HIV & AIDS

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Sugar-binding Protein Galectin-9 Found to be a New Weapon to Cure HIV

The ultimate impediment to a cure for HIV infection is the presence of latent, HIV-infected cells, which can reawaken and produce new virus when antiretroviral drug therapy is stopped.  These latent, HIV-infected cells are untouched by antiretroviral therapy and are unseen by the immune system.  Moving medicine closer to a cure for HIV, scientists at Blood Systems Research Institute (BSRI), the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF), and the University of Hawaii have discovered that the human sugar-binding protein galectin-9 potently forces latent HIV out of hiding, and poisons the virus on its way out. Building off of their […]

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Could Mimicking Infants’ Immune Response Produce a Faster-acting HIV Vaccine?

An HIV vaccine based on how the adult immune system responds to the virus could take a long time to build protection, say researchers, who after looking at how HIV affects infants, suggest mimicking their immune response may offer a better model. vaccine vials and hypodermic The researchers suggest developing HIV vaccines that mimic infant immune responses may lead to faster-acting, effective protection against the virus. In the journal Cell, researchers led by a team from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, describe how broadly neutralizing antibodies to HIV can arise in infants within a year after infection […]

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amfAR Study Observes Potential Breakthrough in Treatment of HIV

A new study funded by amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research conducted by researchers at the San Francisco VA Medical Center (SFVAMC) observes that pharmacological enhancement of the immune systems of HIV patients could help eliminate infected cells, providing an important step in the ongoing quest to find a lasting HIV cure. The study, titled “Stimulating the RIG-I Pathway to Kill Cells in the Latent HIV Reservoir Following Viral Reactivation,” addresses the persistence of latent HIV reservoirs in patients who are on antiretroviral therapy. Latent HIV reservoirs are established during the earliest stage of HIV infection, and they are infected […]

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New resource: Paying for PrEP

  The Centers for Disease Control recently published a new brochure explaining how individuals—through a variety of insurance and medication assistance programs—can cover the cost of PrEP. The brochure includes links to a community health center location tool, PrEP assistance programs, and co-pay programs, and gives a breakdown of the steps to take in order to pay for the medication, lab tests, and clinic visits. Download the brochure, here.   Find additional resources from the CDC on talking to your doctor about PrEP, a video about starting PrEP, and more.

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Can a Gel to Prevent HIV be Applied as a Lube?

  Rectal microbicide gels, applied either daily or before and after sex, are currently being investigated as an option for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Given that many people who have anal sex already use lube, one hope is for an HIV-prevention product that people could essentially use in place of a lube. But can gels provide enough coverage across rectal tissue if people don’t use an applicator? Studies of rectal tenofovir microbicide gels, such as the MTN-017 study, provide rectal-specific applicators for people to use to insert the gel. Although applicators deliver a precise dose, they may challenge product acceptability […]

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We Aren’t the Sex Police: What PrEP Providers Say About Condoms & STIs

  The potent protection from HIV afforded by Truvada as PrEP allows men to have sex with less worry and fear of HIV. But some worry that the inclusion of PrEP as a public health strategy will lead people to abandon condoms—which still have a role to play in further reducing risk of HIV and other STIs. In San Francisco—even before PrEP’s availability in 2012—rates of STIs among men who have sex with men have been steadily increasing and rates of condom use have gone down. BETA wanted to know—what do PrEP providers think? How do these practitioners, who see […]

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Should I Be on PrEP?

Let’s face it. Adulting is hard. But much more important than overcoming the Sunday Scaries and using Excel to keep track of just how bad you are at actually sticking to a budget is your health. There’s a good chance you’ve heard of PrEP, but how much do you really know about it? PrEP (pronounced “prep” and commercially known as Truvada) is an abbreviation for pre-exposure prophylaxis and it is an anti-viral treatment approved by the FDA in 2012 that your physician can prescribe to you in daily doses as a method of preventing new HIV infections. Many people, with […]

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HIV Replenishes Viral Reservoirs During Therapy

When HIV infects the body, it establishes a key foothold in lymphoid tissue and can persist there, despite potent therapy. But HIV is not dormant in this viral reservoir; the virus continues to replicate, move between tissue compartments and evolve – even when it is undetectable in the blood. HIV continues to replenish its viral reservoir in lymphoid tissue even when it can no longer be detected in the bloodstream. This was the conclusion of a new international study – led by Northwestern University in Chicago, IL, and published in Nature – that provides an important new perspective on how […]

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Most Sexually Active Teens Are Never Tested For HIV

  Only one-third of sexually active young adults and less than one-quarter of sexually active high schoolers have been tested for HIV, according to a new report. While HIV is rare and only about 10,000 teens and young adults are diagnosed with the disease each year, testing is still essential. A full 44 percent of adolescents living with HIV are undiagnosed — the highest percentage of any age group. “Teens are in a particularly important period of their lives for HIV testing and prevention,” Michelle Van Handel, a health scientist at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and lead […]

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“PrEP: The Revolution That Didn’t Happen” Declares New AHF Ad

A new advocacy ad by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) takes aim at the failure of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), the use of Gilead Sciences’ AIDS treatment Truvada to prevent HIV transmission in uninfected individuals, to catch on despite the fact that the powerful AIDS treatment medication has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for us as PrEP since July 2012 and that Gilead has spent millions to promote the drug directly to community groups and physicians. In 2014, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) initially recommended that 500,000 gay men and other high risk individuals […]

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