A large analysis of data from nearly 400,000 healthy U.S. adults followed for more than 20 years has found no association between regular multivitamin use and lower risk of death. The study, led by researchers at the National Institutes of Health’s National Cancer Institute, was published June 26, 2024, in...

For Healthy Adults, Taking Multivitamins Daily Is Not Associated With a Lower Risk Of Death

A unique HIV cure case will be among the scientific highlights of AIDS 2024, the 25th International AIDS Conference, which will take place in Munich, Germany and virtually from 22 to 26 July. For the first time, scientists will share information about the “next Berlin Patient”, who appears to be...

First-of-its-kind HIV Cure Case Among Scientific Highlights at AIDS 2024

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) has been a game-changer for people with HIV. But HIV is skilled at “hiding” and can reappear in the blood stream shortly after ART is stopped. That’s why NIAID and partners are investigating strategies to completely clear HIV from a person’s body, effectively curing them, or to reduce it to levels that can be suppressed by their own immune systems.

Broadly Neutralizing Antibodies Evaluated in Many HIV Cure Strategies

Philadelphia, NY

Thanks to a $24 million institutional investment from Wistar, The Wistar Institute is building a new HIV Cure and Viral Disease Center dedicated to HIV research, according to a news release. Philadelphia-based Wistar is one of the top independent nonprofit institutions researching HIV, cancer, immunology and other infectious diseases. Wistar...

Wistar Institute Launches Center Dedicated to HIV Cure Research

Globally, 70% of people are projected to live in cities by 2050. Consequently, urban settings will play a vital role in addressing the HIV epidemic as well as broader health issues. A new report assesses the urban HIV epidemic and offers actionable recommendations to improve HIV responses. Released to coincide...

Here’s How Cities and Urban Settings Can Better Respond to HIV

Strong bones help maintain mobility and enhance quality of life. People with HIV are more prone to bone loss and fractures, but you can take steps to improve bone health. Bone is living tissue largely made up of minerals and collagen. Cells called osteoblasts continually add new bone tissue, while osteoclasts dissolve old bone. As people age, bone resorption starts to outpace bone formation, and bone mass naturally declines. Osteopenia is an earlier stage of bone loss, which can progress to osteoporosis.

HIV and Your Bones

Austin, TX

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) opened a new HIV clinic in Austin, Texas, that provides comprehensive care, including HIV testing, treatment, medical services, a pharmacy and services related to sexually transmitted infections (STIs), reports Fox 7. Austin Mayor Kirk Watson joined other local and state officials at the Friday ribbon cutting....

HIV Health Care Center Opens in Austin, Texas [VIDEO]

This episode of HIV unmuted introduces a new host and format for the award-winning IAS podcast. Our host, Juan Michael Porter II, the Senior Editor for TheBody/TheBodyPro, takes a deep dive with a single guest in an intimate conversation that gives the listener a glimpse of the guest – who they are and how they got into this work – and an understanding of their topic of expertise.

HIV Unmuted - The Game-Changing Research from AIDS 2024

Miami, FL

Lamar McMullen of Miami is positively evangelical about long-acting injectables for HIV treatment. Currently, only one such medication is approved for injection every other month; others in the pipeline are intended to last even longer. Since giving up his once-a-day pill for a long-acting injectable, McMullen has been pleased with the results.

Getting Comfortable With Long-Acting Injectables

EBT-101, a CRISPR-based gene-editing therapy, was safe and well tolerated in an early study, but it did not prevent viral rebound in the first four participants who interrupted antiretroviral treatment, according to a report at the International AIDS Conference (#AIDS2024) in Munich. One person, however, did see a decline in his HIV reservoir, and viral rebound was delayed for four months.

CRISPR Gene Therapy Does Not Prevent HIV Rebound

Indiana State

Eighteen people living with HIV in Indiana were arrested between 2001 and 2019 for donating plasma, though, thanks to effective screening methods, none of them posed a risk of transmitting the virus, found a new report by the Williams Institute. The Williams Institute is a research center focusing on law...

People With HIV Have Been Arrested in Indiana for Donating Plasma

Georgia State

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Atlanta, GA

Daily Coffee Press

A 40-year-old man has been sentenced to over 28 years in prison for distributing significant amounts of fentanyl and other controlled substances to dealers in the Middle Georgia region. Authorities revealed that investigators uncovered evidence linking the drugs provided by the defendant, 40-year-old Lagary Williams, also known as "Frog," from Atlanta, to a fatal overdose.

