HIV/AIDS News and Research

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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).

Home HIV-AIDS test could be a reality within two years

A portable device similar to a home pregnancy test that can quickly detect the presence of infectious diseases, including HIV-AIDS and measles as well as biological agents such as Ricin and anthrax, is the goal of a new joint research project

17 Jan 2005

Researchers attack cervical cancer

As more and more promising results of clinical trials on vaccination against human papillomaviruses are published, the more likely it becomes that an HPV vaccine will be the first licensed immunization against a sexually transmitted disease.

17 Jan 2005

Pilgrimage to Mecca comes with a few medical risks

The Hajj or Haj is the Pilgrimage to Mecca (or, "Makkah") and is the fifth of the "Five Pillars of Islam". Every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so is obliged to make the pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in a lifetime. Later this month about three million Muslims will gather for this major pilgrimage. But two doctors in this week's BMJ warn that the Hajj carries considerable health risks if the pilgrim is unprepared.

13 Jan 2005

Major partnership with National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for Narhex Life Sciences

Australian drug specialist Narhex Life Sciences, has announced a partnership with one of the world’s foremost US medical research centres to evaluate its protease inhibitor Nar DG 35 Prodrug for its activity against Hepatitis C and SARS viruses.

12 Jan 2005

Important clue to understanding the origins of the AIDS epidemic

Medical Research Council (MRC) scientists have uncovered an important clue to understanding the origins of the AIDS epidemic. The work suggests that harnessing natural mechanisms of resistance to HIV infection might provide new methods for combating AIDS.

12 Jan 2005

New portable infectious disease detector

A portable device similar to today's home pregnancy tests that can quickly detect the presence of infectious diseases, including HIV-AIDS and measles, as well as biological agents such as ricin and anthrax, is the object of a new joint university/industry research project.

10 Jan 2005

Important clue to understanding the origins of the AIDS epidemic

10 Jan 2005

Ranbaxy files anti-retrovirals (ARVs) to the U.S. FDA

Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited (Ranbaxy) announced today that the Company has so far made three filings of its Anti-Retrovirals (ARVs) to the U.S. FDA for its approval under the expedited review process of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

10 Jan 2005

Key genetic factor determines HIV/AIDS risk

People with more copies of a gene that helps to fight HIV are less likely to become infected with the virus or to develop AIDS than those of the same geographical ancestry, such as European Americans, who have fewer copies of the gene, according to a study funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).

10 Jan 2005

Novel treatment promises to be an effective cure for tuberculosis

Researchers in Belgium have uncovered a novel treatment that promises to be an effective cure for tuberculosis (TB). The respiratory disease has been experiencing a major global comeback due to the emergence of resistant strains of the bacteria that causes it and the spread of AIDS.

9 Jan 2005

Government should plough drug savings into Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS)

Doctors and medicine-makers today called for an expected $280 million Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) windfall to be ploughed into bringing down the price of new cancer and HIV drugs.

9 Jan 2005

Diagnosis of tuberculosis in young children can be confirmed by a straightforward sputum test

Diagnosis of tuberculosis is difficult in infants and young children and can be complicated by HIV infection. Heather Zar (School of Child and Adolescent Health, University of Cape Town, South Africa) and colleagues studied 250 children aged 1 month to 5 years who were admitted for suspected pulmonary tuberculosis in Cape Town. Sputum induction and gastric lavage were done on three consecutive days according to a standard procedure.

7 Jan 2005

Potential cure for lymphoma in HIV patients

Stem cell transplants have become the standard of care for patients with relapsed lymphoma, but not for patients who suffer from both this disease and HIV.

7 Jan 2005

Protein discovery with medical implications

It was a transforming moment. Researchers could barely believe their eyes. A molecular blob of a protein reshaped itself into a molecular Pacman in order to free new viruses from the inside of a bacterial cell.

6 Jan 2005

Discovery could lead to a screening test that identifies people who have a higher or lower susceptibility to HIV/AIDS

6 Jan 2005

DermaVir, a novel treatment for HIV/AIDS, complements and improves present drug therapies

DermaVir, a novel treatment for HIV/AIDS, offers a new option which complements and improves present drug therapies. The vaccine, applied topically to the skin, has demonstrated efficacy in boosting immune responses and controlling virus replication in chronically infected monkeys.

6 Jan 2005

States to explore putting restrictions on AIDS drug Trizivir

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) has sent a letter dated October 20, 2004, to the heads of all state Medicaid programs asking them put in use treatment authorization request (TAR) procedures on GlaxoSmithKline's (GSK) fixed-dose combination AIDS drug, Trizivir, as a standalone regimen for treatment naïve patients.

6 Jan 2005