Here are what the editors at HealthDay consider to be the most important developments in HIV & AIDS for August 2006. This roundup includes the latest research news from journal articles, as well as the FDA approvals and regulatory changes that are the most likely to affect clinical practice.
Incidence Declines in Two AIDS-Related Cancers
THURSDAY, Aug. 31 (HealthDay News) -- The introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy, or HAART, has resulted in a dramatic decline in incidence of two major AIDS-related cancers: Kaposi sarcoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, according to a study published in the August issue of AIDS.
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Mania in HIV-Positive Individuals Clinically Distinct
THURSDAY, Aug. 31 (HealthDay News) -- HIV-positive individuals from sub-Saharan Africa presenting with mania tend to be older, female, of lower socioeconomic status, have more manic symptoms and have lower CD4 counts than HIV-negative individuals with mania, according to a study in the August issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry.
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Editorial
Antiretroviral Therapy Raises Risk of Osteonecrosis in HIV+
WEDNESDAY, Aug. 30 (HealthDay News) -- HIV-positive patients who are treated with combined antiretroviral therapy (cART) run an increased risk of developing osteonecrosis, according to a study published in the August issue of AIDS.
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CD4 Count Moderately Predicts Undetectable HIV Viral Load
TUESDAY, Aug. 29 (HealthDay News) -- After HIV-positive patients start highly active antiretroviral therapy, an increased CD4 cell count is only a moderate predictor of undetectable viral load and its predictive power is even more limited in patients with lower baseline CD4 cell counts, according to a study published in the August issue of AIDS.
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Rapid Test Improves Patient Receipt of HIV Results
FRIDAY, Aug. 25 (HealthDay News) -- A commercially available rapid test is nearly twice as effective as conventional HIV counseling and testing in improving patient receipt of HIV test results, according to a report published in the Aug. 1 issue of AIDS.
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HIV, Hepatitis C Co-Infection Worsens Cognitive Function
FRIDAY, Aug. 25 (HealthDay News) -- Patients co-infected with HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) may have significantly greater neurocognitive declines than patients infected with HIV alone, although these differences largely disappear after antiretroviral treatment, according to a study in the Aug. 1 issue of AIDS.
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Molecule Involved in T Cell 'Exhaustion' in HIV
THURSDAY, Aug. 24 (HealthDay News) -- Blocking the function of a molecule found at high levels on HIV-specific CD8+ T cells restores some T cell function and helps overcome the T cell "exhaustion" observed during chronic HIV infection, according to two studies published online Aug. 20 in Nature Medicine and Nature.
Abstract - Sekaly
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Abstract - Walker
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Socioeconomic Status Linked to Late-Life Disability
THURSDAY, Aug. 17 (HealthDay News) -- While the link between extreme poverty and poor health has long been recognized, a new report in the Aug. 17 New England Journal of Medicine extends the socioeconomic disparity to functional limitation and disability later in life.
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Most ED Patients with S. Aureus Infection Have MRSA
WEDNESDAY, Aug. 16 (HealthDay News) -- Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, is the most common cause of skin and soft-tissue infections in patients presenting to emergency departments in 11 U.S. cities, according to a study conducted in August 2004 and reported in the Aug. 17 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
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Editorial
Fewer U.S. Students Engaging in Risky Sexual Behavior
FRIDAY, Aug. 11 (HealthDay News) -- The prevalence of sexual experience dropped to 46.8 percent from 54.1 percent among U.S. high school students between 1991 and 2005, according to a report in the Aug. 11 issue of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
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CPR Knowledge is Lacking in Seriously Ill Patients
THURSDAY, Aug. 10 (HealthDay News) -- Seriously ill hospitalized patients lack information about cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and more than one-third of them do not wish to discuss end-of-life preferences with their physician, according to study results published in the August issue of Chest.
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Adherence to HIV Therapy at Favorable Levels in Africa
TUESDAY, Aug. 8 (HealthDay News) -- Favorable levels of adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) can be achieved in sub-Saharan Africa, but remain a concern in North America, researchers report in the Aug. 9 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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HIV Prevention Program for Latino Adolescents Effective
TUESDAY, Aug. 8 (HealthDay News) -- Latino adolescents participating in a culture- and theory-based HIV prevention program report less sexual intercourse, fewer partners and increased condom use, according to a study in the August issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.
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Treatment Interruptions Reduce HIV Load and Costs
MONDAY, Aug. 7 (HealthDay News) -- Interruptions in drug treatment are as effective as continuous treatment at reducing viral load in HIV-1-infected patients, while reducing drug costs by about 60 percent, according to a report in the Aug. 5 issue of The Lancet.
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HIV-1 Treatment Successful But Rise in AIDS Events Seen
FRIDAY, Aug. 4 (HealthDay News) -- Although highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has improved the virological response to HIV-1 in the last decade in Europe and North America, there has been a rise in AIDS events that may be due to an increased incidence of tuberculosis, according to a report in the Aug. 5 issue of The Lancet.
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Editorial
Antiretrovirals Don't Increase Primary Central Lymphoma
WEDNESDAY, Aug. 2 (HealthDay News) -- In HIV-positive patients, exposure to highly active antiretroviral therapy, or HAART, is not associated with an increased risk of primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCL), according to a report published in the Aug. 2 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
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HIV Evades Antiretroviral Therapy by Hiding in the Gut
WEDNESDAY, Aug. 2 (HealthDay News) -- HIV evades highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in infected patients by hiding in gut-associated lymphoid tissue, according to a report in the August issue of the Journal of Virology. Suppression of viral replication and control of inflammatory responses in the gut may be key to restoring mucosal immune system function during HAART.
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