Posts Tagged ‘HIV’

In the current issue of Nature Medicine, scientists have proven what they long suspected – that HIV can hide in our bone marrow and avoid eradication by HIV drugs. Current medications can reduce HIV levels in the blood to an undetectable amount. But, the virus can often come surging back when one stops taking medication because our current drugs do not attack the bone marrow cells which harbor dormant viruses. Why not? Because if we completely kill off all our marrow cells our body cannot produce blood, which would essentially be fatal. However, we now have a new target for future medications to act. And, who knows, we may discover even more places where the virus is able to hide and evade attack. [via HealthDay]

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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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Infectious disease physicians are warning that commonly used rapid HIV tests may not be the best initial exam to rule out HIV in teenagers. Often times teenagers arrive at the physician’s office complaining of flu-like symptoms – sore throat, fatigue, fever, joint and muscle aches. However, acute HIV infection can present exactly as such; this is known as Acute Retroviral Syndrome (ARS). Often times a physician will order a rapid HIV test to rule out ARS,  forgetting that rapid HIV tests detect antibodies to the HIV virus, which will not have been produced in detectable quantities until weeks later. Rather, a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test should be ordered instead, which directly detects the HIV virus itself. This is should be the case for adults as well. If a health care provider has high suspicion that a patient may be HIV positive and is presenting with symptoms of ARS, they should think twice before ordering a rapid HIV test and opt for a PCR test.

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During an internal review of hospital safety, the Miami Veterans Affairs Medical Center discovered on March 4th that a part of the equipment used in colonoscopies and other gastrointestinal procedures was not being disinfected, only rinsed – contrary to the manufacturer’s recommendation. This suboptimal sterilization of equipment has led hospital officials to announce a potential increase in risk of HIV and hepatitis transmission for those who have undergone gastrointestinal procedures at the medical center, although there’s no evidence that any patients have been infected. The hospital has sent letters to over 2,500 veterans, and are still trying to reach another 700. Concerned patients and family can call the 24 hour Miami VA hotline at 305-575-7256 or toll free at 1-877-575-7256.

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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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