 September 30, 2006
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Predictive Value of Viral Load Testing Questioned
While the value of viral load testing is pretty much undisputed with respect to monitoring HIV-positive people while on treatment, a recent study by a nationwide team of HIV researchers strongly challenges conventional thinking about viral load as a measure of disease progression in those who aren't yet on therapy and questions the value of using viral load to determine when treatment should be started.
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September 29, 2006
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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.
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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.
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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.
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September 28, 2006
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Prezista Women's Study Opens for Enrollment
Tibotec Therapeutics has announced the initiation of a clinical trial evaluating different responses to HIV treatment among women and men. The Gender, Race, and Clinical Experience (GRACE) study will be the largest clinical trial conducted to date to explore this important issue.
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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.
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September 27, 2006
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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.
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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.
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| September 25, 2006
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September 21, 2006
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CDC Recommends Routine HIV Testing
HIV antibody testing should be a regular part of the medical care of all adolescents, adults, and pregnant women, according to new federal guidelines published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
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September 20, 2006
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Treating Primary HIV Infection: Is There a Benefit?
Should treatment be initiated in people diagnosed with HIV in the earliest days of infection? Researchers involved in the study of primary HIV infection (PHI)—the initial stage of HIV infection in the body—have been attempting to answer this question for several years.
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September 18, 2006
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Infections Found At Higher CD4 Counts
European researchers found HIV-infected patients can develop opportunistic infections at higher-than-expected CD4+ cell counts. These findings suggest that it may be advisable to start antiretroviral therapy in patients with higher CD4+ levels than conventionally recommended, according to the report in the September 1st issue of The Journal of Infectious Diseases.
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September 15, 2006
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Initial HAART Regimen Influences HIV Outcomes
HIV outcomes may vary with differing initial highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) regimens, according to a report in the September 1st issue of The Journal of Infectious Diseases.
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| September 13, 2006
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September 12, 2006
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EAP Launched for First Integrase Inhibitor
Merck announced the U.S. launch of an expanded access program (EAP) for MK-0518, becoming the first experimental integrase inhibitor provided to patients outside of traditional clinical trials. For patients whose HIV is resistant to the three classes of drugs currently on the market, this EAP offers the possibility of controlling their viral load.
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September 11, 2006
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Women More Vulnerable To Certain Toxicities
Metabolic toxicities associated with highly-active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) occur frequently and, for the most part, similarly in men and women; however, lactic acidosis and hypersensitivity reactions are seen more often in women.
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| September 08, 2006
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September 06, 2006
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Risk in HAART Interruption
Data from a large cohort of AIDS patients indicates that by two years
after initiation of HAART one in six interrupts treatment.
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Liver Biopsy Important for Coinfected People
Patients with HIV and chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection may
have normal alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels, but nonetheless they
should probably have a liver biopsy, Spanish researchers report in the
September 1st issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases.
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September 05, 2006
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Greater Risk of Bone Loss in HIV-Positive Women
A report published in the August issue of The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism has confirmed that HIV-positive women are more likely to suffer from low bone mineral density (BMD) compared to HIV-negative women.
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