The FDA has issued a drug safety requirement stating that all Erythropoiesis-Stimulating Agents (ESAs) are to be prescribed and used under a risk management program, called risk evaluation and mitigation strategy (REMS), in order to ensure and promote safe usage of these drugs.
ESAs are used to treat anemia in individuals with chronic kidney failure, undergoing chemotherapy, HIV patients using zidovudine (Retrovir) and to reduce the number of blood transfusions during and after particular major surgeries. The mechanism of action of ESAs is to stimulate red blood cell production by…
According to a recent press release from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), using Invirase (saquinavir) and Norvir (ritonavir) in combination may lead to heart problems in some HIV and AIDS patients.
Invirase is an antiretroviral drug from the class known as protease inhibitors. It is used to treat HIV infection, and is used in combination with Norvir to enhance its effects.
Recently acquired data suggests that using these two drugs together can cause a condition known as torsades de pointes, otherwise known as abnormal heart rhythm. This can also lead…
On February 10, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) moved to alleviate the concerns of HIV/AIDS patients worried they would lose their emergency housing assistance under the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act.
HRSA announced that the previous 24-month cumulative cap on housing assistance would no longer be enforced.
The first people affected by this cap would have lost their housing this coming March.
However, with this announcement HIV/AIDS patients receiving short-term housing care can relax, knowing the cap will not be as strictly enforced as once thought.…
In a press release by Dartmouth Medical School on January 29th, researchers reported on the successful creation of a vaccine for HIV-associated tuberculosis. Immunization with the vaccine was found to reduce the rate of tuberculosis (TB) infection by 39 percent.
The study, dubbed the DarDar Health Study, was a 7-year collaboration among groups in the United States, Zambia, Finland, and Tanzania.
Currently, TB is the leading cause of death among HIV-positive individuals in developing countries, and is responsible for approximately half of all the deaths worldwide of people with AIDS.
Almost immediately after…
Progression of HIV could potentially be slowed with aciclovir, a commonly available antiviral medication used to treat herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2). This study is slated to be published in the medical journal The Lancet.
The findings were based on a Phase 3 trial that evaluated more than 3,000 heterosexuals in 14 sites in Africa infected with both HSV-2 and HIV.
For the randomized trial, Dr. Jairam Lingappa of the University of Washington and colleagues from around the world looked at participants randomly assigned 400 mg of aciclovir or a placebo…