It's been a busy year for the AETC community, and we are proud to present the following compilation of published studies produced by members of our network
The National Quality Center (NQC) and HIV/AIDS Bureau (HAB) are pleased to announce the end+disparities Learning Exchange! Please watch the informational video and share it with your colleagues and social media contacts!
At the ASM Microbe meeting in June, researchers from Gilead Sciences presented data on use of TDF/FTC (Truvada) PrEP in the United States according to sex and race. They evaluated national pharmacy databases to identify prescriptions of TDF/FTC given for PrEP between January 2012 and September 2015; they eliminated prescriptions given for ART, PEP, and HBV.
This publication presents the results of San Francisco General Hospital's Ward 86 pilot study of immediate ART initiation. This RAPID program systematically offered ART to patients upon diagnosis of HIV; patients were referred from HIV testing sites in San Francisco. Of the 39 patients who participated in the pilot, 95% of them started ART within 24 hours.
The PARTNER Study, a multisite European study, evaluated rates of HIV transmissions within serodifferent heterosexual and MSM couples (n = 548 and n = 340, respectively, contributed eligible data). The HIV-positive partners were on ART with HIV RNA levels of <200 copies/mL, and the couples engaged in ongoing condomless sex (vaginal and/or anal) during a median of 1.3 years per couple (1,238 "couple years"). It was noted that 33% of HIV-negative MSM had outside partners, compared with 4% of HIV-negative heterosexual subjects).
We know that very early treatment in acute HIV infection decreases HIV RNA; this study shows it also greatly decreases proviral DNA (and reservoir size). Researchers investigated 2 small cohorts of patients in Thailand with acute (and very early) HIV infection, 1 untreated and 1 treated with ART very early; patients were followed for 144 weeks. They found that DNA integration occurs early and rapidly, and that with early and continued ART, total and integrated HIV DNA drops quickly and continues to decrease over time.
When we talk about HIV and drug addiction, we most often focus on injection drug use (IDU) as a risk factor for HIV transmission.
HIV-positive men and women can now live longer than ever before. A 2013 study found that a newly diagnosed 20-year-old on effective antiretroviral therapy (ART) can expect to live into their 70s, a lifespan only slightly lower than in people without HIV.[1] While this is great news, physicians are learning that chronic HIV infection can place their patients at a higher risk of developing certain health problems earlier in life. One example is heart disease.
Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) may cause decreases in bone mineral density (BMD) both in HIV-infected patients treated with TDF-containing ARV regimens and in HIV-uninfected persons who use it for PrEP.
Dolutegravir has several characteristics that, in theory, suggest it will not be significantly removed by dialysis:
