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Older People With HIV Have Unmet Needs
Nearly 40% of older people with HIV have at least one unmet need, according to a recent study. Today, more than half of HIV-positive people in the United States are ages 50 or older. Like the general population, people with HIV are more prone to comorbidities as they age, and they may face challenges such as reduced mobility, cognitive decline and financial instability.
Treatment: Delayed Treatment
People who delay antiretroviral therapy continue to be at higher risk for complications and death years later, apparently due to greater inflammation. The START trial randomly assigned newly diagnosed individuals to begin treatment either immediately or when their CD4 count fell below 350 or they developed AIDS symptoms. People who started immediately had a 57% lower risk of AIDS-related events, serious non-AIDS events or death. The randomized portion of the trial was halted in 2015, but follow-up continued. A START sub-study measured biomarkers of inflammation and blood coagulation. During the randomized study period, the delayed treatment group had higher levels of IL-6 and D-dimer. During 2016–2021, the delayed group had about a 30% higher risk of complications or death despite starting treatment. What’s more, participants with the highest IL-6 and D-dimer levels in both the immediate and delayed groups had about double the risk. These findings emphasize the importance of prompt diagnosis and early treatment.
Viral Hepatitis Deaths Are Increasing
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) 2024 Global Hepatitis Report, the number of lives lost due to viral hepatitis is increasing. Viral hepatitis is the second leading infectious cause of death globally—with 1.3 million deaths per year, the same as tuberculosis, a top infectious killer. The report, released...
Syndemic Approaches
Let’s delve into a concept that holds profound implications for our lives: syndemics. Often discussed in public health, syndemics refer to the co-occurrence of two or more health or social issues that collectively impact individuals or communities. Simply put, it’s not just one challenge we’re facing but a tangled web of interconnected issues affecting our well-being.
HIV Reservoirs and Viral Rebound
Several studies presented at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) shed light on HIV persistence and strategies for long-term remission. Antiretroviral therapy (ART) keeps HIV replication suppressed, but the virus inserts its genetic blueprints into the DNA of human cells and establishes a long-lasting reservoir that antiretrovirals can’t reach.
Chocolate Tahini Bars
A single serving of these rich, filling little treats will seriously satisfy your sweet tooth while nourishing you. Not only do the toasted sesame seeds in the tahini make the bars deliciously nutty-tasting, but they also add an abundance of nutrients and minerals. Servings: 12 / Ingredients: 6 / Prep:...
HIV and Your Lungs
Healthy lungs are a key to good quality of life. With effective antiretroviral therapy, people who stay on treatment and achieve viral suppression are no longer at high risk for AIDS-defining opportunistic infections (OIs) that affect the lungs, such as Pneumocystis pneumonia. However, people with a low CD4 T-cell count remain susceptible.
Treatment for Fatty Liver Disease
Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD)—the new name for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)—and its more severe form, metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), are responsible for a growing share of advanced liver disease. Linked to obesity and diabetes, fatty liver disease is increasingly recognized as a metabolic condition. Over...
The Best Medicine
I found out I was HIV positive in February 2017 in my last semester at the University of South Alabama in Mobile. Ironically, I was taking a class on global health and chose HIV/AIDS as my research topic. I chose it before I knew about my own status. Life is funny. The research was good because it forced me to confront some realities and learn my new normal. I think I reached a place of acceptance earlier than I would have otherwise.
AIDS Is Everyday – July/August 2024
1 – GMHC (Gay Men’s Health Crisis) publishes a newsletter to address questions relating to GRID (gay-related immune deficiency). (1982) 13 – Madonna performs a benefit concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City and raises $400,000 for amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research. The show, an addition to her Who’s That Girl summer tour, commemorates her friend Martin Burgoyne. (1987)
More PrEP Leads to Fewer HIV Diagnoses
U.S. states with the highest pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) coverage saw the largest declines in new HIV diagnoses, a recent analysis shows. PrEP use has risen steadily since Truvada (tenofovir disoproxil fumarate/emtricitabine) was approved for HIV prevention in 2012. But while PrEP uptake has been high among urban white gay and bisexual men, coverage is lagging for women and Black and Latino gay men.
Giving it a Try: A Guide to Clinical Trials
Most of what we know about HIV prevention, treatment and care comes from clinical trials. There are many types of research studies, and they all add to our knowledge in different ways. Joining a trial can be a good way to gain access to cutting-edge therapies and contribute to science, but it’s important to weigh the pros and cons.
Memory Lane
When I returned to NMAC in April after exactly 30 years, I went down memory lane. April 1994 was a busy time for me. I had turned in my master’s thesis at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and was running the review process for the state health department’s first Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS grant applicants and studying for finals, and my friend Phil from Maryland had died of an AIDS-related illness.
Long COVID Data Easier to Access
Secure data from more than 14,000 adults who participate in National Institutes of Health (NIH) observational research on long COVID are now available to authorized researchers through BioData Catalyst (BDC). BDC is a cloud-based ecosystem developed by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the NIH, to accelerate research on heart, lung, blood and sleep disorders.
Prevention: Ultra-Long-Acting PrEP
An ultra-long-acting formulation of cabotegravir may offer an HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and treatment option that could be administered three times a year. The approved formulation of cabotegravir for PrEP (Apretude) is administered by a health care provider every other month, while cabotegravir plus rilpivirine (Cabenuva) for treatment is given monthly or every other month. In a Phase I trial, the new formulation—dubbed CAB-ULA— given by subcutaneous or intramuscular injection achieved comparable drug exposure levels but lasted longer in the body. Its pharmacokinetic profiles were flatter, indicating slower absorption. Pharmacokinetic modeling predicted that intramuscular CAB-ULA given at least four months apart would achieve higher drug exposure than the current formulation given every two months. CAB-ULA was generally well tolerated. Intramuscular CAB-ULA will now progress to late-stage trials, and more testing of the subcutaneous formulation—which could potentially be self-administered—is planned.
Consequential Scientist
Alison Rodger, MD, is one of the most consequential HIV scientists in the history of the disease. Her research, much of it done at University College London, demonstrated definitively that a person with an undetectable viral load does not transmit HIV via sex. Anecdotal evidence from serodiscordant couples had already...
Add Lemon to Your Water
Adding lemon to your water has many benefits. It helps burn more calories. It also relieves many digestion problems. Lemon’s antiaging properties make it great for the skin. Have a toothache or bad breath? Lemon water can help. If you have tonsil issues, it’s good to gargle lemon water...
Heart of the Matter
Alicia Diggs, MPH, is a busy woman. Currently wrapping up her PhD in public health education, she’s driven by a desire to improve the health care system for women and people of color. A Philadelphia native now residing in Burlington, North Carolina, Diggs splits her time between her academic...
New Effort to Include People With HIV or on PrEP in Clinical Trials [VIDEO]
When clinical trial researchers write their guidelines and decide on eligible participants, most continue to copy and paste outdated boilerplate language from the early days of the AIDS epidemic. As a result, clinical trials exclude people living with HIV as well as those who are HIV negative but take antiretrovirals as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to prevent HIV. Similarly, LGBTQ people—also referred to as SGMs for “sexual and gender minorities”—are underrepresented in clinical studies.
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