October 6, 2006
Diary of a Doc: Vaccine Update at ICAAC
Developing a vaccine to prevent HIV infection has been a significant challenge, and, sadly, traditional vaccines are not expected to reach clinical use for another ten years.

October 3, 2006
ICAAC: Trizivir vs. Reyataz/Combivir
A new study suggests that 48 weeks of treatment with Trizivir® is comparable to a protease inhibitor-based regimen.

October 2, 2006
ICAAC: Norvir-Boosted Lexiva vs. Reyataz
Early data from a study comparing Lexiva (fosamprenavir) to Reyataz (atazanavir), both combined with low-dose Norvir (ritonavir), suggest that both drugs have similar effectiveness.

September 29, 2006
ICAAC: MK-0518 Potent for Treatment Experienced
New follow-up data from a clinical trial evaluating Merck's experimental integrase inhibitor MK-0518 in HIV-positive people who have tried and failed other HIV medications in the past indicates that the drug is effective in terms of reducing viral load for at least 24 weeks.

September 29, 2006
ICAAC: More Drug-Resistant HIV?
A growing number of HIV-positive people who have never taken HIV medications appear to have virus mutations that can cause drug resistance to available treatment options.

September 29, 2006
ICAAC: Prezista and Aptivus on Drug-Resistant HIV
Three reports presented Friday at the 46th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) in San Francisco have shed additional light on the benefits of the protease inhibitors (PIs) Prezista (darunavir) and Aptivus (tipranavir) in the treatment of HIV-positive people who have tried and failed combination therapy in the past.

September 28, 2006
ICAAC Opens in San Francisco
The 46th annual Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) opened yesterday in San Francisco with HIV and drug resistance among the hot topics so far.

September 28, 2006
ICAAC: Predicting Responses to Aptivus or Prezista
For drug resistance testing to provide useful results, the companies that maintain the available assays frequently update the information that accompanies test results so that HIV-positive people and their healthcare providers can make important treatment decisions.

September 27, 2006
ICAAC: MK-0518 Appears Lipid Friendly
New data suggest that MK-0518 does not cause increased cholesterol or triglyceride as a side effect of treatment. The "late breaker" report, highlighting preliminary results from a study comparing Merck's experimental integrase inhibitor MK-0518 to Bristol-Myers Squibb's non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) Sustiva® (efavirenz), was presented on Wednesday at the 46th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) in San Francisco.

September 27, 2006
ICAAC: Abortion Pill for HIV? Questions Still Remain
One of the most intriguing compounds to be studied as an HIV therapy is mifepristone, a controversial medication sold in the United States as Mifeprex® and used to chemically induce abortions in the early stages of pregnancy. While the scientific rationale behind using mifepristone as an anti-HIV agent has piqued the interest of researchers for several years, the results of a new clinical trial reported Wednesday at the 46th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) in San Francisco indicate that its therapeutic potential for this indication remains unclear.