Antiretroviral News and Research

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Deficiencies in antenatal HIV testing

The current antenatal HIV screening system fails to take into account the ongoing risk of exposure, warn doctors in the British Medical Journal (BMJ).

23 Jun 2007

New trade agreement language to allow developing countries more flexibility in circumventing drug patents, other restrictions

Democratic lawmakers and U.S. trade officials are in the final stages of negotiation over language to be added to international free trade agreements that would allow developing countries more flexibility in circumventing drug patents and other restrictions on pharmaceuticals, sources said recently, CongressDaily reports.

22 Jun 2007

New genome sequencing technology quickly detects rare viral mutations

Rare, previously undetectable drug-resistant forms of HIV have been identified by Yale School of Medicine researcher Michael Kozal, M.D., using an innovative genome sequencing technology that quickly detects rare viral mutations.

19 Jun 2007

When HIV and liver disease co-exist

Since successful antiretroviral therapies have made HIV a treatable condition, more HIV patients who are also infected with hepatitis B or C are experiencing the progression of their liver disease.

3 Jun 2007

Tuberculosis therapy in HIV-infected patients

In a retrospective study of 700 patients with culture-positive tuberculosis (TB), relapse rates were found to be significantly higher in HIV-infected patients compared to HIV-uninfected patients following a rifamycin-based regimen.

3 Jun 2007

Directly observed HIV therapy for children is promising

Directly observed antiretroviral therapy is a promising strategy to ensure that HIV-infected children in developing countries take life-saving medications, new research from The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University shows.

3 Jun 2007

AIDS Healthcare and Government of Cambodia partner in new free AIDS clinic in Cambodia

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) has announced the opening of its newest free AIDS treatment clinic in this partnership: a clinic facility in the Koh Thum District, in Kandal Province, Cambodia.

3 Jun 2007

Co-infection of HIV and HCV a significant health concern due to increasing prevalence

Researchers at Boston Medical Center (BMC) and Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) have found that persons infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), who also have alcohol problems, were negatively affected by co-infection with the hepatitis C virus (HCV).

28 May 2007

Quest for effective HIV vaccines present new possibilities, challenges

A vaccine that prevents HIV infection remains an important goal in the fight against AIDS, but the current top HIV vaccine candidates may not work in this way, say scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

17 May 2007

Drugs users increasingly more cautious about using needles

Even though HIV can be well treated these days, drug users are still more cautious about using needles than they used to be.

15 May 2007

Australian Health Minister approves plan to genetically track HIV cases

Australian Health Minister Tony Abbott earlier this month approved a plan to develop a genetic profile of HIV in people living with the virus nationwide, Australia's The Age reports.

2 May 2007

Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria aims to triple spending

The Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria on Friday announced that it will need to triple its annual spending to between $6 billion and $8 billion by 2010 to meet the needs of developing countries, Reuters AlertNet reports.

2 May 2007

U.S. trade rep places Thailand on priority watch list in annual report

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative in its annual report released on Monday placed Thailand on its Priority Watch List in part because the country recently issued compulsory licenses for several medicines, including two antiretroviral drugs, CongressDaily reports.

2 May 2007

Green tea shows potential for HIV-associated dementia prevention

A compound derived from green tea greatly diminished the neurotoxicity of proteins secreted by the human immunodeficiency virus, suggesting a new approach to the prevention and treatment of HIV-associated dementia, also known as AIDS dementia complex.

2 May 2007

PEPFAR 'on track' to meet goals when authorization expires, Dybul says

The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief is "dead on track" to meet its goal of providing antiretroviral drugs to two million people when it's five-year authorization expires in 2008, Ambassador Mark Dybul, who serves as the U.S. global AIDS coordinator and administers PEPFAR, said Thursday in an interview during a visit to San Francisco, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

1 May 2007

Drg resistant HIV quickly hides in infants' cells

New evidence shows that drug-resistant virus passed from mother-to-child can quickly establish itself in infants, CD4+ T cells where it can hide for years, likely limiting their options for future treatment.

1 May 2007

Gambian President Jammeh is giving people false hope

Leading HIV experts are alarmed that the government of The Gambia is encouraging citizens living with HIV to stop taking antiretroviral medications in order to try an unproven herbal remedy.

1 May 2007

Health advocates, drug industry reps lobby lawmakers for support in Thailand drug licensing dispute

International health advocates and drug industry representatives are lobbying U.S. lawmakers and the Bush administration for their support in the dispute over Thailand's decision to issue compulsory licenses for medications, including some antiretroviral drugs, CongressDaily reports (Vaughan, CongressDaily , 4/26).

30 Apr 2007

Brazilian Health Minister says country will purchase generic version of Merck antiretroviral if price not lowered

Brazilian Health Minister Jose Gomes Temporao on Wednesday signed a decree declaring that the country would purchase from an India-based drug maker a generic version of Merck 's antiretroviral Efavirenz if the company does not offer the drug at a lower price, the AP/Forbes reports.

30 Apr 2007

HIV linked to increased risk of heart attack

Researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have found that infection with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, is also associated with increased risk of myocardial infarction or heart attack.

25 Apr 2007