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Suicidal thoughts remain a pressing concern among PLWH
In recent years, remarkable achievements in HIV testing and antiretroviral therapies have improved the detection, management, and care of persons living with HIV (PLWH)....
Zambia's targeted testing initiative finds one in four men testing positive
An innovative initiative that combined community-based HIV testing with 'index testing' – where people who test positive are supported to inform their sexual partners...
Small financial incentives can improve HIV patient retention and care
A study conducted by researchers from the University of California Berkeley School of Public Health shows that providing cash incentives for HIV-positive adults undergoing...
Adult doses of dolutegravir can be used with children of 20k or more
The pharmacokinetics (how the body absorbs, distributes, metabolises and excretes drugs) of adult dolutegravir 50mg tablets given to children living with HIV weighing 20kg...
Differentiated models of care needed for first six-months of ART
With many HIV treatment programmes in sub-Saharan Africa still expecting new patients to attend a clinic monthly for their first six months of antiretroviral...
HIV infection despite apparently adequate adherence to PrEP
Two reports of HIV infection occurring despite apparent adequate adherence to PrEP, confirmed by drug level testing, are the first reliably-documented cases to be...
Drug resistance development with darunavir
HIV-1 protease inhibitor darunavir is rarely associated with drug resistance development, according to a study by researchers at Janssen Pharmaceutica Belgium.
Reduced antiretroviral treatment effectiveness...
Novel gene-sequencing probes to investigate 'elite controllers'
A study has used novel gene-sequencing probes to investigate exactly how the one in 200 people with HIV who are so-called “elite controllers” manage...
Half of South Africans who needed a repeat viral load test received it late
The first national analysis of repeat viral load testing in South Africa finds that 85% of people on HIV treatment, with increasing viral loads,...
Further studies link dolutegravir to weight gain
A growing body of evidence continues to show that people who use the integrase inhibitor dolutegravir are more likely to gain weight after starting...
TB drugs and ARVs decrease mortality in people with HIV
In patients with HIV and multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, the use of antiretroviral therapy (ART) and more effective anti-tuberculosis drugs was associated with lower odds of...
Integrase inhibitors and reduction in prevalence of potential drug-drug interactions
The introduction of integrase inhibitors has been accompanied by a reduction in the prevalence of potential drug-drug interactions among people with HIV taking antiretrovirals...
EMA position on vaginal ring paves the way for its adoption
On 24 July, fittingly just days before the start of Women’s Month in South Africa, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) delivered a positive opinion...
The top treatment stories out of AIDS 2020 conference
AIDS 2020, the 23rd International AIDS Conference was held virtually this year due to social distancing and the coronavirus and Aidsmap has selected the top treatment...
PrEP adherence demonstrated with urine tenofovir novel immunoassay
A novel immunoassay that measures urine tenofovir levels has high predictive utility and may adequately determine pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) adherence and predict HIV protection,...
Follow-up finds dolutegravir use at conception not tied to neural tube defects in infants
Contradicting 2018 interim findings that dolutegravir use in pregnancy increased the risk of the rare birth defects, a Botswana follow-up study found no significant difference...
NEJM: Review of some 23rd International AIDS Conference highlights
Long-acting injectable cabotegravir is superior to TDF/FTC for pre-exposure prophylaxis in MSM and transgender women: Sure, we’ve known some of these results of HPTN...
Recycling tenofovir better than switch to second-line zidovudine
Retaining tenofovir after the failure of first-line treatment rather than replacing it with zidovudine was associated with better retention in care, better adherence and...
Injectable PrEP superior to oral PrEP in clinical trial
PrEP administered as an injection every eight weeks was more effective in preventing HIV than oral PrEP in gay and bisexual men and transgender...
Depo Provera associated with doubled bone loss in women starting ARVs
Use of the injectable hormonal contraceptive Depo Provera was associated with a doubling of bone loss in young women starting antiretroviral treatment containing tenofovir...
