Posts Tagged ‘aids’

The latest pediatric HIV study shows that children with HIV are living much longer than in the 1990s when doctors started prescribing antiretroviral drugs. However, young people with HIV continue to die at 30 times the rate of youth of similar age who do not have HIV. Multi-organ failure and kidney disease continue to be the major causes of death, along with infections. But, the types of infections have changed, from infections traditionally associated with AIDS to infections that are more common among children without HIV. This demonstrates that antiretroviral therapy is working and helping most HIV-infected children live into adulthood. “Will these children have a normal lifespan? Unfortunately, we don’t have all the answers yet. Currently, we don’t have the means to prevent all the complications of HIV infection.” said Lynne Mofenson, M.D., chief of the Pediatric, Adolescent and Maternal AIDS branch at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). [via NIH News]

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Last month researchers from the US Army and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases announced the successful trial of a new HIV vaccine. However, because the study was based on very few cases, skeptics argued whether the vaccine had any effect after all. Fast forward to this week’s AIDS Vaccine 2009 meeting in Paris where researchers reviewed more data from the trial and found the claims in which the vaccine reduced HIV infection rates by 31% were sound. Additionally, it appears that the vaccine actually was even more effective during the first year of immunization, reducing infection rates by as high as 60%. “It looked like there’s an early effect that wanes with time,” said Seth Berkley, chief executive of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative. “It may be that the vaccine generates only weak antibodies against HIV, and these are only effective early on.” Although this vaccine isn’t ready for public use, the knowledge we gained from this research will certainly help in the production of new and improved HIV vaccines. [NEJM via New Scientist]

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Scientists published in this week’s Nature Medicine journal a significant finding of a new HIV strain isolated in a woman from the African nation of Cameroon. It is distinct from the currently identified three strains and is appears to be closely related to simian strains of HIV found in gorillas. Scientists speculate this new strain started out in the gorilla, or even chimpanzee, population and has jumped to humans. It’s unknown how widespread this strain is, but this discovery reminds us that HIV is a fast-evolving disease and continued efforts should be made in watching for the emergence of new HIV strains. [via Yahoo! News]

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The popular children show Sesame Street will be launching a new program in Nigeria to teach kids about HIV/AIDS. The show is called “The Adventures of Kami and Big Bird” and will feature Kami, a character from the South African version of Sesame Street. Kami is HIV-positive and an AIDS orphan. The show is expected to reach about 30,000 Nigerian children.

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Almost 7,000 people died from HIV/AIDS in China during the first nine months of 2008, making HIV the leading cause of death from infection. Tuberculosis and rabies have fallen to second and third places. Just three years ago, less than 8,000 Chinese in total had died from HIV/AIDS. However, with the tremendous movement of populations from the countryside to cities, and the gradual shift towards a less conservative society, the spread of HIV has gained momentum. Initially, HIV primarily affected injection drug workers. Now, the main cause of transmission is thought to be unsafe sex.

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Last month physicians in Germany reported that a man co-infected with leukemia and HIV is free of both diseases two years after receiving a bone marrow transplant. The excitement centers around the use of bone marrow from a donor who has natural immunity to the HIV virus. Approximately one in 1,000 Europeans and Americans have an inherited genetic mutation which prevents HIV from attaching itself to our immune cells. This is a very unique case in that a matched donor just happens to be one of those who have immunity to HIV. However, researchers at UC Davis are actively working on a cure by playing on the same idea – by replacing HIV-infected individuals’ immune systems with genetically engineered stem cells that are resistent to the HIV virus.

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News sources are reporting that lawmakers in Papua, one of Indonesia’s poorest provinces, are considering passing a law that would mandate certain “sexually aggressive” HIV-positive people be implanted with microchips so they can be better monitored. This would allow them to be easily prosecuted if they knowingly infect others, a provincial crime that carries a sentence of up to 6 months or a large fine. Prostitution and drug use are believed to be the major cause of HIV infection in Indonesia. In Papua, tribal rituals that encourage partner swapping, along with lack of education about STDs and condom use, are thought to be particular reasons for the high rate of HIV spread. Those who are against the bill say it’s a breach of human rights and support a focus on HIV/AIDS education instead.

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Three researchers were awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine today. French scientists Luc Montagnier and Francoise Barre-Sinoussi were credited with the discovery of the HIV virus, the virus that causes AIDS. The $1.4 million prize was shared with German physician-researcher Dr. Harald zur Hausen who first discovered HPV, the human papilloma virus, which can cause cervical cancer in women. However, the selection of the recipients was not without controversy. Many consider Dr. Robert Gallo of the US integral in discovery of the HIV virus and should have been a recipient as well. Read more and Share your opinion.

India is home to the world’s third largest population of HIV/AIDS patients. However, finding a partner is not an easy task for an HIV-positive person in India for various reasons, including stigmatization of the disease and the logistics of communication-millions of people do not have access to the internet and may be unable to use a computer. Anil Kumar Valiv, founder of Positivesaathi.com was inspired by his HIV-positive friend’s desire for a normal life when creating the site. He states that that the website may even decrease the spread of HIV. “Often parents give in to social pressure and knowingly marry off sons with HIV infection to healthy women who in turn get infected. Exclusive marriage portals for HIV positive people will at least give these people the freedom to choose their own life partners and save many innocent lives,” he said. Read more and Share your perspective.