Results from a recent study indicate that the rate of low muscle mass is high in HIV-positive men. The results also showed that two-thirds of men in the study had low bone mineral density.

The study authors noted that the rate of low muscle mass was similar to that found for HIV-negative men aged 70 to 74 years old in a different study.

The investigators suggested that evaluation for muscle loss should be included when assessing bone fracture risk in…

Results from a recent study show high rates of abnormal Pap smear test results among sexually active, HIV-positive, female teens. More than half of the Pap test results in the study were abnormal.

The study also showed that teens with HIV acquired from their mothers during pregnancy or childbirth were significantly less likely to get Pap smear tests than teens with behaviorally-acquired HIV.

The study investigators suggested that prevention of human papillomavirus, a primary cause of cervical cancer, through vaccination…

Results from a recent study indicate that people with HIV who are treated soon after infection have better outcomes than patients who do not begin antiretroviral therapy soon after infection.

In particular, by week 72 of the study, three to five times as many patients who deferred treatment had progressed and required antiretroviral therapy than patients who had begun treatment soon after infection. Patients who were treated early initially and then stopped treatment also went significantly longer before additional therapy…

Updated results from a 96-week Phase 3 clinical trial continue to indicate that the investigational integrase inhibitor elvitegravir is as effective and safe as Isentress in previously treated people with HIV.

“These positive two-year data indicate that elvitegravir has the potential to be an important new once-daily treatment option for people living with HIV who have developed resistance to other therapies,” said Norbert Bischofberger, executive vice president of Research and Development and chief scientific officer of Gilead Sciences, which is…

Results from a recent study indicate that the rate of HIV-associated neuropathy in women may be lower than previously thought but higher in African-American women than in women of other races.

Over a third of the HIV-positive women in the study had neuropathy. African-American women were about two thirds more likely to have neuropathy than women of other races.

“Why neuropathy is more prevalent [in African-American women] is unclear, and there is little data on any association between neuropathy and…