April 13, 2011

Young Adults Born With HIV Facing Lifelong Complications

Despite 85 percent being on antiretrovirals (ARV) and having undetectable viral loads, young adults who were born with HIV are experiencing lifelong complications such as higher rates of hospital admissions, comorbidities and lipodystrophy, according to a study by St. Mary’s Hospital in London and reported by aidsmap. For the study, researchers examined the health outcomes of 58 HIV-positive young people who visited the 900 Clinic between 2006 and 2011. Their finding showed that a fifth of patients had a CD4 cell count below 200, that a few of those with undetectable viral loads had failed to fully restore immune functionality, and that at the last follow-up, a quarter of the patients had chosen to discontinue ARV treatment despite support and intervention. In addition, a quarter had been admitted to the hospital for drug overdoses, opportunistic infections, stroke and osteocronis (loss of blood supply to the bones), and one in eight also had severe lipodystrophy.

To read the aidsmap article, click here.

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John, Washington D.C., 2011-04-13 18:33:11
Well, the prevailing myth for quite some time now has been that the new meds basically have no side effects whatsoever. AIDSMEDS is a big pusher of this myth. I understand you guy lies because you don't want people to be scared of taking their ARVs but they need to be prepared for what's to come. It's not just "1 pill at night and a blood test every 6 months". I work in an HIV clinic and I see young men on ARVs for a year or so with significant lipoatrophy every single day