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 October 30, 2009
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Obama Lifts HIV Travel Ban
President Barack Obama announced October 30 that the 22-year-old ban on HIV-positive visitors and immigrants entering the United States will be lifted, Reuters reports.
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Common Support Schemes Failed to Increase Adherence Over the Long-Term
Programs developed to support the correct and regular dosing of antiretroviral (ARV) therapy among people living with HIV may not be as effective as experts might have hoped, according to a sobering study published online October 28 in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes. Neither peer support or pager reminders significantly boosted adherence rates in a University of Washington study conducted in Seattle.
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October 29, 2009
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Lower Norvir Boosting Dose Possible
Three protease inhibitors (PIs)—Invirase (saquinavir),
Prezista (darunavir) and Lexiva (fosamprenavir)—might require a lower dose of
Norvir (ritonavir) to boost their blood levels than is currently recommended,
according to a study published November 13 in AIDS
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October 28, 2009
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Hispanics Might Have Poorer Late-Diagnosis Survival
Survival rates might be lowest among Hispanic men and women who either start antiretroviral (ARV) therapy late or discontinue it early, according to a study published November 15 in Clinical Infectious Diseases.
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| October 27, 2009
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October 26, 2009
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Personalized Therapeutic Vaccine Shows Promise
An experimental treatment strategy involving a vaccine that is tailor-made from an HIV-positive person’s virus and immune system cells can reduce viral load and improve the function of the immune system, according to a presentation at the AIDS Vaccine 2009 conference in Paris on October 21 that was announced by the vaccine’s developer, Argos Therapeutics.
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October 23, 2009
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CDC Panel Says HPV Vaccine in Boys Is Optional
An advisory panel on vaccines at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta has decided not to recommend the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine Gardasil for all boys and young men, according to reporting by The Baltimore Sun and The New York Times. Though the panel says the vaccine might be offered to males, the lack of a bona fide recommendation similar to the one in place for girls and young women might mean that government programs won’t cover the cost of the vaccine—and that private insurers might follow suit.
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October 21, 2009
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Co-Payment Assistance for Wasting Drug Serostim
People with private health insurance using Serostim (recombinant human growth hormone) can now save up to $200 per month on their monthly co-payments, according to information released by the drug’s maker, EMD Serono. The co-payment card, available through health care providers prescribing Serostim, can be used up to six times during a one-year period.
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October 20, 2009
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Final Results: “Modest Benefit” Seen in Thai Vaccine Study
Researchers conclude that a preventive HIV vaccine conferred modest benefit in a Thai clinical trial, according to final results published today, October 20, in The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). Amid ongoing debate regarding the true significance of the trial’s findings, the study authors offered two important considerations for future exploration—that this particular vaccine strategy’s effectiveness might dwindle over time, while its efficacy might be more pronounced in people facing a lower risk for HIV infection in the first place.
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October 19, 2009
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FDA Approves Cervarix for Women and Gardasil for Men
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the Cervarix human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine for women and expanded use of the Gardasil HPV vaccine to men and boys, according to press announcements by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Merck.
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October 16, 2009
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If HCV Treatment Relapse Occurs, It Occurs Quickly
People infected with both HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) who successfully complete 12 months of HCV treatment can experience relapse of their infection, but if they do, it usually happens within the first 12 weeks after therapy is stopped, say the authors of a study published in the November 1 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases.
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October 15, 2009
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IL-2’s Downfall Might Have Been Inflammation
The failure of Proleukin (Interleukin-2, IL-2) to demonstrate a clinical benefit in the SILCAAT and ESPRIT studies earlier this year might have resulted because the drug increased immune system inflammation, according to an article published October 15 in The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).
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October 14, 2009
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Progress in Finding a New Class of HIV Drugs
Scientists have discovered a method for screening an entirely new class of drugs, targeted against the HIV protein Nef, according to an article published online October 6 in ACS Chemical Biology and reported by ScienceDaily.
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October 13, 2009
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Columbia University Publishes Free HIV Handbook Online
Columbia University in New York City has published a revised edition of its comprehensive HIV/AIDS handbook, intended for those at risk of HIV infection and people currently living with the virus. You can download the 116-page document for free using the link here.
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October 12, 2009
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H1N1 Vaccine Studies in HIV-Positive Youth and Pregnant Women
The first clinical trials to study the new pandemic H1N1 flu vaccine in HIV-positive pregnant women and HIV-positive children and adolescents starts this week, according to an announcement by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).
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October 09, 2009
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Selzentry Wins Approval Recommendation for First-Line Treatment
A Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory panel has recommended that the FDA grant approval to Selzentry (maraviroc) for HIV-positive people who have never used antiretroviral (ARV) therapy, according to a press release by Pfizer. Selzentry is currently approved for people who are more heavily treatment experienced.
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October 08, 2009
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Maintaining High CD4s Decreases Cancer Risk
People with CD4 counts above 500 have a lower risk of developing a range of the most common cancers, according to a study published October 8 in Lancet Oncology and reported by aidsmap. These data, the researchers suggest, lend weight to arguments that HIV treatment should be started earlier than current U.S. guidelines recommend.
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October 07, 2009
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Viramune Launches Co-Pay Program
People with private health insurance can now save up to $50 on their co-payment on every monthly refill of a Viramune prescription for up to one year, according to an announcement by the drug’s maker, Boehringer Ingelheim (BI). The Co-Pay Savings Program does not include BI’s protease inhibitor Aptivus (tipranavir).
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October 06, 2009
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Second Analysis of Vaccine Trial Casts Doubts on Result
An unrevealed second analysis of the results from the initially lauded RV 144 HIV vaccine trial failed to show a statistical benefit over placebo, according to a ScienceInsider blog entry authored by longtime AIDS journalist Jon Cohen.
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October 05, 2009
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Avexa Closes Phase III Trial of HIV Drug Apricitabine
Avexa announced that it is closing a planned 48-week Phase III study of its antiretroviral drug apricitabine (ATC) early in order to analyze the data and make decisions about the drug’s fate, according to a press release the company issued October 2.
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October 02, 2009
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New Technology Finds Meds That Might Flush Out Hidden HIV Reservoirs
Scientists
have successfully devised a method to find drugs that can flush out the hidden
HIV that evades antiretroviral (ARV) drugs and makes viral eradication
impossible, according to a study published in the Journal of Clinical
Investigation and reported by Bloomberg
News. So far, a compound called 5HN, which is derived from the black walnut
tree, works best at coaxing out the latent reservoirs.
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| October 01, 2009
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