Independent, up-to-date news and information about HIV and AIDS.
Headline Results from a recent review confirm that HIV-positive adults are at a higher risk for developing cancer than the general population. In particular, people with HIV are about four times more likely to develop cancer than people without HIV and are slightly more likely to develop cancer than people who have had an organ transplant. The study authors suggested that a weakened immune system underlies the increased cancer rate. “As people with HIV live longer, [these results] mean that they will need to be monitored for other potential causes of morbidity and mortality, such as various cancers,” said Dr. Joel Palefsky, a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, who was not affiliated with the study. Dr. Palefsky noted that HIV-positive people with a low nadir CD4 count (the lowest CD4 (white blood cell) count measured after HIV infection) before antiretroviral therapy… Read the full story » | Featured |
Results from a recent British study indicate that low levels of residual HIV – below the level that is a goal for antiretroviral therapy – can still lead to treatment failure.
Based on their results, the study authors suggested that even lower cutoff levels for residual HIV in the blood may be necessary to avoid treatment failure.
The goal of antiretroviral therapy is to reduce viral loads (amount of HIV in the blood) to levels that are undetectable with most tests, usually less than 50 copies per milliliter. Achieving an…
Results from a recent French study indicate that diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and depression, but not HIV, increase the risk that people with HIV will stop work prematurely.
The researchers also found that more than a third of study participants had stopped working five years after the start of the study.
Based on the results, the study authors concluded that people with HIV are still at a substantial risk of stopping employment after their diagnosis and recommended further investigation into strategies to help keep people with HIV…
Results from a recent Japanese study indicate that a Viread-based antiretroviral therapy regimen causes greater loss of kidney function than a Ziagen-containing therapy, particularly in people with HIV who weigh less than about 130 pounds.
Based on the results, the study authors recommended that people with HIV who are taking Viread, Truvada, or Atripla (which both contain Viread) and have a low body weight be monitored for loss of kidney function at least twice per year, particularly during their first year of treatment.
The researchers also noted that further research…
Gilead Sciences announced yesterday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Viread for children two to 12 years of age, for use in combination with other antiretrovirals.
“We are very pleased to provide an important new therapeutic option for younger HIV patients, and will work to make the pediatric formulations of Viread available as quickly as possible,” said Norbert Bischofberger, executive vice president of Research and Development and chief scientific officer of Gilead Sciences, in a press release.
Viread will be available as tablets in smaller doses…
The year 2011 was filled with important HIV- and AIDS-related news. New drugs were approved, researchers talked in earnest about progress toward a cure, and we marked the 30th anniversary of the first reports of AIDS in the United States.
As a service to its readers, The AIDS Beacon has compiled a list of the news articles and topics that AIDS Beacon readers found most interesting during 2011.
#1: New Drugs For Hepatitis C – Two new drugs for the treatment of hepatitis C, Incivek (telaprevir) and…
