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TB biomarker predicts mortality risk in children with HIV
Children with HIV in Kenya whose urine samples tested positive for lipoarabinomannan (LAM) – biomarker of tuberculosis – had a nearly five-fold increased risk...
New surveillance model to improve HIV treatment strategies
A study that seeks to better ascertain HIV mortality rates in Zambia could provide a model for improved national and regional surveillance approaches, and...
Taking stock of SA's ART programme
In the course of human history, there have been very few medical interventions that have had as profound impact antiretroviral treatment (ART).
It’s easy to...
Injectable contraceptive may raise HIV infection risk by 40%
The injectable progestin contraceptive depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) may raise the risk for HIV infection by 40% in women, according to a research review.
DMPA...
Immediate ART has little impact on risk
Starting antiretroviral therapy (ART) immediately rather waiting until a person's CD4 count falls below 500 cells/µL has almost no impact on the person's risk...
Diabetes in people with HIV over 50 linked to old ARVs
People with HIV over the age of 50 are more likely to have developed type 2 diabetes if they started antiretroviral treatment before 1999...
Challenging the dogma of genotype-defined resistance to ARVs
Genotype-defined resistance to antiretrovirals supposedly predicts future virological failure. Findings from clinical studies, including the 144-week results from the EARNEST trial, challenge this decades-long...
Drug combo effective and safe for first-time HIV treatment
The two-drug antiretroviral combination dolutegravir and lamivudine is virologically effective and safe in people starting HIV therapy for the first time, according to US...
Baseline CD4 count biggest factor in long-term immune improvement
Pre-treatment CD4 cell count is the most important factor in immune recovery following the initiation of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART), according to the results...
'Modest' lower risk of HIV treatment failure with fixed dose regimes
Research from the US and Europe has found that patients taking a single-tablet, fixed-dose combination (FDC) regime for HIV had a ‘modestly’ lower risk...
Progress on the 3rd 90-target not a reliable guide to transmission potential
Measuring the proportion of people with an undetectable viral load may be lulling health policymakers into a false sense of security in their efforts...
TDF/boosted protease inhibitor combination associated with higher CKD risk
The risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD) may be increased in patients living with HIV receiving tenofovir (TDF) with a ritonavir-boosted protease inhibitor compared...
Difficult to eliminate HIV with only straightforward treatment – study
A universal test-and-treat policy may sound like a solid route towards reducing the number of new HIV infections, but results of a major five-year...
HIV drug resistance approaching and exceeding 10%
HIV drug resistance is approaching and exceeding 10% in people living with HIV who are about to initiate or re-initiate first-line antiretroviral therapy, according...
Immediate ART after diagnosis improves retention
Starting antiretroviral therapy (ART) immediately following an HIV diagnosis dramatically improves retention in clinical HIV care, according to a study led by a Boston...
Proven HIV prevention measures reducing new infections
A Uganda study has provided real-world evidence that implementing a combination of proven HIV prevention measures across communities can substantially reduce new HIV infections...
The state of the global HIV and TB response as we move to the end of 2017
Great progress, but... An array of academics and activists take a snapshot of the state of the global response to HIV and TB.
“I am...
Not zero risk of onward transmission during breastfeeding
While effective HIV treatment greatly reduces the risk of onward transmission during breastfeeding, it does not appear that the risk is zero, a leading...
Three decades on, stigma still undermines HIV prevention and treatment
There have been great strides and many important victories in the fight against HIV. And, writes Linda-Gail Bekker, professor of medicine and deputy director...
Special journal issue on new approaches to treating HIV
Although some 19.5m HIV-infected people are receiving antiretroviral treatment, a substantial treatment gap leaves many millions of people at risk of Aids-related diseases and,...
No transmissions from breastfeeding in Tanzania cohort
No HIV exposed infants who were negative at birth, whose mothers started antiretroviral therapy (ART) before delivery, had suppressed viral loads and exclusively breastfed,...
Cognitive changes may occur early in patients on cART
Adults with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and good viral suppression on combination antiretroviral therapy had poorer cognition and reduced brain thickness and volume on...
Viral loads' study reveals new cohort at risk of therapy failure
In a large South African cohort study, a team of researchers from the University of the Witwatersrand (Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa) collaborating with the...
Dual-HIV-regimen found to be a simple, safe salvage therapy
The dual combination of dolutegravir (DTG) plus darunavir/ritonavir (DRV/r) provided a simple and safe salvage therapy to suppress viral replication without metabolic impact in...
Long-term data do not support raltegravir as second-line therapy
A second-line HIV regimen containing the integrase inhibitor raltegravir failed to meet its primary endpoint of non-inferiority against standard second-line treatment with nucleoside reverse-transcriptase...
HIV patients at greater risk of both heart and kidney disease
Australian research shows HIV patients at high risk for a heart attack or stroke are also at substantially greater risk for chronic kidney disease...
European AIDS Clinical Society strengthens HPV vaccination advice
The European AIDS Clinical Society (EACS) has recommended HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccination for everyone living with HIV aged under 26 and all men who...
Study supports raltegravir once daily for first-line therapy
A once-daily, 1200-mg dose of raltegravir was equally effective as the standard twice-daily, 400-mg dose for treatment of HIV-1, a study has found.
In a...
U=U taking off in 2017
The fact that people infected with HIV who are virally suppressed cannot sexually transmit the virus to others is now accepted in the HIV/Aids...
Programmes to prevent HIV/ hepatitis spread among PWID inadequate
The provision of programmes to prevent the spread of HIV and hepatitis among people who inject drugs (PWID) is inadequate in many countries around...
HIV: The benefits of INH prophylaxis for TB are confirmed
Long-term follow-up in the ANRS TEMPRANO trial confirms that tuberculosis chemoprophylaxis in HIV-infected people is more than ever relevant in resource-limited countries. This prophylactic...
Protease inhibitor regimen maintains viral suppression for a year
People who switched from a multi-pill antiretroviral regimen to the first one-pill, once-daily regimen that includes a protease inhibitor maintained undetectable viral load for...
ART in Africa bridges health gap between those with, without HIV
The expansion of ART for HIV infection has helped reduce disparities in health-related quality of life between HIV-positive and HIV-negative individuals in Zambia and...
Switch to single-tablet regimen containing darunavir is safe, effective
Switching to a once-daily, darunavir-based HIV regimen was non-inferior to continuing treatment with a boosted protease inhibitor plus emtricitabine and Viread, according to 48-week...
Switching from boosted protease inhibitor
Adults switching to bictegravir/alafenamide from a boosted protease inhibitor maintained high rates of virologic suppression without resistance, a phase-3 study found.
Gilead Sciences has announced...
Recovery of renal function after switching from TDF
For HIV-infected patients with declining renal function who are receiving a regimen containing tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF), switching to other antiretroviral agents (ARVs) results...
Strong indication for statin-based therapy in HIV+ patients
Despite having a strong indication for statin-based therapy according to the 2013 ACA/AHA blood cholesterol guidelines, two-thirds of HIV+ patients were not prescribed appropriate...
Abacavir ART not increasing risk of myocardial infarction or CVD
Patients who receive abacavir-containing antiretroviral therapy (ART) for HIV do not have an increased risk for myocardial infarction (MI) or coronary artery disease (CAD),...
Observed rate of viral failure in two regimens
"The observed rate of viral failure during follow-up was lower among people living with HIV initiating dolutegravir-based vs darunavir-based regimens in routine clinical care...
Regimen change associated with weight gain
According to results of a study presented at IDWeek 2017, an increase in body weight is common in HIV patients who are switched from...