ICAAC 2008:Long-Term Benefits and Risks of Kaletra Monotherapy Explored in Two Studies More than 10 years after combination HIV treatment was heralded as the one and only way to treat HIV, data continue to emerge suggesting that monotherapy—the use of just one HIV drug—may be a possibility. Long-term results from two Kaletra (lopinavir/ritonavir) studies, reported at the 2008 joint meeting of the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) and the Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA), continue to show that there may be potential for two monotherapy approaches.
October 29, 2008
OraSure Seeking FDA Approval for Rapid Hep C Test OraSure Technologies Inc. has announced that it has submitted an approval application to the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its rapid hepatitis C virus (HCV) test kit.
EMD Serono Buys Rights to Sell Tesamorelin in U.S. Theratechnologies announced today that it has sold the rights to sell the experimental lipodystrophy drug tesamorelin in the United States—if the drug is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration—to EMD Serono.
ICAAC 2008:Has HIV Evolved to Become More Dangerous? Twenty-five years into the HIV epidemic, has the virus evolved to become more dangerous? This was the question asked by a research team headed by Nancy Crum-Cianflone, MD, of the TriService AIDS Clinical Consortium at the 2008 joint meeting of the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) and the Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA) in Washington, DC.
October 28, 2008
ICAAC 2008:PRO 140 Has Long-Lasting Activity Against HIV Positive early results from a Phase II clinical trial of intravenous (IV) PRO 140, an experimental HIV entry inhibitor, were reported October 26 at the 2008 joint meeting of the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) and the Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA). Separately, Progenics Pharmaceuticals announced this week encouraging results from a study evaluating a much more user-friendly subcutaneous (SC) formulation of PRO 140.
ICAAC 2008:Greater HIV Response to Prezista vs. Kaletra for First-Timers Over 96 Weeks Once-daily Norvir (ritonavir)-boosted Prezista (darunavir) is more likely to keep viral loads undetectable in HIV-positive people starting antiretroviral (ARV) therapy for the first time, compared with Kaletra (lopinavir plus ritonavir), according to new long-term study results.
ICAAC 2008:New NNRTI Called RDEA806 Shows Promise Once-daily RDEA806, an experimental non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) being developed by Ardea Biosciences, appears highly active against HIV, is unlikely to have significant interactions with other meds and may have a useful side effect—reducing uric acid levels.
ICAAC 2008:Isentress Comparable to Sustiva for First-Time Treatment Isentress (raltegravir) appears to work just as well as Sustiva (efavirenz), with fewer drug-related side effects, in HIV-positive patients starting antiretroviral (ARV) therapy for the first time, according to a 48-week Phase III study analysis reported yesterday at the 2008 joint meeting of the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) and the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA).
ICAAC 2008:Selzentry Reanalysis Shows Potential as First-Line Treatment Selzentry (Celsentri; maraviroc) is comparable to Sustiva (efavirenz) in HIV-positive patients starting antiretroviral (ARV) treatment for the first time, according to a new analysis of a study that originally suggested that Selzentry was less effective than the standard-of-care non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI).
ICAAC 2008:Should ARV Treatment Be Started When CD4s Fall Below 500?
New research from a team of U.S. and Canadian researchers suggests that HIV-positive people have less risk of dying if they start antiretroviral (ARV) therapy sooner than is currently recommended, according to a presentation on Sunday, October 26, at the 2008 joint meeting of the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) and the Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA).
October 24, 2008
Blood Clots More Common in People With Advanced HIV Disease Lower CD4 counts and high viral loads, but not antiretroviral (ARV) therapy, are associated with an elevated risk of having a blood clot, according to a study published in the November issue of AIDS Patient Care and STDs.
October 23, 2008
'Undetectable = Noninfectious' Debate Continues at U.K. Conference Experts at a U.K. conference confirmed that effective antiretroviral (ARV) therapy “significantly reduces” the risk of HIV transmission. However, according to a report from aidsmap, researchers and community leaders at the gathering avoided speaking in absolute terms. For example, they did not say that risk of spreading the virus is nonexistent in HIV-positive people with undetectable viral loads and no other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). They also pointed out that important questions remain unanswered.
October 22, 2008
Prezista Approved for First-Time Treatment Takers The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the protease inhibitor Prezista (darunavir) for HIV-positive people beginning antiretroviral treatment for the first time, the drug’s manufacturer, Tibotec Therapeutics, announced today. Prezista must be combined with Norvir, but can be taken once a day by HIV-positive people who have not used other ARVs in the past.