Atlanta Man Sentenced to 28 Years for Supplying Deadly Fentanyl Linked to Fatal Overdose

Cover: Long-term survivor Bishop Stacey S. Latimer shares his advice on aging with HIV. Inside: Twice-yearly PrEP for women; HIV and your bones. Plus: Mark S. King questions his life-long fixation on survival.

POZ September 2024

A policy brief written by health advocate experts urges Medicaid leadership to capitalize on the promise of long-acting medications to treat and prevent HIV. The brief spells out a series of recommendations to ensure that people eligible for Medicaid have access to these “game-changing” injectable HIV meds. The...

Medicaid Urged to Ensure Access to Long-Acting Meds That Treat and Prevent HIV

People who start antiretroviral therapy (ART) during acute HIV infection experience a faster decline in the viral reservoir in CD4 T cells. Within days after infection, the virus inserts its genetic blueprints into the DNA of host cells and establishes a long-lasting reservoir that is unreachable by antiretro-virals. Using more than 500 blood samples from 67 people in the UCSF Treat Acute HIV cohort who started ART within 100 days after infection, researchers developed mathematical models of HIV dynamics and control. The models showed a biphasic decay of integrated proviral DNA out to one year. During the first phase, lasting up to five weeks, there was a steep decrease in intact HIV DNA, followed by a slower decline during the second phase. For every week ART was delayed, the half-life of intact proviral DNA was about 14 hours longer during the first phase and eight days longer during the second phase. While even very early treatment usually doesn’t prevent viral rebound after stopping anti-retrovirals, a smaller reservoir could improve prospects for a functional cure.

Cure: Smaller Reservoir

Over the past two years, a simple but baffling request has preceded most of my encounters with medical professionals: “Rate your pain on a scale of zero to 10.”. I trained as a physician and have asked patients the very same question thousands of times, so I think hard about how to quantify the sum of the sore hips, the prickly thighs, and the numbing, itchy pain near my left shoulder blade. I pause and then, mostly arbitrarily, choose a number. “Three or four?” I venture, knowing the real answer is long, complicated, and not measurable in this one-dimensional way.

Pain Doesn’t Belong on a Scale of Zero to 10

Marijuana and cannabidiol (CBD) have anti-inflammatory properties and may improve gut health, but smoking can lessen the benefits, according to recent studies. Around a third of people with HIV have recently used marijuana, but its effects on immune function are not fully understood. In one small study, cannabis users had...

How Does Cannabis Affect Immune Response?

Lenacapavir (Sunlenca), Gilead Sciences’ twice-yearly capsid inhibitor, demonstrated 100% efficacy for HIV prevention in a large study of young cisgender women in Africa. Oral PrEP is highly effective for people who can take it consistently, but additional options are still needed for people who have difficulty using daily pills. The Phase III PURPOSE 1 trial enrolled more than 5,300 women in South Africa and Uganda. They were randomly assigned to receive injectable lenacapavir once every six months or the daily PrEP pills Descovy (tenofovir alafenamide/emtricitabine) or Truvada (tenofovir disoproxil fumarate/emtricitabine) in a 2:2:1 ratio. There were zero new infections in the lenacapavir group, 39 in the Descovy group and 16 in the Truvada group. All three PrEP methods were well tolerated, and no new safety concerns were identified. A parallel study (PURPOSE 2) is testing lenacapavir PrEP for cisgender and transgender men, trans women and nonbinary people in the United States and six other countries; results are expected in late 2024 or early 2025.

Prevention: Twice-Yearly PrEP

Tennessee State

Shelby County, TN

Memphis, TN

In recent years, reported HIV and syphilis cases have surged in Tennessee’s Shelby County, which encompasses Memphis, prompting a response from the Shelby County Health Department (SCHD), reports WREG-TV News Channel 3. According to the Tennessee Department of Health (THD), since 2018, HIV rates have increased by 36%, and...

Memphis Area Sees Spike in HIV Cases

The Current GA

Since 2020, the condition known as long COVID-19 has become a widespread disability affecting the health and quality of life of millions of people across the globe and costing economies billions of dollars in reduced productivity of employees and an overall drop in the work force .

Expert: Long COVID puzzle pieces are falling into place – picture is unsettling

NewsBreak

A New Way to Measure and Predict Human Immune Health

The immune system senses and responds to changes in physiologic health, and a new tool called the immune health metric (IHM) can measure and even predict...

A New Way to Measure and Predict Human Immune Health

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