HIV/AIDS

In an ideal world, there would be a vaccine against the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). An improved animal model developed by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania could one day make a vaccine a reality.

A team of researchers led by the Rockefeller University and the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center have developed a new approach to understanding how viruses attack cells and commandeer their machinery that appears to offer an unprecedented, step-by-step view of how viruses do this.

American investigators reported that both chronic and recent HIV infection appear to lead to an average aging advancement of nearly 5 years, increasing expected mortality risk by 19%, when compared with healthy volunteers.

Researchers reported that SVR12 rates in real-world, post-transplant genotype 1 HCV patients treated with ledipasvir-sofosbuvir, with or without ribavirin, is 98% across regimens and various characteristics.

Results from the ION-3 trial showed that the rapidity and durability of viral suppression achieved with ledipasvir-sofosbuvir therapy allows a shorter treatment course of 8 weeks in genotype 1, treatment-naïve, non-cirrhotic patients.

A new approach to treating the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) could allow patients to temporarily stop their medication, according to a team from the University of Leuven in Belgium.

What’s being described as a “research trifecta†is making waves in effort to find a vaccine for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

AIDS researchers in Zambia found that patients getting antiretrovirals tend to have higher rates of unplanned pregnancies. Reversing that trend could be as simple as providing more birth control options at clinics where patients get their ART.

The first study to look at the relationship between sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and the severity of borderline personality disorder (BPD) symptoms came back with some staggering numbers.

Research indicates that serum zinc concentration appears to be inversely associated with serum C-reactive protein concentration, possibly contributing to chronic inflammation, in patients with HIV.

A substantial drop in new human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection rates is certainly good news, but the fight is far from over.

Researchers say a billion-dollar US government program that used abstinence-only education to fight the spread of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) succeeded in one sense: It proved abstinence-focused programs don’t work.

Children with perinatal HIV who have been exposed to violence, or whose caregivers have been assaulted as adults, appear to have higher unsuppressed viral loads and lower CD4 levels compared with kids without violence exposure.

A test for acute HIV infection should be offered to those who report having symptoms within the last two weeks, not just those experiencing them at the time of testing, a new study suggests.

Pre-clinical study results appear to demonstrate the efficacy of a new long-acting formulation of the HIV medication raltegravir in preventing vaginal transmission of HIV in animal models.

For patients who may be at risk of contracting HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis could be a way to minimize their risk of becoming ill themselves. However many patients either believe they are not at risk or do not know about the treatment option.

While hepatitis C is a largely treatable condition one of the biggest challenges remains identifying patients who may have the condition without even realizing it. As a result work is being done to improve testing rates to better treat this population.

Many patients treated in the emergency department refuse the offer of HIV testing. The offer is required in New York. In the Bronx, Uriel Felsen, MD, of Montefiore Health System offers some tips on how to get patients to says yes. In a study, Felsen and colleagues found patients are more amenable to the test after they are admitted.

It has been more than 5 years since New York State mandated that HIV tests be offered to patients between the ages of 13 and 64 be offered HIV tests in hospital emergency settings. Despite this offer many are refusing to be tested for a variety of reasons.

If research continues focusing on macrophages and their role in the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), it could mean new opportunities to treat patients and eventually help find a cure.

In previous studies it had been shown that macrophages were not targeted by HIV when looking at how the virus develops. New research of mouse models has shown evidence that that may not be the case.

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is no longer the death sentence it was when the virus was first discovered in 1983. Although patients are living better, longer lives, finding a cure to the disease remains a top priority.

Through 30 years of research HIV has gone from being a death sentence for patients to something that can be more of a chronic condition. Antiretroviral therapy has been a key part of that fight and now there is more good news about this treatment option.

One of the largest populations of patients with hepatitis C is those who use injectable drugs. Despite this, many of these patients do not receive the medications they need to treat their conditions.

Former Two and a Half Men star Charlie Sheen divulged on the TODAY show Tuesday morning that he is infected with HIV (human immunodeficiency virus). And while it can impact everyday life, it is not the be-all and end-all disease that it once was in the 80's.

Although there are now effective treatments for several genotypes of hepatitis C, certain patient groups continue to present challenges for the pharmaceutical and medical communities. Work is being done to overcome those challenges around the world.

There are now medications on the market which can help patients with hepatitis C treat their condition successfully. One of the biggest obstacles in the field now is getting those medications to the people who need them most.

Telemedicine is becoming a more accepted practice across the medical community and as people become more spread out geographically it is becoming more popular in newer areas of the field including infectious disease.

Patients on non-recommended treatment regimens are less likely to achieve viral suppression and more likely to report side effects.

Findings from two studies presented July 22 at the International AIDS Society (IAS) Conference in Vancouver, Canada indicate that HIV treatment for illicit drug users appears to improve their social and socioeconomic wellbeing, in addition to their overall health.