October 21, 2008
SMART Study: Viral Loads and Inflammation Explain Increased Cardio Risk Untreated HIV may increase the risk of artery blockage and blood clots, according to new data from the international Strategies for the Management of Anti-Retroviral Therapy (SMART) published October 21 in the online journal PLoS Medicine.
October 20, 2008
Norvir and Viral Hepatitis Increase HIV Drug levels, Risk of Side Effects The ability of Norvir to boost the blood levels of other antiretroviral (ARV) drugs is amplified in HIV-positive people who are also infected with either hepatitis B or hepatitis C , according to a study published online in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes. As a result, researchers warn, people coinfected with HIV and hepatitis may be at an increased risk for ARV side effects.
October 17, 2008
50% of MRSA Skin Infections Return Within 1 Year Half of HIV-positive patients with skin infections caused by drug-resistant staph had a recurrence of the infection within one year, according to a research letter in the October 1 issue of the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes.
October 16, 2008
Treatment Interruption After an Early Start Produced Steep CD4 Declines Interrupting antiretroviral (ARV) treatment in people who started treatment in the first few weeks or months after HIV infection led to large and steep CD4 decreases, according to a study published online in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes.
October 15, 2008
Third Dose of Hep A Vaccine May Increase Immunity An additional third booster shot of the hepatitis A virus (HAV) vaccine increased the chance of an HIV-positive person acquiring immunity to HAV and increased the number of antibodies against HAV after one year, according to the authors of a study published online in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes.
October 14, 2008
Menopause, Tenofovir and Didanosine Increase Bone Loss Working out with weights and maintaining high albumin levels protected against bone loss, while completing menopause or taking tenofovir (found in Viread, Truvada and Atripla) or didanosine (Videx) led to bone loss in HIV-positive patients, according to a study published online October 3 in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes.
October 13, 2008
New Anti-HIV Drug Target Discovered Scientists at the University of Southern California at Los Angeles (USC) have uncovered the atomic structure of our bodies’ natural built-in antiviral factor, called APOBEC-3G.
October 10, 2008
Single Dose of Diflucan Good for Thrush A single 750 milligram dose of Diflucan (fluconazole) is as safe and effective as taking 150 mg of Diflucan once daily for 14 days in curing oral candidiasis, also known as thrush, according to a study in the October 7 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases.
October 09, 2008
Strength Training Burns More Fat Than Endurance Exercise in HIV Strength training—which primarily involves lifting weights—leads to greater loss of total body fat than endurance training—including activities such as running and biking—in people living with HIV, according to a study published in the October issue of The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
October 08, 2008
Merck Testing Once-Daily Isentress Merck has announced that it is launching a clinical trial to evaluate whether its integrase inhibitor, Isentress (raltegravir), can be used once daily by people who’ve never taken antiretroviral (ARV) therapy.
October 07, 2008
Low CD4s in People With Hepatitis and HIV Associated with Liver Cancer
People coinfected with HIV and either hepatitis B virus (HBV) or hepatitis C virus (HCV) who have low CD4 counts may be at a greater risk for liver cancer, according to a study published in the October 18 issue of AIDS.
October 06, 2008
Pneumonia Hospitalizations Still High for Positive Patients Although hospitalizations for bacterial pneumonia have greatly decreased among people living with HIV in Denmark since the introduction of combination antiretroviral (ARV) therapy in 1996, they remain six times higher than in the general population, according to a study published online October 3 in Clinical Infectious Diseases.
October 03, 2008
Tenofovir Linked to Mild Decrease in Kidney Function, but Not Kidney Disease
People taking a regimen that contains tenofovir (found in Viread, Truvada and Atripla) were more likely to experience mild decreases in kidney function over 144 weeks of treatment than people taking other antiretrovirals (ARV), but they were no more likely to have serious kidney problems, according to a study published in the October 18 issue of AIDS.
October 02, 2008
FDA Approves Boosted-Reyataz for Treatment First-Timers The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Reyataz (atazanavir) boosted with low-dose Norvir (ritonavir) for use in people who are new to antiretroviral (ARV) therapy.
October 01, 2008
Delayed-Release Videx (EC) Now OK for Some Kids Videx EC, the delayed-release form of Videx, may now be taken by children who weigh at least 44 pounds, according to an update to the drug’s prescribing information from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
More Treatment News
Have news about HIV? Send press releases, news tips and other announcements to news@poz.com.
