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NAFLD a growing health problem in people with HIV
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a major emerging health challenge for people living with HIV, according to a review of evidence by doctors...
'Urgent need' for antiretroviral pregnancy registry in SA
South Africa has an "appalling record" on pregnancy registries but one is urgently needed to answer questions about the new antiretroviral dolutegravir, which is being...
Third-line SA antiretroviral guidelines
Third-line antiretroviral treatment (ART) is used when a patient has experienced virological failure on drugs from the NRTI, NNRTI and PI classes, and has...
Urine test screening for TB in HIV patients is cost effective
Screening all hospitalised patients with HIV for tuberculosis (TB) using urine tests would improve life expectancy and be cost-effective in Malawi and South Africa,...
Increased risk of treatment failure in HIV-infected women with CIN
Women living with HIV are more likely than HIV-negative women to have residual or recurring abnormal cells after treatment for pre-cancerous cervical lesions, according...
Adopting modern marketing strategies to promote PrEP and avoid stigma
Current pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) strategies can slow roll-out and contribute to stigma surrounding PrEP use, found a study in The Lancet. The authors propose...
Staying on ART in Africa — a systematic review
An international team of researchers has carried out a review of the evidence examining what influences people who are HIV positive to go to...
Atripla or efavirenze plus Truvada failed in one in 16 people in first year
Estimates of how often people on antiretroviral therapy (ART) do not remain virally undetectable are important both in order to gauge the potency of...
Dolutegravir: Why new does not automatically mean better
As has been previously reported, the new and exciting anti-retroviral, dolutegravir, is soon to become widely available in South Africa. Whilst its very real...
With HIV, Undetectable = Untransmittable, says NHI review
In recent years, an overwhelming body of clinical evidence has firmly established the HIV Undetectable = Untransmittable (U=U) concept as scientifically sound, say officials...
Aggressively targeting partner violence lowers HIV rates in women
US states that aggressively target intimate partner violence (IPV) in their health care systems have lower rates of HIV infection among women, according to...
Integrase inhibitors and the risk of obesity
People who take an integrase inhibitor as part of their HIV treatment appear to gain more weight than others after starting treatment and the...
Review looks at what influences people to taking and continue with ARVs
An international team of researchers have carried out a review of the evidence examining what influences people who are HIV positive to go to...
Potential drug interactions among people with HIV taking statins
Drug interactions remain a potential problem for HIV-positive people who are treated with statins, according to research. Potential interactions were detected between statins and...
High but variable STI rates in PrEP studies – Is PrEP the cause or a potential solution?
A new meta-analysis of 20 studies and roll-out projects of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in gay and bisexual men confirms very high rates of...
SA reports successful third-line HIV treatment programme
People with resistance to first- and second-line antiretroviral drugs can still achieve high rates of viral suppression in the first year on third-line regimens...
Lower consent age for HIV testing linked to higher testing rates
Sub-Saharan African countries where adolescents 15 or younger could be tested for HIV without sign-off by parents or guardians show 11% higher rates of...
HIV treatment outcomes continue to improve — meta-analysis
The efficacy of first-line antiretroviral therapy (ART) continues to improve, according to an analysis of outcomes in 78,000 people in 181 studies, published by...
Growth in heart and kidney problems in people living with HIV
Reduced kidney function, high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease have each become more common in a large cohort of Italians living with HIV followed...
Promising approaches to improving PrEP access
For pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to have a substantial public health impact, access to PrEP needs to be improved so that more people who would...
Resistance to second-line ARTs increasing in SA
An increasing number of HIV patients in the Western Cape and other parts of South Africa are experiencing resistance to second-line antiretroviral therapy (ART)....
Uninfected babies born to HIV-infected mums face higher risks
HIV-uninfected children born to mothers with HIV are prone to more severe infections, almost double the risk of dying before their first birthday, and...
Food insecurity and ART adherence among older people living with HIV
Older people in Langa and Khayelitshsa, Cape Town, living with HIV are the focus of a study that explores how food insecurity affects their...
Reducing maternal viral load in pregnancy helps reduce MTCT
Reducing maternal viral load during pregnancy is the most important factor in preventing mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV, results of a large study confirm....
Targeting intimate partner violence reduces HIV infection rates
Aggressively targeting intimate partner violence (IPV) in health care systems leads to lower rates of HIV infection among women, according to a study led...
Negligible risk of transmitting HIV when on ART
There is a negligible risk of transmitting HIV during sex when a person living with HIV is on antiretroviral therapy and maintains a viral...
Cellphone technology helps detect HIV virus
Investigators from Brigham and Women's Hospital have designed a portable and affordable mobile diagnostic tool, utilising a cellphone and nanotechnology, with the ability to...
Early HIV treatment reduces risk of liver fibrosis
Early antiretroviral therapy (ART) reduces the risk of liver fibrosis progression in people living with HIV, including in people who do not have co-infection...
High prevalence of hypertension among South Africans starting ART
There is a high prevalence and incidence of hypertension among HIV-positive people starting antiretroviral therapy (ART) in South Africa, according to research. A fifth...
R4P2018 conference session reviews U=U
One of the last sessions at R4P2018 included six talks about U=U, one of which reviewed the evidence about breastfeeding. This is important because...
Dolutegravir plus darunavir maintains viral suppression without NRTIs
A dual antiretroviral regimen containing dolutegravir (Tivicay) and boosted darunavir (Prezista) maintains viral suppression in most people who switch from a suppressive three-drug regimen,...
Reaching the men who are the partners of the young women with HIV in SA
In the high-prevalence countries of southern Africa, young women under 25 bear the brunt of the epidemic, with continued high rates of HIV infection....
The Miami monkey 'cured' with two antibodies
A “functional cure” of HIV has been achieved in one monkey given gene therapy that induced it to make two broadly neutralising antibodies against...
Mental health affects every stage of HIV diagnosis and treatment
HIV clinicians need to be aware that mental health affects every stage of HIV diagnosis and treatment, and manage issues just as they would...
Cameroon trial on on dolutegravir versus efavirenz
Dolutegravir-based treatment was no more effective than treatment based on a 400mg dose of efavirenz, a randomised trial conducted in Cameroon has found. However,...
Two-drug protease inhibitor as effective as three-drug treatment
Antiretroviral treatment with a boosted protease inhibitor and one other drug is just as effective as three-drug antiretroviral therapy containing a boosted protease inhibitor...
Bictegravir matches dolutegravir in first line treatment
A triple combination containing the new integrase inhibitor bictegravir proved just as effective as a dolutegravir-based combination in suppressing viral load over 96 weeks,...
Beyond Truvada, what is the future of PrEP?
The recent HIV Research for Prevention conference (HIVR4P 2018) in Madrid reviewed the current menu of agents and novel delivery modalities in development for...
PrEP 'safe and effective for widespread use'
Research presented at the HIV Drug Therapy Conference in Glasgow shows that pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) could be given to millions of people worldwide with...
Low rates of effective contraception in young US women
Data has found that effective contraception, condoms, and dual contraceptive method use were inadequate in a cohort of young HIV-positive women, highlighting a need...