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Medical HIV News Briefs
to summaries from the CDC HIV/STD/TB Prevention
News Update
and aidsmap, a website of NAM a UK-based organization,
and links to Kaiser HIV/AIDS Report, The Body, Medscape and other sources. See also Medical News on
Hepatitis, STDs, and TB
FDA
WARNINGS, PRECAUTIONS AND
ADVERSE REACTIONS
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See
Drug
Warnings
May News Briefs
Appropriate Treatment Methods Can Prevent Nearly All Risk of Mother-To-Child
HIV Transmission, Study Says
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=51987
ANTIRETROVIRAL THERAPY at The
Body Pro:
Latest HIV Research & News for Health Care Professionals:
May 7, 2008
New Analysis of SMART Study Backs Continuing HAART Even With CD4
Above 350
Maintaining a CD4+ cell count over 350 cells/mm3 results
in a lower risk of AIDS-related complications or death among HIV-infected
patients, according to the results from an analysis of the SMART study that
was published in the April 15 issue of the Journal of Infectious Diseases.
The analysis showed that, over a mean 16 months of follow-up, patients who
were taking HAART and had a CD4+ cell count above 350 were less than half as
likely to experience an opportunistic infection or die than patients who
were not taking HAART and had a CD4+ cell count above 350. The
researchers attributed the difference to the presence of a higher HIV viral
load among the patients who discontinued therapy.
Study Affirms Value of Initiating HIV Treatment Before CD4 Drops Below 350
In a separate analysis of SMART data published in the same issue of the
Journal of Infectious Diseases, findings from other recent studies
regarding the benefits of early HAART initiation were reaffirmed. Among a
subset of SMART trial participants who were either antiretroviral naive or
had not received therapy in the preceding six months, those who initiated
HAART with a CD4+ cell count greater than 350 were found to be significantly
less likely to develop an opportunistic infection, develop a serious
non-AIDS-defining event or die than patients who initiated HAART when their
CD4+ cell count dropped below 250.
Unusually High Immune Activation Could Present Danger for Some Elite HIV
Controllers
Elite HIV controllers are an extremely fortunate subset of the HIV-infected
population, due to their ability to control viremia for a seemingly
indefinite period of time without the aid of antiretroviral therapy.
However, there may be negative consequences to the unusually strong
HIV-specific immune responses exhibited by some elite controllers, according
to U.S. researchers. In this interview from the 15th Conference on
Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, Peter Hunt, M.D., explains the
results of his study, which found that some elite controllers may experience
a CD4+ cell decline over time due to higher levels of immune activation.
Improving Immunologic Outcomes Among HIV-Infected Patients: A Talk With
Steven Deeks, M.D.
The development of therapies that improve an HIV-infected patient's
HIV-specific immune response has long been an area of interest for many HIV
researchers. One of the foremost researchers in this field is Steven Deeks,
M.D. Dr. Deeks recently sat down with Richard Jefferys of Treatment Action
Group to discuss his most recent research in the field of immune-based HIV
therapy.
Development Halted on Experimental CCR5 Antagonist
The flurry of new antiretroviral approvals in the United States over the
past couple of years obscures the brutal reality of drug development: Many
experimental drugs never make it to the application phase with the U.S. Food
and Drug Administration. One drug at risk is INCB9471, a medication in the
new CCR5 antagonist class whose development was halted last month. In spite
of promising early studies, the drug's maker decided to stop researching
INCB9471 -- a decision that, according to this report from Project Inform,
may have been motivated in part by slow sales of maraviroc (Selzentry,
Celsentri), the first and only CCR5 antagonist approved in the United States
thus far.
Top 10 HIV Stories of the Past Year
An Interview With David Wohl, M.D.
By Bonnie Goldman, Editor, TheBody.com
Dr. David Wohl is a researcher and clinician at the
University of North Carolina. For years now, Dr. Wohl
has been writing our year-end review of the top HIV
medical stories for health care professionals on our
sister site The Body PRO. Dr. Wohl has the unique ability to put the advances
of HIV medicine in perspective, and he does so with
humor and with wisdom. But most importantly, he tries to
make the material accessible to everyone. If you're
interested in discovering the very latest in
cutting-edge HIV research, this is the podcast for you.
CME/CE Update from
The Body:
HIV and Women -- Natural History, Treatment and Prevention
1 hour; credit for physicians, nurses and pharmacists at The Body
Management of Treatment-Experienced Patients
.5 hours; credit for physicians and nurses at The Body
First-Line HIV Therapy and Treatment Strategies
.75 hours; credit for physicians and nurses
Complications of HIV/HAART
1 hour; credit for physicians, nurses and pharmacists
Specific Adverse Effects of Antiretroviral Therapy Vary Depending on Race,
Gender, Study Says
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=51853
See April Medical Briefs Archives
Summaries
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