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Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

Discovery of two new compounds opens new approach to drug design against HIV protease

A team of researchers at the renowned Scripps Research Institute has discovered two new compounds that prove the existence of new binding sites on HIV protease. Associate Professor C. David Stout, senior author of the study, explained "These results open the door to a whole new approach to drug design against HIV protease," which is an enzyme used by HIV to create new, infectious viral particles.

2 Mar 2010

Problems controlling common diseases could be hindering efforts to meet key child health goals

Problems controlling common diseases like HIV, heart disease and diabetes in poor countries could be hindering efforts to meet the world's key child health and tuberculosis goals, a new study published in PLoS Medicine has warned.

2 Mar 2010

Merck's Isentress HIV/AIDS drug pricing: CalSTRS and CalPERS express concern

Today AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) announced that the two largest public pension funds in the nation, the California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS) and the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), have sent letters to Merck and Co. Pharmaceuticals expressing concern over the company’s pricing for its key HIV/AIDS drug, Isentress—now the most expensive first-line AIDS treatment in the U.S.

2 Mar 2010

News outlets examine development of low-cost diagnostic tool, infectious disease surveillance

CNN examines the work of a Harvard University chemistry professor to "shrink a medical laboratory onto a piece of paper that's the size of a fingerprint and costs about a penny." According to George Whitesides, who created a prototype of the inexpensive paper "chip," the technology could be used to diagnose such diseases as HIV, malaria and tuberculosis in developing countries.

2 Mar 2010

Study finds most HIV prevention, treatment, care efforts overlook IDUs

A systematic review of HIV prevention, treatment and care for injecting drug users (IDUs) throughout the world, published Monday in the journal Lancet, found that international efforts to fight the disease are largely overlooking this population, the Australian Associated Press/Sydney Morning Herald reports (Rose, 3/1).

2 Mar 2010

New report: Federal spending for public health flat for nearly five years

Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation today released a new report, Shortchanging America's Health: A State-By-State Look at How Public Health Dollars Are Spent, which finds federal spending for public health has been flat for nearly five years, while states around the country cut nearly $392 million for public health programs in the past year, which leaves communities around the country struggling to deliver basic disease prevention and emergency health preparedness services.

2 Mar 2010

Joint Chiefs Chair visits Haiti to examine aid response

Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Mike Mullen, who is President Barack Obama's top military adviser, visited Haiti over the weekend to examine relief and rebuilding efforts and meet with local leaders, Agence France-Presse reports. It was his first visit to the country after the earthquake, according to AFP.

2 Mar 2010

Hygafem announces name change to WellBeing

Hygafem, the Georgia-based premier provider of full-service hygiene technologies, announced today that the company has changed its name to WellBeing. WellBeing is introducing a new and evolving touch-free hygiene and organizational wellness platform that communicates the company’s ongoing commitment to “green” hygiene services, excellence and innovation.

27 Feb 2010

Health Policy Research Roundup: Length of hospital stays, analyses of Obama's reform proposals

Archives Of Internal Medicine: Hospital Cost Of Care, Quality Of Care, And Readmission Rates - This study compares patients treated for pneumonia and congestive heart failure (CHF) and finds that high-cost hospitals don't always deliver better care. The researchers, who based their analysis on the data from 3,146 hospitals in the 2004 to 2006 Medicare Provider Analysis and Review (MedPAR), report that "risk-adjusted costs of care for CHF and pneumonia varied widely between hospitals, although hospital cost-of-care patterns seemed stable over time and correlated across conditions."

27 Feb 2010

AHF’s Magic Johnson ‘Testing America’ Tour arrives in Atlanta to host free HIV testing events

AHF’s Magic Johnson ‘Testing America’ Tour, a six month, 48 state national cross country HIV testing tour, will arrive in Atlanta to host free HIV testing events over two days, Friday, February 26th and Saturday, February 27th.

27 Feb 2010

Surge in volunteers without overall coordination can make devastating situation worse instead of better

A surge in volunteers following a major disaster can overwhelm a response system, and without overall coordination, can actually make a situation worse instead of better. The outpouring of medical volunteers who responded to the devastating earthquake that rocked Haiti in January provides a roadmap for health care providers during future disasters, say the authors of a New England Journal of Medicine "Perspectives" piece that will be published online February 24.

