Zinc Fingers to the Fore
Naturally occurring proteins called zinc fingers can be used to genetically modify CD4 cells and potentially treat HIV infection, according to scientists at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and Sangamo BioSciences.
June 27, 2008
Deep Vein Clotting Risk Higher in HIV People living with HIV face an increased risk of potentially dangerous blood clots in major blood vessels according to a Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine study published in the July 1 issue of the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes.
June 26, 2008
Reyataz Approved for First-Line Use in Europe Reyataz boosted with low-dose Norvir has been approved as a first-line protease inhibitor option in the European Union, according to AIDSmap.
June 25, 2008
Cheaper Test for Atherosclerosis Works in HIV A method for diagnosing clogged arteries in HIV-negative patients works well in HIV-positive patients too, according to the authors of a research letter published in the July 11 issue of AIDS.
June 24, 2008
Experts Recommend Heart Disease Screening in HIV A group of experts on HIV and heart disease recommends that people with HIV should take cardiovascular disease risk factors—such as cholesterol, diabetes and obesity—seriously due to a heightened risk for heart attacks.
June 23, 2008
HIV Hospitalizations Halved Since 1994 Hospitalizations for any cause in people living with HIV decreased by more than half between 1994 and 2005, according to a study published in the July 11 issue of AIDS.
June 20, 2008
Crack Is Wack in Women’s HIV Study HIV-positive women who regularly use crack cocaine are three times as likely as non-crack users to die of AIDS-related causes, even if they adhere to their prescribed antiretroviral (ARV) regimen, according to a multi-city study reported in the July 11 issue of AIDS.
June 19, 2008
Tibotec Launches Medication Reminder Service Tibotec has launched a free, confidential e-mail, voice-mail and text-message daily medication reminder service for people living with HIV.
Confirmation of Tesamorelin’s Lipo-Fighting Potential Treatment with a synthetic human growth hormone-releasing factor, tesamorelin, resulted in a significant loss of visceral adipose tissue—deep belly fat—compared with a placebo in people with lipodystrophy, according to a press release by the drug’s developer, Theratechnologies.
June 18, 2008
Epilepsy Drug Doesn’t Reduce HIV Reservoir Long-term use of a drug commonly used to treat bipolar disorder and epilepsy does not reduce the reservoir of long-lived HIV-infected CD4 cells, say the authors of a study published in the June 19 issue of AIDS.
June 17, 2008
Experimental HIV Drug Hits Snag Development of Koronis Pharmaceuticals’ KP-1461, an experimental antiretroviral (ARV), has been suspended after an analysis of existing data failed to show anti-HIV activity, according to a report by Project Inform.
June 16, 2008
Scoring Tool Helps Predict KS Worsening A simple scoring tool is able to predict which HIV-positive patients with the AIDS-related Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS) are most likely to see their cancer progress, according to a study published in the May 31 issue of AIDS, and reported by AIDSmap.
June 13, 2008
Neuropathy Skin Patch Reduces Pain A dermal patch containing the experimental drug NGX-4010 for HIV-related distal sensory polyneuropathy (DSP)—a painful condition caused by nerve damage—significantly reduced pain over a 12-week period, according to the authors of a study published in the June 2008 issue of Neurology.
Coinfection With HIV and HCV in Pregnancy Pregnant women coinfected with both HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) are more likely to have detectable HIV levels, even if they’re using antiretroviral (ARV) therapy, than women infected with just HIV.
June 11, 2008
Combining Invirase and Garlic Capsules Not Recommended Garlic supplements may lower blood concentrations of the protease inhibitor Invirase and should not be used at the same time if an Invirase-boosting dose of Norvir is not also being taken. The new recommendation, announced by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, comes as part of a larger revision to the package insert for Invirase.
June 10, 2008
Mediterranean Diet May Lower Diabetes Risk
People who adhere closely to a Mediterranean diet—comprised of olive oil, grains, fruits, nuts, vegetables and fish, and low in meats and dairy—may have a much lower risk of developing diabetes, according to the authors of a study published online in the British Medical Journal and reported by the New York Times.
June 09, 2008
Syphilis Treatment Response Improves With HIV Therapy Combination antiretroviral (ARV) therapy significantly improves syphilis treatment response rates in HIV-positive people undergoing their first course of antibiotics, according to the authors of a study to be published in Clinical Infectious Diseases.
June 06, 2008
A New Improved HIV Tropism Test A new version of the Trofile HIV tropism test is far more effective than the original assay at determining whether a person will likely respond to the entry inhibitor Selzentry (maraviroc), according to a press release issued by Monogram Biosciences.
June 05, 2008
African HIV Breast Feeding Studies Show Benefits Two studies published online by the New England Journal of Medicine offer important insight into current practices aimed at preventing mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV in the developing world.
June 04, 2008
Scientists Record HIV Particle Being Born Hundreds of thousands of molecules join together to form a new HIV particle in just five minutes, according to new research conducted—and visually recorded—by a team of scientists at Rockefeller University in New York.
June 03, 2008
Viracept Impurity Was Not at Cancer-Causing Levels Roche has conducted animal studies showing that batches of Viracept (nelfinavir) found to be contaminated with ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) in the spring of 2007 did not contain high enough levels of the impurity to cause cancer, according to a report by AIDSmap.
June 02, 2008
Scientists Identify New HIV-Fighting Protein Researchers have identified a protein that restricts newly formed copies of HIV from being released from CD4 cells. According to Science Daily, the new discovery, to be reported in a future issue of Nature Medicine, may lead to new treatments for HIV.
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