Antiretroviral News and Research

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Cyperus rotundus medicinal plant shows promise for novel COVID-19 therapeutics

Cyperus rotundus is a plant with a history as herbal medicine, containing many chemical substances frequently found to be drug-like in character: flavonoids, terpenoids, and the like. Compounds sourced from the plant have demonstrated some inhibitory activity against HIV by modulation of the CYP3A4 enzyme, and thus in a drug lead discovery effort, Kumar et al. (July 2021) computationally screened these natural compounds against MPRO in a paper recently published to Computers in Biology and Medicine.

9 Jun 2021

Experimental monoclonal antibody could be a new weapon against HIV epidemic

An experimental, lab-made antibody can completely prevent nonhuman primates from being infected with the monkey form of HIV, new research published in Nature Communications shows.

7 Jun 2021

Study reveals how HIV prevents the maturation of myelin-making brain cells

It's long been known that people living with HIV experience a loss of white matter in their brains. As opposed to "gray matter," which is composed of the cell bodies of neurons, white matter is made up of a fatty substance called myelin that coats neurons, offering protection and helping them transmit signals quickly and efficiently.

2 Jun 2021

HIV patients are more likely to die from COVID-19 infection

Over the past year, studies have revealed that certain pre-existing conditions, such as cancer, diabetes and high blood pressure, can increase a person's risk of dying from COVID-19.

12 May 2021

Special issue of JANAC summarizes 40 years of nursing science throughout the HIV epidemic

From the very beginning of the AIDS epidemic in 1981, nurses have been at the forefront of patient care, advocacy, and research.

5 May 2021

Researchers improve HIV care using mobile gaming application

Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University improved HIV care by gamifying it with a mobile gaming application.

4 May 2021

Study aims to refine delivery of tobacco treatment to people with HIV

Researchers at MUSC Hollings Cancer Center have received more than $2 million from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to evaluate the impact of a proactive opt-out approach to smoking cessation on the health outcomes of people living with HIV.

30 Apr 2021

Scientists identify blood cells most likely to be targeted by HIV during a real-life infection

In the 40-some years since the beginning of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, scientists have learned a lot about the virus, the disease, and ways to treat it. But one thing they still don't completely understand is which exact cells are most susceptible to HIV infection.

28 Apr 2021

ANTICOV clinical trial to test new treatment for people with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 in Africa

The ANTICOV clinical trial, conducted in 13 African countries, has started the recruitment of participants to test a new drug combination, nitazoxanide + ciclesonide, to treat people with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 before their cases become severe.

27 Apr 2021

Scientists uncover an important clue to the conundrum of mother-to-child HIV transmission

Each year over 150,000 infants worldwide are infected with HIV in the womb, at birth, or through breastfeeding.

26 Apr 2021

Strides against HIV/AIDS falter, especially in the South, as nation battles COVID

Facing a yearlong siege from the coronavirus, the defenses in another, older war are faltering.

21 Apr 2021

Widely available HIV testing and treatment services increase life expectancy

Life expectancy among adults living with HIV receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) in Latin America and the Caribbean has increased significantly since HIV testing and treatment services became more widely available, according to research published today in The Lancet HIV journal.

21 Apr 2021

New test offers a simpler way to quantify the reservoir of intact viruses in HIV patients

A new test that measures the quantity and quality of inactive HIV viruses in the genes of people living with HIV may eventually give researchers a better idea of what drugs work best at curing the disease.

12 Apr 2021

Phase 2 clinical trial launched in Thailand to evaluate IL-15 agonist as therapy to reduce HIV reservoir

The U.S. Military HIV Research Program (MHRP) at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research last week launched a Phase 2 clinical trial in Thailand to evaluate an interleukin-15 (IL-15) superagonist, ImmunityBio's Anktiva (also called N-803), administered during acute HIV infection as an experimental therapy to target establishment of the HIV reservoir at a very early stage.

8 Apr 2021

Vaccine nationalism reinforces inequities in access and exacerbates health disparities

While the U.S. has begun to vaccinate millions of Americans each day, COVID-19 vaccine supplies around the world remain scarce.

5 Apr 2021

Diabetes drug appears to exploit vulnerability of AIDS-causing retrovirus HIV

A team led by scientists at the UNC School of Medicine discovered an important vulnerability of the AIDS-causing retrovirus HIV, and has shown in preclinical experiments that a widely used diabetes drug, metformin, seems able to exploit this vulnerability.

29 Mar 2021

Researchers identify chemicals that keep HIV virus in dormant state

When the human immunodeficiency virus infects cells, it can either exploit the cells to start making more copies of itself or remain dormant--a phenomenon called latency.

24 Mar 2021

New guidelines outline key new actions to improve delivery of HIV testing, treatment and care

These guidelines provide new and updated recommendations on the use of point-of-care testing in children under 18 months of age and point-of-care tests to monitor treatment in people living with HIV; the treatment monitoring algorithm; and timing of antiretroviral therapy (ART) among people living with HIV who are being treated for tuberculosis.

23 Mar 2021

Antidiabetic drug could help reduce chronic inflammation in people living with HIV

Metformin, a drug used to treat type-2 diabetes, could help reduce chronic inflammation in people living with HIV (PLWH) who are being treated with antiretroviral therapy (ART), according to researchers at the University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre.

18 Mar 2021

Abbott Pandemic Defence Coalition aims to identify new viral threats and take quick action

Abbott today announced the formation of the Abbott Pandemic Defence Coalition, a first-of-its-kind global scientific and public health partnership dedicated to the early detection of, and rapid response to, future pandemic threats.

17 Mar 2021