Menopause does not affect response to HIV treatment

"Menopausal status does not affect responses to HIV treatment, US investigators report in the August 1st edition of Clinical Infectious Diseases. In the largest ever study into the impact of menopause on the effectiveness of HIV treatment, the researchers found that CD4 cell counts and viral loads were comparable in pre- and post-menopausal women two years after initiating potent HIV therapy.

“Women respond equally well to antiretroviral therapy in the short and long term regardless of menopausal status,” comment the investigators."

Read more in Aidsmap, June 30, 2009.

Adherence to HIV treatment in US gay men differs by race and ethnicity

"Levels of adherence to HIV treatment differ significantly between racial groups, US investigators report in the online edition of the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes. They also found that the factors affecting adherence differed between racial groups. Furthermore, different levels of adherence were seen within racial groups according to ethnicity."

Read more in Aidsmap, June 30, 2009.

WHO HIV boss warns against two-tier global system of treatment

"The world cannot allow a permanently two tiered system of global AIDS treatment with late initiation of outmoded drugs reserved for the South. Nor can we hide behind lack of knowledge or the attitude of 'let's wait and see', he told the meeting in a plenary address."

Read more in Aidsmap, June 30, 2009.

Patients returning after interrupting HIV care have a high risk of short-term illness and death

"HIV-positive patients who return to care after being lost to follow-up are five times more likely to die in the short term than patients who remain in HIV care, French investigators report in the online edition of AIDS.

'Increased efforts are needed to reduce loss to follow-up and encourage those patients who no longer attend clinic to return to care,' recommend the authors."

Read more in Aidsmap, June 29, 2009.

Low-Abundance HIV Drug-Resistant Viral Variants in Treatment-Experienced Persons Correlate with Historical Antiretroviral Use

"Low-abundance HIV drug-resistant mutations in antiretroviral-experienced subjects at time of virologic failure can increase a subject's overall burden of resistance, yet commonly go unrecognized by conventional genotyping. The majority of unrecognized resistant mutations correlate with historical antiretroviral use. Ultra-deep sequencing can provide important historical resistance information for clinicians when planning subsequent antiretroviral regimens for highly treatment-experienced patients, particularly when their prior treatment histories and longitudinal genotypes are not available."

Read more in PLoS One, June 29, 2009.

International Association of Physicians in AIDS Care Partners With Healthy Interactions(R) to Advance HIV/AIDS Education Across Diverse Cultures, Pati

"The International Association of Physicians in AIDS Care (IAPAC) today announced that it is entering into a partnership with global patient education innovator Healthy Interactions. The partnership will address the rising incidence of HIV/AIDS in both developed and developing world nations via culturally relevant education programs that speak to diverse patient populations and enhance global HIV literacy.

'The collaboration will leverage Healthy Interactions' Conversation Map(R) education tools to enhance the quality of care, treatment, and support provided to people living with HIV and related co-infectious diseases. The Conversation Map tools utilize the power of small group dialogue and collaborative learning to improve health by providing groups of patients a method for engaging in a discussion about a disease or subject that enables them to recognize how their beliefs or attitudes affect their perceptions and discover ways they can change behavior and improve their personal health management. First introduced in 2005, the Conversation Map tools now have a presence in over 50 countries and are being used to help people living with diabetes. "

Read more in Aegis, June 24, 2009.

National HIV Testing Day - A message from President Obama

"Today, in recognition of National HIV Testing Day, President Obama released a special video message about the importance of HIV testing and his own experiences getting an HIV test in Kenya."

Read more in AIDS.gov, June 27, 2009.

Anatomy of health effects of Mediterranean diet: Greek EPIC prospective cohort study

"Conclusion: The dominant components of the Mediterranean diet score as a predictor of lower mortality are moderate consumption of ethanol, low consumption of meat and meat products, and high consumption of vegetables, fruits and nuts, olive oil, and legumes. Minimal contributions were found for cereals and dairy products, possibly because they are heterogeneous categories of foods with differential health effects, and for fish and seafood, the intake of which is low in this population."

Read more in British Medical Journal, June 23, 2009.

Comment: Though not HIV-related, this study may be worth noting re healthy diets. Obviously many other factors can affect the pros and cons of moderate alcohol use (which in this case was generally wine with meals).

Very high level of late diagnosis in US: 38% develop AIDS within one year

"A substantial proportion of HIV-positive individuals in the US are diagnosed late, according to an article in the June 26th edition of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. An analysis of data from 34 US states revealed that 38% of patients progressed to AIDS within a year of their HIV diagnosis.

"The report was published ahead of the US National HIV Testing Day on June 27th. 'To reduce late testing for HIV infection, health-care providers should fully implement both routine and risk-based HIV testing', comment the investigators."

Read more in Aidsmap, June 26, 2009.

Excess Pounds, but Not Too Many, May Lead to Longer Life

"Being overweight won’t kill you — it may even help you live longer. That’s the latest from a study that analyzed data on 11,326 Canadian adults, ages 25 and older, who were followed over a 12-year period."

Read more in New York Times, June 25, 2009.

Note: This study looked at people without HIV.

HIV testing technology in US needs to change or risk missing acute infections

"A fourth generation HIV testing assay detected almost two-thirds of individuals with acute HIV infection, investigators report in an article published in the online edition of the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes. The researchers believe that their results show the ARCHITECT HIV Ag/AB Combo Assay to have significant advantages, including the time needed to obtain a result compared to the current pooled HIV RNA testing strategy used to diagnose acute HIV infection. Such assays are already routinely used in the United Kingdom.

"A separate US study published in the August 1st edition of Clinical Infectious Diseases has found that using only HIV antibody tests will mean that a significant number of recent HIV infections in gay men will be missed."

Read more in Aidsmap, June 26, 2009.

Atlas highlights HIV/AIDS burden in Southeast

"The Southeast is among the areas of the United States with the highest concentration of cases of HIV and AIDS, according to a new online tool called the National HIV/AIDS Atlas.

AIDS experts in the region say that access to health care, especially when it comes to screening, is a major problem in rural communities."

Read more in CNNhealth, June 26, 2009.