26 Feb 2010

BioScrip announces revenues of $341.6M for fourth-quarter

BioScrip, Inc. today announced fourth quarter revenues of $341.6 million and net income of $40.7 million, or $0.99 per diluted share, which includes the reversal of the Company’s deferred tax valuation allowance of $41.1 million, expenses of $1.8 million associated with BioScrip’s pending acquisition of Critical Homecare Solutions, Inc. and $4.3 million of incentive compensation expense relating to the Company’s employee compensation program.

26 Feb 2010

Individuals who naturally lack CCR5 receptor have resistant to HIV

UCLA AIDS Institute researchers successfully removed CCR5 - a cell receptor to which HIV-1 binds for infection but which the human body does not need - from human cells. Individuals who naturally lack the CCR5 receptor have been found to be essentially resistant to HIV.

26 Feb 2010

Antiretroviral therapy reduces mortality rates in patients co-infected with HIV and TB

Initiating antiretroviral therapy (ART) during tuberculosis therapy significantly reduced mortality rates by 56 percent in a randomized clinical trial of 642 patients co-infected with HIV and tuberculosis. The study, which provides further impetus for the integration of TB and HIV services, lays to rest the controversy on whether co-infected patients should initiate ART during or after TB treatment.

26 Feb 2010

GAA urges Obama to continue support for global health programs

The Global AIDS Alliance (GAA) calls on the Obama Administration to fully fund its development priorities and to continue U.S. Leadership in the fight against HIV/AIDS as an integral part of President Obama's Global Health Initiative.

25 Feb 2010

α-defensins1-3 may be potential prophylactic agents in treatment of HIV / AIDS

HIV/AIDS remains one of the world's most significant public health challenges, particularly in developing countries. The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV-1), the variant responsible for the pandemic, has the ability to infect different cell types such as T cells, macrophages and dendritic cells (DC). These latter cells are crucial in the defense against infectious agents and play a major role in viral pathogenesis.

25 Feb 2010

Neutron scattering could play a key role in curbing HIV and global warming

Subatomic particles called neutrons are poised to play a big role in fighting HIV, slowing global warming, and improving manufacturing processes.

25 Feb 2010

Nevirapine taken to protect fetus from HIV should be avoided for one year after childbirth, say researchers

Women given the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention drug nevirapine to protect their fetus should not use an HIV-drug regimen that contains nevirapine for at least one year after childbirth, say researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

25 Feb 2010

Institute of Medicine to be congratulated for calling more resources to fight hypertension

The Institute of Medicine is to be congratulated for sounding the call for more resources to fight hypertension (high blood pressure), the number two preventable cause of death and a leading contributor to heart disease and stroke. Heart disease and stroke are the number one and three overall causes of death of individuals in the United States.

25 Feb 2010

Edesia receives $2M grant from USAID to produce more than 300 metric tons of Nutributter in 2010

Edesia LLC, a non-profit producer of life-saving Ready-to-Use Foods (RUFs), is the recipient of a $2 million multi-year grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development.

24 Feb 2010

HIV/AIDS News and Research

Further Reading

Discovery of two new compounds opens new approach to drug design against HIV protease

Problems controlling common diseases could be hindering efforts to meet key child health goals

Merck's Isentress HIV/AIDS drug pricing: CalSTRS and CalPERS express concern

News outlets examine development of low-cost diagnostic tool, infectious disease surveillance

Study finds most HIV prevention, treatment, care efforts overlook IDUs

New report: Federal spending for public health flat for nearly five years

Joint Chiefs Chair visits Haiti to examine aid response

Hygafem announces name change to WellBeing

Health Policy Research Roundup: Length of hospital stays, analyses of Obama's reform proposals

AHF’s Magic Johnson ‘Testing America’ Tour arrives in Atlanta to host free HIV testing events

Surge in volunteers without overall coordination can make devastating situation worse instead of better

BioScrip announces revenues of $341.6M for fourth-quarter

Individuals who naturally lack CCR5 receptor have resistant to HIV

Antiretroviral therapy reduces mortality rates in patients co-infected with HIV and TB

GAA urges Obama to continue support for global health programs

α-defensins1-3 may be potential prophylactic agents in treatment of HIV / AIDS

Neutron scattering could play a key role in curbing HIV and global warming

Nevirapine taken to protect fetus from HIV should be avoided for one year after childbirth, say researchers

Institute of Medicine to be congratulated for calling more resources to fight hypertension

Edesia receives $2M grant from USAID to produce more than 300 metric tons of Nutributter in 2010

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Expanding access to NMR with the Fourier 80 Duo

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