aidsmap

Don't take Gingko with efavirenz

The herbal remedy Ginkgo should not be taken with the anti-HIV drug efavirenz, Dutch investigators warn in the June 1^st edition of AIDS. They report the case of an individual whose viral load became detectable with the development of drug resistance because Ginkgo interacted with efavirenz





Immune suppression has important role in development of non-AIDS cancers

Immune suppression plays an important part in the development of non-AIDS-defining cancers in people with HIV, Australian investigators argue in a letter published in the June 1^st edition of AIDS. The investigators were prompted to write to the journal after the publication of a US study earlier this year that found that neither CD4 cell count nor use of antiretroviral therapy were risk factors for such cancers.

Less than one in a hundred French HIV patients long term non-progressors

Few HIV-positive patients who are not taking HIV treatment remain free of symptoms of HIV infection in the long-term and maintain a high CD4 cell count or a very low viral load, French investigators report in an article published in the online edition of AIDS. They believe that their findings could benefit HIV vaccine research.


HIV viral load linked to inflammatory markers on and off therapy

Levels of inflammatory, anti-inflammatory and endothelial activation markers of cardiovascular disease are associated with HIV replication, say researchers with the Swiss-Thai-Australian Treatment Interruption Trial (STACCATO) study group. These data, reported in the May 15^thAIDS, support the growing links between endothelial dysfunction, cardiovascular disease and HIV disease and treatment, and might help not only explain current discrepancies in trial results, but also provide insight into future treatment options.


Testosterone treatment has benefits and few risks for women with HIV

Long-term testosterone therapy in HIV-positive women is safe and has significant benefits, researchers report in the May 15^th edition of AIDS. The US investigators found that 18 months of testosterone treatment improved women’s lean body weight, bone density and mood, without causing side-effects.


nature

A natural approach for HIV vaccine

For 25 years, researchers have tried and failed to develop an HIV vaccine, primarily by focusing on a small number of engineered "super antibodies" to fend off the virus before it takes hold. So far, these magic bullet antibodies have proved impossible to produce in people. Now, in research published by Nature, scientists at The Rockefeller University have laid out a new approach. They have identified a diverse team of antibodies in "slow-progressing" HIV patients whose coordinated pack hunting knocks down the virus just as well as their super-antibody cousins fighting solo.

Video


theglobeandmail

900 babies a day are born with AIDS virus in the developing world: report

Eight years after the world pledged a dramatic reduction in the transfer of HIV from mother to baby, only 8 per cent of pregnant women in the developing world are getting full treatment, and 900 babies a day are being born with the AIDS virus.



afp

Infant deaths falling but poor countries need boost: WHO

Infant deaths worldwide have fallen by more than a quarter since 1990, but health care still needs a boost in poor nations, the World Health Organisation said Thursday.

The WHO's annual World Health Statistics recorded about nine million deaths of under five year-olds in 2007, 28 percent less than the 12.5 million who died in 1990 but still far short of the Millennium Development Goals.

Child mortality is one of the MDGs adopted by UN member states, with the aim of cutting infant deaths by two-thirds between 1990 and 2015.

nhs

NHS HIV saliva test available

Patients are now being tested for HIV from a mouth swab and can get their results in just 20 minutes.

The Barts and the London NHS Trust has become the first in the country to offer an HIV saliva test that provides definitive results in 20 minutes.

The test uses a toothbrush to pick up HIV antibody markers from the gum line. The hospital hopes that the new technique will see more people seek testing if the need to give blood and wait perhaps up to a week for results is eliminated. With more than 7,700 infections in 2007, the UK has the highest number of new HIV infections in Western Europe.


medicalnewstoday

Green Tea Chemical Shows Potential As Low-Cost Intervention Against Sexual HIV Transmission, Study Says

A chemical found in green tea might be an effective tool against the sexual transmission of HIV, according to a study conducted by researchers at the University of Heidelberg in Germany and published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, AFP/Google.com reports.


Chlamydia That Avoids Diagnosis DNA Deletion Makes Swedish Chlamydia 'invisible'

New sequencing and analysis of six strains Chlamydia will result in improved diagnosis of the sexually transmitted infection. This study provides remarkable insights into a new strain of Chlamydia that was identified in Sweden in 2006 after spreading rapidly across the country by evading most established diagnostic tests.


sciencedaily

AIDS Patients With Serious Complications Benefit From Early Retroviral Use, Study Shows

HIV-positive patients who don't seek medical attention until they have a serious AIDS-related condition can reduce their risk of death or other complications by half if they get antiretroviral treatment early on, according to a new multicenter trial led by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

Abusive Relationships Increase Women’s Risk Of HIV Infection

A new study of nearly 14,000 U.S. women reveals that those who are in physically abusive relationships are at higher risk for HIV infection.


HIV's March Around Europe Mapped

Those travelling abroad should take seriously advice to pack their condoms and keep their needles to themselves: new research shows that tourists, travellers and migrants from Greece, Portugal, Serbia and Spain actively export HIV-1 subtype B to other European nations.




Face Protection Effective In Preventing The Spread Of Influenza, Study Suggests

A new article in the journal Risk Analysis assessed various ways in which aerosol transmission of the flu, a central mode of diffusion which involves breathing droplets in the air, can be reduced. Results show that face protection is a key infection control measure for influenza and can thus affect how people should try to protect themselves from the swine flu.



Buckyball Computer Simulations Help Team Find Molecular Key To Combating HIV

Rice University's Andrew Barron and his group, working with labs in Italy, Germany and Greece, have identified specific molecules that could block the means by which the deadly virus spreads by taking away its ability to bind with other proteins.






newsrx

Researchers' work from University of California focuses on HIV/AIDS

New investigation results, 'Quantifying the source of infection for HIV-infected hemophiliacs in the U.K. from 1979 to 1984,' are detailed in a study published in Statistics In Medicine. According to recent research published in the journal Statistics In Medicine, "There is considerable literature on the risk of HIV infection for individuals suffering from hemophilia A in the United Kingdom (U.K.) during the period 1979-1984 when the sources of Factor VIII clotting factor were contaminated with HIV.


Research from University Hospital in HIV/AIDS therapy provides new insights

A new study, 'Maraviroc: perspectives for use in antiretroviral-naive HIV-1-infected patients,' is now available. According to recent research from Belgium, "Maraviroc (Pfizer's UK-427857, Selzentry or Celsentri outside the USA) is the first agent in the new class of oral HIV-1 entry inhibitors to acquire approval by the US Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicine Agency. Considering the mechanism of action, it is expected that this drug will be effective only in a subpopulation of HIV-1-infected people, namely those harbouring the R5 virus"