatment, and it’s probable that Magic Johnson is one of those people. There are people who have been living with HIV for over 20 years now.

This doesn’t mean that HIV is no longer something to worry about: treatment for it is horrendously expensive, and there’s no way of knowing whether you’ll be one of the people who can manage it acceptably well until you have it—because it really has a lot to do with how your particular biochemistry responds to the various antiviral treatments.

Another obvious point to make outright: there is no “cure” for HIV/AIDS.

That is crazy. We were just talking about this the other day. No one can be cured. Eventually the distinction was made between full blown AIDS vs. the HIV virus, but hadn’t I heard that Magic Johnson was diagnosed with AIDS (before the distinction) and now has no trace of the virus at all? Could it have been a false positive?

Magic did release to the press at one point that he was HIV positive but I don’t recall him ever admitting to having the AIDS Virus. It just goes to show that when you have millions of dollars almost anything can be fixxed.

You’ve got it backwards, judo. HIV is the Virus. AIDS is the disease.

HIV: Human Immunodeficiency Virus.

AIDS: Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.

There is no cure. False positives happen with the virus. MJ did not have a false positive. As far as I know from a quick look online, he doesn’t have full blown AIDS, he has the HIV.

Side story: A friend of mine did get a false positive after giving blood. They Red Cross mailed him a letter saying they’d gotten a false positive (they knew it was false from retests) and that while he’s fine, he can never give blood again. I approve of the caution on the side of safety Red Cross engages in.

Oops.

I mean this in the nicest way possible… this is not a smart question at all.

Actually, it’s not entirely correct to say that nobody has ever been cured, although it depends on what your definition of “cure” is.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7726118.stm

In summary: there are people who are immune to HIV for genetic reasons, and it appears that getting a bone marrow transplant from one of them may eradicate the virus from most of the body. This was done by doctors in Germany; there is some question as to whether there might be pockets of the virus that might survive and how effective the cure will be.

With any luck, what doctors discover from this possible cure may lead to a vaccine or a cure—but still, that’s uncertain, and prevention done right is far more effective.

@poofanmook: the question may be stupid, but for the most part the answers have been good.

@cwilbur: True, which is why I singled out the question :)

Johnson sleeps regularly with huge piles of cash, which eventually prove to have the ability to neutralize HIV. Laboratory scientists experiment with a concentrated dose of “about $180,000 shot directly into the bloodstream”... which forces the HIV to disintegrate.

- South Park, Tonsil Trouble

I have a friend who was diagnosed with HIV ( not full blown AIDS) around the same time as Magic, and she is still around too. There is no cure to my knowledge, but it can be managed with meds and carefull treatment. She has never spent a single day in the hospital in all this time.

Maybe he’s still around because he’s got a Magic Johnson.

Ahahahahaha. God, I crack myself up sometimes.

@ poofandmook, Why do you think this is not a smart question? Have you compared it to some of the other useless, inane inquiries? I must admit I have been curious how Magic is doing. Finding interest in these questions is in the eye of the beholder. Most of them don’t interest me, but they seem dire to others. What questions would you pose tonight if you wanted to know what others have to say? Thank you for your time.

I don’t think she is taking offense to the curiosity about Magic,
but rather to the idea that he’s been cured of HIV.
See Jsc3791’s response.

@steve: It’s stupid because if we had a cure for AIDS, the world would surely know about it.

By cured do we mean the specific sterilization of the virus in the subject’s body?

I cannot honestly answer this question, since I had no idea whatsoever that Magic Johnson was diagnosed with HIV. To change the subject a little, what makes a person want to get tested for HIV/AIDS?

If you’re a little slow: Years of unprotected sex with countless women.
If you’re a little brighter: If you’re sexually active, you should get checked periodically.

I mean, just out of the blue?

It was probably always in the back of his mind.
Kind of like going to the dentist.

Of course, there is always the option I mentioned: give blood. Red Cross will tell you if you got something nasty. And politely ask you to stop giving blood.

My Red Cross screening experience: “Have you ever had sex with a man?” “How do you define…sex?” silence

HIV infects “command and control” cells of the immune system.
During the period you are HIV+, the body is engaged in fight with the virus. The virus is infecting as many T Lymphocytes it can and the body is trying to replace them. Treatment against HIV helps tilt the odds in the body’s favor, making it harder for the virus to replicate inside the cells and infect other cells. The treatment, however, cannot eliminate the virus from the body.

AIDS occurs when you have so few T Lymphocytes that you can no longer fight off other infections, such as TB, pneumonias, and so on. AIDS is defined when the person’s laboratory count of CD4 cells (T lymphocytes) is under 200.

It’s possible to go in and out of AIDS. If a person starts treatment and boosts CD4 count to above 200, then the person no longer clinically has AIDS, but remains HIV+

There are a few genetic mutations that impacts progression from HIV seropositivity to AIDS. If you have a homozygous CCR5 mutation, you are immune to HIV. If you have a heterozygous CCR5 mutation, the progression takes a slower course. A CXCR1 mutation results in a much more rapid progression to AIDS.

@mangeons: your doctor generally advises you to do so when you go in for a checkup. If you’re sexually active, it’s a good idea.

You don’t want to get tested for HIV, any more than you want to be tested for diabetes or cancer. But given how easy the test is, and how important it is to start treatment early, it should be a part of any routine physical exam.

@Flavio Minor correction. You don’t really go “in and out of AIDS”. Once you have had a diagnosis of AIDS (which is more complex than simply having a low CD4 count), you have AIDS by definition, even if your CD4 count subsequently rises above 200 or you have no more opportunistic infections. Likewise, it is important to realize that you can get AIDS at CD4 counts above 200. Most HIV doctors are now routinely starting people on HIV treatment at much higher Cd4 counts (200–350, or even >350).

He never had AIDS, just HIV.

@dfer No one but Magic and his doctors know for sure…

No, not cured, still treating HIV infection.

I was just reading about Majic and it said he got a routine blood test for life insurance

There are no cures for any viruses.

@Dutchess_III That is incorrect. Hepatitis C can be cured.