Coverage of the 2017 Harm Reduction International Conference

HIVand Hepatitis.com coverage of the 2017 Harm Reduction International Conference, May 14-17, 2017, in Montreal.

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HR17 website

5/31/17

IDWeek 2016: Only a Small Proportion of HIV+ Gay Men Receive Anal Cancer Screening

In the absence of national screening guidelines, only 11% of HIV-positive gay and bisexual men in the U.S. received anal Pap smears to detect anal cancer or precancerous cell changes during 2009-2012, with disparities between patient groups and variations across centers, according to a presentation at IDWeek, taking place this week in New Orleans.

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Coverage of the 2017 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections

HIVandHepatitis.com coverage of the 2017 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic infections (CROI 2017), February 13-16, 2017, in Seattle.

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CROI website

4/16/17

HIV Glasgow: French Study Reveals Growing Complexity of Medical Needs as People with HIV Age

The complexity of the needs of people living with HIV will continue to increase as the population ages, and clinicians need to go beyond thinking about co-morbidities to consider multi-morbidities -- clusters of medical conditions that complicate one another -- when caring for these people, Edouard Battegay from the University Hospital Zurich told attendees at the International Congress on Drug Therapy in HIV Infection (HIV Glasgow) this week.

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CROI 2017: Better Depression Care Could Improve Outcomes for HIV Treatment Programs

Improved management of depression and other mental health problems has the potential to improve the outcomes of HIV treatment programs, Pamela Collins of the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health reported at the recent Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Seattle. Mental health treatment should be integrated into HIV services in resource-limited settings, she said.

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AIDS 2016: Managing Non-Communicable Diseases Among People Living with HIV

Speakers at the recent 21st International AIDS Conference in Durban addressed non-communicable diseases (NCDs) -- including cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancers, and other illnesses -- which have become more common complications for people with HIV who are living longer on antiretroviral therapy (ART). NCDs represent a significant challenge in low- and middle-income countries, where the burden of these illnesses has been reaching epidemic proportions, but where health systems have traditionally focused on providing episodic rather than chronic care.

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CROI 2017: Bone Density Improves in People Who Switch from Tenofovir DF to Tenofovir Alafenamide

After 3 years, tenofovir alafenamide (TAF) for first-line HIV treatment was better at suppressing viral load and safer for the bones and kidneys than the older tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF), researchers reported at the 2017 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) last month in Seattle. Another study showed that people with low bone density who switched from TDF to TAF saw improved bone health, including a reduction in osteoporosis.

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Coverage of 21st International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2016)

HIVandHepatitis.com coverage of the 21st International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2016), held July 18-22, in Durban, South Africa.

Conference highlights include PrEP and other biomedical HIV prevention, HIV cure research, experimental antiretroviral therapy, and access to treatment and prevention for key affected populations.

Full listing by topic

AIDS 2016 website

7/28/16

CROI 2017: Long-Term Darunavir/Ritonavir Modestly Increases Risk of Cardiovascular Disease

Long-term use of the boosted protease inhibitor darunavir (Prezista) modestly increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, according to data from the ongoing D:A:D study presented to the recent Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections. Investigators identified an independent association between cumulative use of the drug over 5 years and heart attack and stroke.

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Mild Neurological Impairment Is Common During Early HIV Infection

People with HIV infection often have neurological signs and symptoms very soon after becoming infected -- even before they develop antibodies that show up on a test -- but these are typically mild to moderate and resolve after starting effective antiretroviral therapy (ART), according to a study published in the June 10 advance online edition of Neurology. These findings provide further evidence for starting treatment as soon as possible after HIV diagnosis.

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CROI 2017: Studies Look at Brain and Cognitive Changes in People with HIV As They Age

People with HIV often show persistent signs of cognitive impairment and abnormalities in brain structure despite suppressive antiretroviral therapy (ART), but they do not appear to experience accelerated decline compared to HIV-negative people as they age, according to research presented at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections last month in Seattle.

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CROI 2016: Antidepressant Improves HIV-Related Cognitive Impairment

The SSRI antidepressant paroxetine (Paxil) was associated with a modest improvement in cognitive function and reduced central nervous system inflammation among people with HIV-related neurocognitive disorder, but the antifungal drug fluconazole showed no apparent benefit even though it reduced oxidative stress, according to a study presented at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI 2016) last month in Boston.

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CROI 2017: Stopping Smoking Cuts Risk of Some Cancers Quickly in People with HIV

Smoking probably contributes far more to the risk of cardiovascular disease in people with HIV than antiretroviral drug choice, viral load, or any factor linked to the virus, but stopping smoking leads to a rapid reduction in the risk of some cancers, according to results from a cluster of studies presented at the 2017 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections last week in Seattle.

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CROI 2016: Women and African Americans with HIV Have a Higher Risk of Stroke

The risk of stroke among people living with HIV is highest among people with unsuppressed viral load, and among women and African Americans, according to findings presented at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI 2016)last month in Boston.

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CROI 2017: Treatment or Watchful Waiting for Cervical Abnormalities in Women with HIV?

Close monitoring of earlier-stage cervical abnormalities (CIN-2) may be preferable to treatment for many women with HIV, a U.S. study suggests. The findings, presented at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections this week in Seattle, show that CIN-2 regressed in over three-quarters of women taking antiretroviral therapy, without the need for CIN treatment. A higher CD4 count was associated with a lower likelihood that lesions would progress.

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CROI 2016: HIV-Related Factors Increase Risk of Stroke

HIV-related risk factors seem to increase the risk of stroke -- the sudden death of brain cells due to a rupture or obstruction of blood vessels in the brain -- according to ongoing research in a growing number of large epidemiological cohort studies. Recent data from 5 of these were presented during the first-ever poster discussion session on stroke at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI), which took place last month in Boston.

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IDWeek 2016: Comorbidities Are Common and Rising Among People with HIV

People living with HIV are increasingly experiencing a range of non-AIDS-related comorbidities as the population ages, including cardiovascular disease, kidney impairment, and bone loss leading to fractures, according to research presented at the recent IDWeek 2016 meeting in New Orleans.

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CROI 2016: Early Antiretroviral Therapy Has No Impact on Cardiovascular Disease Marker

Starting treatment at a CD4 cell count above 500 cells/mm³ does not lead to improvement in an important early warning sign of cardiovascular disease, and investigators are still unsure whether people who start treatment at high CD4 counts will have the same increased risk of cardiovascular disease as that reported in people with HIV over the past 15 years, according to findings presented at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI 2016) in Boston last week.

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HIV-Positive People May Lose More Years of Life from Smoking than from HIV/AIDS

People with HIV on effective antiretroviral treatment who smoke cigarettes may incur more risk of death and reduction in life expectancy from smoking than from HIV/AIDS-related conditions, according to a study described in the November 3 advance edition of the Journal of Infectious Diseases.

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CROI 2016: Study Does Not Support Routine HPV Vaccination to Prevent Anal Cancer in People with HIV

The quadrivalent HPV vaccine Gardasil does not protect older adults with HIV against persistent anal infection with human papillomavirus or the development of high-grade anal lesions (HSIL), but the ACTG A5298 study showed some evidence that it may protect against persistent oral HPV infection, Timothy Wilkin of Weill Cornell Medical College reported at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI 2016) last week in Boston.

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