Introduction of PrEP reduces infections in women
The introduction of PrEP into a large study that was designed to find out if contraceptives increased the risk of HIV in women allowed...
PrEP success in Kenya and Uganda
A large cluster-randomised study which offered intensified healthcare, including PrEP, to 16 communities in Kenya and Uganda has reported a 74% reduction in HIV...
Islatravir keeps viral load suppressed
Islatravir, the first nucleoside reverse transcriptase translocation inhibitor, plus the non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor doravirine (Pifeltro) kept viral load suppressed for 48 weeks with...
Rapid weight gain for people with HIV switching to tenofovir alafenamide
People who switched to tenofovir alafenamide (TAF) from the previous version of tenofovir (tenofovir disoproxil fumarate – TDF) experienced rapid weight gain regardless of...
Weight gain risk for people taking dolutegravir-based ARVs
People taking dolutegravir-based antiretroviral treatment have a substantially higher risk of becoming overweight or obese compared to other people with HIV and almost one...
Systemic TB treatment not superior to test guided treatment for HIV patients
In areas of sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, most HIV-infected patients present for care after already being severely immuno-compromised. After the initiation of antiretroviral therapy...
Infants newly diagnosed with HIV show high levels of resistance to ARVs
Pre-treatment drug resistance data for infants newly diagnosed with HIV from nationally representative surveys conducted between 2011 and 2016 in nine sub-Saharan African countries...
FDA paediatric version of dolutegravir to treat children
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted a new indication to a paediatric version of dolutegravir (Tivicay PD, ViiV Healthcare) tablets for oral...
US study finds PrEP regimen works
New data from Kaiser Permanente in San Francisco show that on-demand pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) taken before and after sex – known as PrEP 2-1-1...
Recruitment to HIV trials 'not representative'
Recruitment to clinical trials that lead to the licensing of antiretroviral drugs is not representative of the global HIV pandemic, Aidsmap reports an international...
Long-acting ARV given as two monthly injectable PrEP protects against HIV
It’s not an Aids vaccine but it may be the closest thing to one so far. A long-acting antiretroviral drug given as an injection...
COVID-19 disruption of ARV treatments could double HIV deaths
A synthesis of five different studies that model the effect of a three- or six-month interruption of HIV services across sub-Saharan Africa finds that...
HIV-1 salvage therapy can omit NRTIs and remain efficacious and safe
People with HIV-1 infection (PWHIV) who have virologic failure can safely omit nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) in new regimens that include more than...
Review shows high prevalence of PTSD in people living with HIV
There is a high prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in people living with HIV, according to the first comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis...
Paclitaxel plus ART shows superiority in treatment of advanced HIV-related Kaposi sarcoma
Intravenous paclitaxel plus antiretroviral therapy (ART) has clear advantages over alternative chemotherapy regimens for the treatment of advanced HIV-related Kaposi sarcoma in low- and...
Delaying treatment changes costs lives — SA study
Promptly switching antiretroviral therapy (ART) when individuals have viral rebound saves lives, Aidsmap reports an important study has found. Delayed switching more than doubled...
Integrase inhibitor-based ARV regimen reduces CVD risk in people with HIV
The risk of a serious cardiovascular event is reduced by a fifth in people taking an integrase inhibitor-based antiretroviral regimen compared to alternative drugs....
COVID-19 curtails HIV and immunotherapy efficacy trials
During the COVID-19 crisis, a number of the ongoing worldwide HIV vaccine and immunotherapy efficacy trials are being paused or curtailed, reports Aidsmap.
The HIV...
Spanish study finds little symptomatic or recovery difference in HIV COVID-19 patients
The first cases of COVID-19 identified in people living with HIV in Barcelona’s main hospital do not differ from the rest of the population...
Depressive disorders under-recognised and under-treated in people with HIV/Aids
People living with HIV/Aids are at increased risk of depressive disorders. But all too often, these conditions go unrecognised or untreated, suggests a literature...