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Gilead initiates phase III trial of Elvitegravir

Gilead Sciences, Inc. has announced that it has begun enrolling patients in a Phase III clinical trial of its investigational antiretroviral agent elvitegravir (GS 9137), a novel oral integrase inhibitor that is being evaluated for the treatment of HIV-1 infection.

22 Jul 2008

16% of all new HIV cases reported in Canada linked to immigrants

About 16% of all new HIV cases reported in Canada in 2005 were linked to immigrants from countries where HIV is prevalent, according to a report recently released by the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control, the CP/Toronto Star reports.

22 Jul 2008

Russia considers ending mandatory HIV testing for foreigners entering country

Following U.S. Senate approval of legislation to reauthorize the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief that includes a provision to ease HIV/AIDS-related travel restrictions, Russian government officials have said they are considering replicating the U.S. measure, "an indication that Russia may end mandatory HIV tests for foreign residents," the Moscow Times reports.

22 Jul 2008

Southern U.S. not receiving adequate Federal funding to provide HIV/AIDS prevention, support, report says

The Southern U.S. is not receiving enough federal funding to provide adequate HIV prevention, treatment and support programs, according to a report scheduled to be released on Monday by the Southern AIDS Coalition, the Birmingham News reports.

22 Jul 2008

PBS' 'News Hour' examines efforts of Baylor's Pediatric AIDS Corps to fight HIV/AIDS in Africa

PBS' "News Hour with Jim Lehrer" on Thursday examined efforts from the Baylor College of Medicine's Pediatric AIDS Corps to fight HIV/AIDS among children in Malawi.

22 Jul 2008

IMF programs and tuberculosis outcomes in post-communist countries

International Monetary Fund (IMF) loans were associated with a 16.6% rise in death rates from tuberculosis (TB) in the former Soviet Union and Central and Eastern European countries between 1992 and 2002, finds a study in this week's PLoS Medicine.

22 Jul 2008

AHF chart shows how Senate global AIDS bill will save five to seven million lives

A chart prepared by AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), which provides AIDS care and treatment services to more than 79,000 individuals in 20 countries worldwide, shows how the Senate version of legislation to re-authorize PEPFAR (the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief), the successful US global AIDS program, will be able to save five to seven million lives over the next five years.

21 Jul 2008

Viral recombination another way HIV fools the immune system

When individuals infected with HIV become infected with a second strain of the virus, the two viral strains can exchange genetic information, creating a third, recombinant strain of the virus. It is known that the presence of multiple viral strains, called superinfection, frequently leads to a loss of immune control of viral levels.

21 Jul 2008

Trial of new AIDS vaccine bites the dust

Plans to conduct a large-scale human trial of an experimental HIV/AIDS vaccine in the United States have bitten the dust.

21 Jul 2008

HIV-I damages the immune system early than originally thought

New research into the earliest events occurring immediately upon infection with HIV-I shows that the virus deals a stunning blow to the immune system earlier than was previously understood. According to scientists at Duke University Medical Center, this suggests the window of opportunity for successful intervention may be only a matter of days - not weeks - after transmission, as researchers had previously believed.

19 Jul 2008

NIAID will not conduct the PAVE 100 HIV vaccine study

After soliciting and considering broad input from the scientific and HIV advocacy communities, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has determined that it will not conduct the HIV vaccine study known as PAVE 100.

17 Jul 2008

Genetic resistance to HIV

Some people may be naturally resistant to infection with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. The results of a study conducted by Dr. Nicole Bernard of the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) bring us closer to a genetic explanation. Her study findings were published on July 16 in the journal AIDS.

17 Jul 2008

MedMira Inc. awarded US patent for rapid test technology

MedMira Inc. announced today that it received a Notice of Allowance from the United States Patent and Trademark Office for its rapid flow-through test (RFT) methodology, the technology platform its rapid tests are built on.

17 Jul 2008

Gene variant increases HIV risk in Africans

A genetic variation which evolved to protect people of African descent against malaria has now been shown to increase their susceptibility to HIV infection by up to 40 per cent, according to new research. Conversely, the same variation also appears to prolong survival of those infected with HIV by approximately two years.

17 Jul 2008

AIDS Healthcare Foundation treatment proposal accepted by US Senate

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) which provides AIDS care and treatment services to more than 79,000 individuals in 20 countries worldwide, applauded the U.S. Senate for passing the legislation (vote: 80/16) re-authorizing PEPFAR (the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief), the successful US global AIDS program.

16 Jul 2008

Tired B cells hamper immune response to HIV

Recent studies have shown that HIV causes a vigorous and prolonged immune response that eventually leads to the exhaustion of key immune system cells--CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells--that target HIV.

14 Jul 2008

FDA approves Energex Systems non-drug therapy for HIV research

Energex Systems, Inc. announced today that it has been granted approval from the Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to utilize its experimental HemoModulation therapy in a clinical trial of HIV infected patients. The purpose of the study will be to demonstrate safety and monitor viral load changes in patients who are not yet eligible for antiviral drug therapy.

14 Jul 2008

Researchers to compare common ARV as a pill and vaginal gel in unique HIV prevention study

In battle with an epidemic that has outpaced nearly all efforts to contain it, researchers are turning to strategies centered on the same antiretroviral (ARV) drugs that have been used successfully to treat HIV in hopes they will be as effective a stronghold for preventing the virus.

9 Jul 2008

Samaritan Pharmaceuticals granted IND from FDA for HIV drug

Samaritan Pharmaceuticals has announced that it has filed an IND (Investigational New Drug) application for SP-6310 in the treatment of HIV-infected patients with abnormal cortisol levels.

8 Jul 2008

Lost viruses may contribute to AIDS

Weak HIV viruses piggyback onto stronger ones, raising the possibility that the human body may harbor many more HIV viruses capable of replicating and contributing to the development of AIDS than previously thought, according to research published in BioMed Central's open access journal, Retrovirology.

8 Jul 2008