AIDSmeds - Top Stories

Immunotherapy May Enhance HIV Therapy
(Reuters Health) HIV-specific immunization may enhance antiretroviral therapy, according to a report in the December 15th issue of The Journal of Infectious Diseases.

HIV Suppressed More in CSF Than Plasma
(Reuters Health) Antiretroviral therapy has a greater impact on HIV levels in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) than in plasma, according to a report in the December 15th issue of The Journal of Infectious Diseases.

December 27, 2006

Gag Reflex: HIV Protein Should Be Vaccine Target
(AIDSmeds.com) An effective immune response against HIV infection may depend on "killer" CD8 cells targeting HIV's Gag protein, a finding that may pave the way for successful vaccine development.

Radiesse Approved for HIV Lipoatrophy
(AIDSmeds.com) BioForm Medical, Inc. announced on December 27 that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Radiesse® for use in the correction of lipoatrophy of the face associated with HIV treatment.

December 26, 2006

NNRTIs May Have Edge in HIV Therapy
(Reuters Health) An open-label study of current HIV regimens indicates that although all show excellent results, initial treatment with regimens that include non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) may have certain advantages over those involving protease inhibitors (PIs) or nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs), according to researchers.

December 22, 2006

HAART Tied to Hodgkin's Lymphoma
(Reuters Health) Increasing CD4 cell counts in HIV/AIDS patients being successfully treated with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) appear to be associated with a greater risk of Hodgkin's Lymphoma (HL), researchers report in the December 1st issue of Blood.

December 21, 2006

TH9507 Causes Modest Fat Drop in Lipo Study
(AIDSmeds.com) During a December 19 conference call with investors, Montreal-based Theratechnologies announced encouraging preliminary results from its Phase III clinical trial of TH9507, an experimental drug for the treatment of HIV-associated lipodystrophy.

Maturation Inhibitor Bevirimat Hits Dosing Snag
(AIDSmeds.com) Panacos Pharmaceuticals has issued a press release announcing preliminary results from the first part of a Phase IIb study of its maturation inhibitor bevirimat (PA-457) in patients with HIV resistance to approved medications.

December 19, 2006

Good News for HIV Positive Surgical Patients
(AIDSmeds.com) Thanks to the widespread availability and use of antiretroviral therapy, Kaiser Permanente researchers suggest that HIV-positive patients can safely undergo a wide range of surgical procedures.

December 18, 2006

Early Therapy for HIV/HCV Coinfected
(AIDSmeds.com) A new study suggests that people living with both HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection shouldn't wait until their CD4 (T4 cell) counts fall below 300 before starting antiretroviral therapy.

GSK Halts PI Brecanavir
(AIDSmeds.com) GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) announced on December 18 that it has discontinued development of brecanavir, its experimental protease inhibitor, due to “insurmountable” problems developing a formulation for the drug.

High Rates of Drug Resistance Among Teens
(Reuters Health) Adolescents recently infected with HIV-1 have high rates of primary drug resistance, according to a report in the December 1st issue of The Journal of Infectious Diseases.

December 15, 2006

HIV and Treatment Raise Risk of Bone Weakness
(AIDSmeds.com) A literature review involving several studies suggests that the prevalence of osteoporosis in HIV-positive people is more than three times greater compared with HIV-negative individuals.

Many Factors in Treatment Hepatotoxicity
(Reuters Health) There are several predictors of antiretroviral-related hepatotoxicity in patients with HIV infection, according to a study of more than 8000 patients.

Long-Term Data on Combivir vs. Viread/Emtriva
(AIDSmeds.com) Researchers have published extended follow-up data from an important clinical trial comparing two pairs of nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs), both combined with Sustiva® (efavirenz): twice-daily Combivir® (zidovudine plus lamivudine) vs. once-daily Viread® (tenofovir) plus Emtriva® (emtricitabine).

Cotrimoxazole Improves Pregnancy Outcomes
(Reuters Health) Antenatal cotrimoxazole prophylaxis improves pregnancy outcomes in HIV-infected women with CD4 counts below 200 cells per microliter, according to a report in the December 1st issue of The Journal of Infectious Diseases.

December 13, 2006

Drug Combo for High Cholesterol
Results of a Spanish study suggest that combining Zetia® (ezetimibe) with a commonly prescribed statin is an effective option for HIV-positive people unable to control their cholesterol levels while receiving a statin alone.

December 12, 2006

Gel Condom to Prevent HIV
Utah scientists are designing a "molecular condom" to prevent HIV infection in women.

December 07, 2006

CD4s in Gut Respond Poorly to Treatment
It is well known that HIV-positive people often experience healthy increases in their CD4 (T4 cell) counts after starting antiretroviral therapy. Unfortunately, two new studies reported in online versions of PLoS Medicine and the Journal of Virology suggest that CD4 counts in other parts of the body—notably the mucosal tissues of the gut—are much less likely to rebound in response to treatment.

December 05, 2006

Lipolytic-Blocker Improves Metabolic Profile
(Reuters Health) Acipimox, a nicotinic acid analog and potent inhibitor of lipolysis, improves triglycerides and insulin sensitivity in HIV-infected patients with metabolic disturbances, report clinicians from Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston.

December 04, 2006

Routine Testing Is Cost Effective
(Reuters Health) The recent revision in the recommended testing strategy for HIV infection in the US is cost-effective when the prevalence of HIV is above 0.2%, investigators report in the Annals of Internal Medicine for December 5.