HIV drugs News and Research

RSS

HIV drugs from plants

A research team at Örebro University in Sweden has succeeded in changing the genes in plants so they can function as a vaccine against HIV.

14 May 2009

New Stanford list of HIV mutations vital to tracking AIDS epidemic

In a collaborative study with the World Health Organization and seven other laboratories, researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have compiled a list of 93 common mutations of the AIDS virus associated with drug resistance that will be used to track future resistance trends throughout the world.

5 Mar 2009

A new monkey model for HIV

By altering just one gene in HIV-1, scientists have succeeded in infecting pig-tailed macaque monkeys with a human version of the virus that has until now been impossible to study directly in animals.

2 Mar 2009

New study sheds light on higher adherence to HIV drugs in Africa than in North America

Levels of near-perfect adherence to life saving antiretroviral drugs among African HIV patients should be understood as a means of preserving key social relationships, says a new study published in the open-access journal PLoS Medicine.

27 Jan 2009

Roche's new dual-target HIV-1 test approved in Europe

Roche announced today that its innovative dual-target HIV-1 test has received CE Mark certification, allowing it to be sold for clinical use in the European Union. The COBAS AmpliPrep/COBAS TaqMan HIV-1 Test, v2.0 utilizes a unique design to simultaneously amplify and detect two separate regions of the HIV-1 genome.

15 Dec 2008

South Africa's battle with AIDS receives funding boost

South Africa's revitalised drive against AIDS has received a £15 million boost which could help save millions of lives and stop the spread of HIV across the country.

30 Nov 2008

The sooner the better when it comes to HIV/AIDS treatment

New research into HIV/AIDS therapy has found that starting treatment with drugs for the AIDS virus may be better sooner than later as victims are more than 70% less likely to die when they started taking cocktails of HIV drugs earlier than currently recommended.

27 Oct 2008

New maturation inhibitor drugs may help solve HIV treatment conundrum

Since AIDS was first recognized in 1981, significant advances have been made in developing an effective arsenal of drugs to manage the disease and extend patients' lives.

13 Oct 2008

Body's built-in weapon against HIV explained

Humans have a built-in weapon against HIV, but until recently no one knew how to unlock its potential.

12 Oct 2008

Studies examine ability of antiretroviral Maraviroc to control HIV viral loads

According to two studies sponsored by drugmaker Pfizer and published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday, the antiretroviral drug maraviroc, which is sold as Selzentry by Pfizer, might help control viral loads among HIV-positive people who have shown resistance to other treatments, Reuters reports.

5 Oct 2008

Link found between Apobec3 gene and neutralizing antibody response to retrovirus

Scientists have uncovered new evidence that strengthens the link between a host-cell gene called Apobec3 and the production of neutralizing antibodies to retroviruses. Published in the Sept. 5 issue of Science, the finding adds a new dimension to the set of possible explanations for why most people who are infected with HIV do not make neutralizing antibodies that effectively fight the virus.

4 Sep 2008

HIV/AIDS groups express concern about potential for new antiretroviral advertising to 'scare off' patients

The Wall Street Journal on Monday examined a new trend for drugmakers marketing HIV/AIDS treatments to release ads that "tak[e] aim at rival HIV drugs, hinting at side effects and other drawbacks."

26 Aug 2008

AIDS Healthcare Foundation blasts GlaxoSmithKline print advertisements that promote fear of HIV treatment

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) is blasting British multi-national drug giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) for a recent series of direct-to-consumer print advertisements that, under the guise of patient education, capitalize on patients' fears of HIV treatment.

25 Aug 2008

NanoViricides reports HIVCide-I significantly superior to current anti-HIV three drug cocktail standard

NanoViricides, Inc. said that additional biological tests and data analysis have shown that animals treated with its lead anti-HIV drug candidate, HIVCide-I, demonstrated a substantially greater reduction in viral load -- number of infectious virus particles per milliliter of blood -- when compared to the animals given the anti-HIV "combo cocktail" in a preliminary animal study. An important objective of anti-HIV treatment is to minimize the viral load.

11 Aug 2008

Cocktail of drugs extends life of HIV patients

According to Canadian researchers a cocktail which is a combination of HIV drugs can give AIDS patients an average of 13 years additional life.

28 Jul 2008

Raltegravir drug combo works against highly resistant strain of HIV

A study involving an international team of scientists has discovered that a new drug when combined with other anti-HIV medications, is particularly effective against a highly resistant strain of the HIV virus.

24 Jul 2008

Asthma risk increases in children treated for HIV

Children whose immune systems rebound after treatment with potent anti-viral drugs for HIV infection face an increased risk of developing asthma, said a federally funded consortium of researchers led by those from Baylor College of Medicine in a report that appears online in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

1 Jul 2008

Role of breastfeeding in preventing infant death, HIV infection in developing countries

In many poor countries, mothers with HIV face a stark choice: to nurse their infants, and risk passing on HIV through their breast milk - or to formula feed, and deprive their infants of much of the natural immunity needed to protect against fatal diseases of early infancy. Now, two studies supported by the National Institutes of Health offer insights into preventing early death and HIV infection among breastfeeding infants of mothers with HIV in these countries.

5 Jun 2008

3 million now receiving anti-retroviral therapy HIV drugs

The close of 2007 marks an important step in the history of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Nearly 3 million people are now receiving anti-retroviral therapy (ART) in low- and middle-income countries, according to a new report jointly launched today by WHO, UNAIDS and UNICEF.

2 Jun 2008

Research reveals workings of anti-HIV drugs

Using ingenious molecular espionage, scientists have found how a single key enzyme, seemingly the Swiss Army knife in HIV's toolbox, differentiates and dynamically binds both DNA and RNA as part of the virus's fierce attack on host cells. The work is described this week (May 7) in the journal Nature.

8 May 2008