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HIV/AIDS
US-funded abstinence programmes fail
Nearly $1.3bn spent on US-funded programmes to promote abstinence and faithfulness in sub-Saharan Africa had no significant impact, an analysis of sexual behaviour data has shown.
HIV/TB combination reduces morbidity
Early HIV treatment, combined with therapy to prevent tuberculosis, sharply reduced morbidity in a randomised trial in Côte d'Ivoire.
Transmission is by 'undiagnosed and untreated’
Individuals infected but undiagnosed with HIV and diagnosed but not yet in medical care accounted for more than 90% of the estimated 45,000 United States HIV transmissions in 2009.
Liver disease and TB common in HIV patients
Liver disease and tuberculosis were common in a cohort of adult South African patients with HIV, according to data from a retrospective Johns Hopkins study.
Novel drug candidate in fight against Aids
Scientists from the Scripps Research Institute have announced the creation of a novel drug candidate that is so potent and universally effective against HIV, it might work as part of an unconventional vaccine.
First HIV strain influences immune disruption
The strain of HIV someone is first infected with and its capacity to replicate in the body, can have a lasting influence on how the virus disrupts the immune system, according to a Zambia-Emory HIV Research Project study.
Promising treatment for HCV/HIV patients
Two studies using interferon-free drug regimens for HIV patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) resulted in high rates of sustained virologic response, which is a lack of detectable HCV RNA at least 12 weeks after completion of treatment.
Biomarkers help identify treatment strategies
Botswana-UPenn Partnership research shows that advanced HIV/TB patients are a heterogeneous population that should not be treated uniformly with response to immune interventions and that biomarkers can help identify treatment options.
Aggressive recombinant Cuba variant of HIV
Researchers at KU Leuven's Laboratory for Clinical and Epidemiological Virology report a recombinant form of HIV observed in patients in Cuba that shortens drastically the healthy phase and triggers rapid progression to Aids.
Hope for HIV/Aids patients with kidney disease
HIV-positive people with renal failure who get a donated kidney from another person with HIV/Aids fare as well as patients who get one from an uninfected donor, according to a South African study.
How HIV enters the brain
New research shows that HIV relies on proteins expressed by a type of immune cell, called 'mature monocytes', to enter the brain early during infection, causing inflammation and memory/cognitive problems.
Study explains slow mixing of HIV variants
Most HIV epidemics are still dominated by the first strain that entered a particular population. New research offers an explanation of why the global mixing of HIV variants is so slow.
Sub-Saharan CD4 counts not rising
A study by Harvard Medical School has found that the average CD4 count in sub-Saharan African people diagnosed with HIV has not risen since 2002. Neither has the average CD4 count on initiation of treatment.
African studies show prevalence anomalies
A series of IAVI observational studies document extremely high HIV prevalence and incidence rates in some African populations and surprisingly low ones in others.
Guidelines recommend fracture risk screening
Screening for fracture risk should be a routine part of HIV care for all over-40s, recommend new international guidelines. All post-menopausal women, all men over 50 and people at high risk for fractures of any age should undergo DEXA screening.
Insights into possible HIV vaccinations
An MIT investigation suggest that sequentially administering several different forms of a potential HIV vaccine could stimulate a stronger immune response than delivering a cocktail of these variants all at once.
Study looks at cells hiding hidden HIV reserves
A Rockefeller University study found that while HIV-infected white blood cells can proliferate, producing many clones, all containing HIV's genetic code, these clones do not appear to harbour the latent reservoir of virus.
Barriers against HIV treatment in Kenya
Between 2009-2011, AMPATH Consortium health workers sought to test and counsel every adult resident in a sub-county of Kenya for HIV. A study shows that the campaign yielded more than 1,300 new positive diagnoses, but only 15% of those sought treatment.
Risk factors for HIV patients developing TB
Alcohol consumption, high viral load and low CD4 cell count appeared to be independent risk factors for developing active tuberculosis in patients with HIV, according to Soweto/Johns Hopkins Novel Tuberculosis Prevention Regimens Trial research.
FDA approves new HIV drugs
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Prezcobix tablets and Evotaz tablets for the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus.
Antibody-based molecules to fight HIV
Caltech researchers have developed antibody-based molecules that are more than 100 times better than our bodies' defences at binding to and neutralising HIV, when tested in vitro, suggesting a novel approach to engineering more effective HIV-fighting drugs.
Best to start therapy early and stay on
A French study that starting therapy immediately after infection and then interrupting it conferred no advantage compared to deferring treatment until CD4 counts fell below a certain figure. Only those who started therapy early and stayed on it had a significant advantage in terms of immune recovery.
HIV/Aids conspiracy theories persist
The idea that Aids was created as part of a US government-led conspiracy to decimate the African-American population remains salient to a significant minority of black people, according to qualitative research.
Digital storytelling to share secrets and fears
Children from poor backgrounds and with no previous technological experience are able to use digital storytelling to share their secrets and fears regarding HIV and Aids online, according to a University of East Finland doctoral study.
Some resistance risks to PrEP
New data from the Partners PrEP study suggest that although resistance selected by pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, is rare among those who acquire HIV, it can occur in patients with unknown acute HIV infection at PrEP initiation.
Study looks at polio antibody responses
A 40% dose of intra-dermal inactivated polio vaccine achieved non-inferior antibody responses in HIV patients compared with a full dose administered intramuscularly, according to the results of a randomised controlled trial.
S ex work is a booming sector in SA
Research commissioned by the South African National Aids Council shows that SA has about 153,000 s ex workers. Earlier research estimated at least 6% of all new HIV infections to be linked to the sector.
SA adult ART guidelines updated
The Southern African HIV Clinicians Society has released guidelines intended as an update to those published in the Southern African Journal of HIV Medicine in 2012.
HIV acquisition figures in US healthcare
Only a single healthcare worker in the US was confirmed to have acquired HIV on the job between 2000 and 2013, according to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
Elite controllers hospitalised more frequently
Elite controllers - HIV-positive individuals who maintain undetectable viral loads in the absence of treatment - were hospitalised more frequently than those who control the disease with antiretroviral therapy, according to new research.
Dipping in the African gene pool
The African gene pool is so diverse that SA researchers are now using this unique genetic material in the effort to find a cure for HIV/Aids.
Possible blueprint to eradicate HIV
A Johns Hopkins-led study offer a strategy that could form a blueprint for a therapeutic vaccine to eradicate lingering HI virus from the body.
Drug combination offers added benefits
The Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care has assessed the fixed-dose combination of dolutegravir/abacavir/lamivudine (trade name Triumeq) and found that adults who have not been treated for their HIV infection have 'considerable' added benefit from treatment with the new fixed-dose combination.
Depo-Provera increases HIV risk
A review of 12 studies suggests women who use the Depo-Provera contraceptive jab are at moderately greater risk of contracting HIV than those who use other forms of birth control or none at all. However the researchers, from the University of California, said their findings did not warrant the injection being withdrawn.
US government slows withdrawal of SA HIV/Aids treatment support
The US government has slowed its withdrawal of support from South Africa’s HIV/Aids treatment programmes to ensure patients are not left in the lurch....
Another step identified in the search for an HIV cure
A team of scientists at the Gladstone Institutes has identified a new way to make latent HIV reveal itself, which could help overcome one...