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 September 30, 2009
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Adherence Required to Keep Viral Load Undetectable May Decline Over Time
The perceived risk of virologic failure associated with less-than-perfect adherence may be lower after successfully keeping viral load undetectable while on antiretroviral (ARV) treatment for at least a year, according to a study published September 29 in the online journal PLoS One. However, the study authors clearly stress, the goal of strict adherence for as long as someone remains on HV therapy remains unchanged.
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| September 29, 2009
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September 28, 2009
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Bone Problems Among Women, But Not Men, With HIV and Hepatitis
HIV-positive women who are also infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV) or hepatitis C virus (HCV) have lower bone density than positive women not infected with HBV or HCV, according to a study published online September 23 in AIDS. Among men in the study, however, no connection between HIV, viral hepatitis and bone mineral loss was documented.
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September 25, 2009
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HIV/AIDS, Undernutrition and Food Insecurity
Deficits in nutrition are major contributing factors to the unacceptably high rates of HIV disease and death in developing countries, according to a comprehensive review published in the October 1 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases.
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Successful HIV Vaccine Trial Poses New Questions for Researchers
While a successful trial of the RV 144 HIV vaccine is a major step forward in HIV/AIDS research, experts say that the vaccine’s efficacy provides few answers but raises many questions, aidsmap.com reports. In a Thailand-based trial—the largest ever staged for an HIV vaccine—RV 144 reduced the risk of HIV infection by more than 30 percent in participants.
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September 24, 2009
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Large-Scale HIV Vaccine Trial Shows Some Success
For the first time, an HIV vaccine trial has produced positive results: A new vaccine tested on more than 16,000 volunteers in Thailand reduces the risk of HIV infection by more than 30 percent, The New York Times reports.
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ICAAC: Nutritional Supplement Slows CD4 Loss in Untreated HIV
A nutritional supplement might slow the decline of CD4 cells in people living with HIV not yet receiving antiretroviral (ARV) therapy, according to new study results reported September 14 at the 49th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) in San Francisco.
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September 22, 2009
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Depression Greatly Impairs Treatment Adherence
People with depression were almost twice as likely to have HIV treatment adherence problems as people who were not depressed, according to an article published online September 17 in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes.
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September 21, 2009
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New Gilead Drug As Good As Norvir for Boosting Reyataz
GS 9350, an experimental pharmacokinetic (PK) booster from Gilead Sciences, is able to boost Reyataz (atazanavir) blood levels as successfully as Norvir (ritonavir) does. These data were reported at the 49th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) in San Francisco and reported by aidsmap.
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September 18, 2009
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NIH Announces Today Is National HIV/AIDS and Aging Day
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has announced that today, September 18, is National HIV/AIDS and Aging Awareness Day. The announcement is being used to highlight several research initiatives aimed at granting money to scientists studying issues related to aging adults who are HIV positive.
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September 17, 2009
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Possible Link to Alleged Heart Disease Risk With Abacavir
People taking abacavir (found in Ziagen, Epzicom and Trizivir) had a higher risk for endothelial dysfunction—when the cells lining the blood vessels are less able to carry out their functions for processing blood flow, which can lead to heart disease—according to a study published in the September 24 issue of AIDS. Scientists have been looking for the cause of heart attack and heart disease risk associated with abacavir ever since studies first suggested a link.
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September 16, 2009
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The Role of HIV-Related Immune Depletion in Cancers
Having a CD4 count less than 500 was a significant additive factor in the risk of developing a non-AIDS-related cancer, according to a study published in the October 1 issue of Clinical Infectious Disease. Both low CD4 counts and high viral loads were implicated in an increased risk for AIDS-related cancers.
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September 15, 2009
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ICAAC: Single-Dose PRO 140 Reduces HIV Levels for at least 10 Days
A single intravenous (IV) dose of the HIV entry inhibitor PRO 140 reduced virus by nearly 100-fold for up to 10 days in a small phase IIa study, according to a study presented at the 49th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) in San Francisco and reported by the National AIDS Treatment Advocacy Project (NATAP).
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ICAAC: Once-Daily Isentress as Good as Twice-Daily?
People who switched from a protease inhibitor (PI) to Isentress (raltegravir) did well regardless of whether they switched to a once-daily or twice-daily dose of the drug, according to a study presented at the 49th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) in San Francisco and reported by the National AIDS Treatment Advocacy Project (NATAP).
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September 14, 2009
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ICAAC: Tobacco and Alcohol Could Lower Efavirenz Blood Levels
Tobacco and alcohol interact negatively with efavirenz (found in Sustiva and Atripla) in people who are genetically predisposed to clear efavirenz out of their blood streams quickly. These results were revealed in a study presented at the 49th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) in San Francisco and reported by the National AIDS Treatment Advocacy Project (NATAP).
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September 10, 2009
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FDA Panel Recommends Gardasil for Men, Cervarix for Women
A U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) panel recommended on September 9 that the agency approve the Cervarix human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine for women and that it expand the Gardasil HPV vaccine for use by men, the Los Angeles Times reports.
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ATAC Releases Pharmaceutical Company HIV/AIDS Report Card
On September 10, the AIDS Treatment Activists Coalition (ATAC) released a report card on the pharmaceutical industry that graded nine pharmaceutical companies on their drug development portfolio and plans, access to drugs, pricing, community relations and marketing practices around HIV, The New York Times reports.
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September 09, 2009
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Study: Life Expectancy Still Shorter for People With HIV
Life expectancy for people with HIV has improved significantly during the past 15 years, but on average it might still be as much as 21 years shorter than for people not infected with HIV, according to a study published online September 4 in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes.
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September 08, 2009
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Risk Factors for Low Platelets in People With HIV
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, severe liver damage and uncontrolled HIV replication are all associated with a greater risk for low platelets in people with HIV, according to a study published online September 3 in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes.
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September 04, 2009
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Scientists Discover Antibodies That Halt HIV Disease Progression
Scientists from the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, San Diego, have been able to isolate two neutralizing antibodies that can prevent HIV from multiplying in the body and progressing to AIDS, the Los Angeles Times reports. This discovery, published in the journal Science, may prove beneficial in HIV vaccine development.
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HPV Vaccine for Boys: Public Comments Welcome
Should the federal government pay for the Gardasil HPV vaccine for boys and young men covered by government-funded health programs? The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is holding a public hearing October 21 and 22 in Atlanta to discuss this important question and would like to hear from concerned community members, both in person and in writing.
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September 03, 2009
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U.S. Researchers Find Link Between HIV Subtype D and Dementia
Researchers from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore believe that people living with HIV Subtype D have an increased risk of dementia compared with those with other subtypes of the virus, reports United Press International. Subtype D is rare in the United States and is more prominent in Eastern and Central Africa.
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A New Simpler Gene Therapy for HIV
Researchers have successfully designed and tested a gene therapy delivery method for making CD4 cells resistant to HIV infection that is much simpler to administer than most other methods currently being studied, according to a study published online September 1 in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes.
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September 01, 2009
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Additional Funding Awarded for Adherence Breathalyzer
Xhale, a Gainesville, Florida-based technology company, has received a $1.7 million follow-up grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) of the National Institutes of Health to continue developing its breath-based medication adherence system for HIV treatments.
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