Research co-led by an investigator at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center shows that four children born with HIV who were safely removed from antiretroviral therapy (ART) continued to have undetectable levels of the virus for about a year or more without treatment. The children were among 54 newborns who were given very early treatment within the first 48 hours of life — rather than within weeks or months, as is typical.
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Tag: HIV
Measles: How to Spot it, When to Seek Care and Importance of Vaccination
As the Measles outbreak continues to grow in Florida, Francesca Torriani, MD, infectious disease specialist with UC San Diego Health is available to discuss symptoms to look out for, when to seek medical care, and the importance of vaccination. Biography…
Researchers are using RNA in a new approach to fight HIV
Society learned about the value of mRNA during the COVID-19 pandemic when we saw scientists and medical professionals harness its power to deliver a vaccine for the virus within a year.
Droughts may trigger HIV transmission increase among women in rural sub-Saharan Africa, study finds
Droughts have the potential to increase the spread of HIV for women living in rural parts of Africa, researchers at the University of Bristol have found.
Study Reveals Accelerated Aging in Women Living With HIV
Women with HIV experience accelerated DNA aging, a phenomenon that can lead to poor physical function, according to a study led by Stephanie Shiau, an assistant professor in the Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology at the Rutgers School of Public Health.
Prof. Dr. Thanyavee Puthanakit, National Outstanding Researcher in Medical Science, with Clinical Research on the Treatment and Prevention of HIV in Youth
Prof. Dr. Thanyavee expressed her appreciation and honor for receiving the Outstanding Researcher Award.
Better diagnosis and treatment of cryptococcosis
A group of international mycology experts led by Professor Dr Oliver A. Cornely at the University of Cologne has jointly drafted a guideline for the diagnosis and treatment of cryptococcosis, which aims at improving infection management and thus the survival rate of patients.
Fighting Viruses that Cause Cancer
In research labs and clinical settings, faculty across Tufts School of Medicine and Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences are investigating cancer caused by herpes, HIV, HPV, and other viruses
Fiber, the Gut, Heart Disease and HIV
Investigators from Cedars-Sinai have made two important discoveries about fiber and the gut microbiome in patients with human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV.
Integrated chronic care in Africa can improve outcomes and save money
Across Africa about two million premature deaths each year are caused by the effects of diabetes and hypertension.
Mount Sinai Awarded $3.4 Million to Study Prostate Cancer in People With HIV
The National Cancer Institute has awarded the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai a $3.4 million grant to create a model that identifies the best prostate cancer treatment for people with HIV.
Traditional healers in rural Mpumalanga help diagnose HIV
An initiative of Wits University’s MRC/Wits Agincourt Research Unit, the Traditional Healers Project convened two ‘open houses’ at local primary healthcare facilities – Rolle Clinic and Thulamahashe Community Health Centre in rural Bushbuckridge, Mpumalanga – in March 2023.
New Community Partnership Model Boosts Inclusion of Participants into HIV Cure-Directed Research
Scientists have long used community advisory boards to engage communities and provide feedback on studies, but this model has limitations. Now, Wistar Institute researchers are sharing how a more inclusive model for community engagement can lead to deeper insights and greater community participation in HIV research.
Gender, race and socioeconomic status are associated with comorbidity in people with HIV who smoke
High rates of smoking among people with HIV are associated with high rates of comorbid health problems – which are associated with characteristics including gender, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status, according to a study in the July issue of The Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care (JANAC). The official journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care, JANAC is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.
Preclinical Studies Led by Johns Hopkins Medicine Researchers Advance Potential New Target to Treat HIV Infection
Researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine, in collaboration with researchers at the National Institutes of Health, report that two new studies in mice with a humanized immune system and human cell lines have identified an enzyme that plays a critical role in the late stages of HIV replication.
Rensselaer Researcher Uses Pressure To Understand RNA Dynamics
Just as space holds infinite mysteries, when we zoom in at the level of biomolecules (one trillion times smaller than a meter), there is still so much to learn.Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Catherine Royer, Constellation Chair Professor of Bioinformatics and Biocomputation at the Shirley Ann Jackson, Ph.D. Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies (CBIS) and professor of biological sciences, is dedicated to understanding the conformational landscapes of biomolecules and how they modulate cell function.
Penile HIV Infection is Effectively Prevented by Antiretroviral Treatment
Researchers at the UNC School of Medicine’s International Center for the Advancement of Translational Science and the Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases have developed a new approach for the detailed evaluation of HIV infection throughout the entire male genital tract, HIV acquisition via the penis and the efficient prevention of penile HIV infection. The study was published in mBio by the American Society of Microbiology.
One step closer to eliminating latency, the real challenge in combating HIV
An international study led by MELIS-UPF researchers from the Infection Biology and Molecular Virology laboratories has identified and characterized Schlafen 12 (SLFN 12) as a novel HIV restriction factor.
Rutgers Experts Aim to Uncover Barriers to Conducting HIV Research in Africa
Rutgers Institute for Health researcher, Dr. Ashley Grosso, receives grant from NIH to conduct study on barriers to HIV research in Africa.
Tuberculosis disease intensifies HIV antibody response in people with HIV
New research from Boston Medical Center found that people living with HIV that have had pulmonary tuberculosis had broader and more potent HIV antibody responses and differences in HIV sequences predicted to be antibody resistant as compared to those without suspected or documented tuberculosis.
Mpox Antiviral Outcomes Are Similar Regardless of HIV Status
Patients with mpox who were treated with the antiviral drug tecovirimat had similar outcomes regardless of HIV status, find researchers at Columbia University and Weill Cornell Medicine.
Late HIV diagnosis still an issue in Aotearoa
Forty per cent of people diagnosed with HIV in Aotearoa between 2011 and 2020 were diagnosed late, a University of Otago study shows.
HIV and hepatitis C virus monitoring needs to increase to achieve global elimination goals
Countries must intensify efforts to track HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) incidence among people who inject drugs, and to prioritise this group in prevention and elimination work, according to new University of Bristol-led research, published online in The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology.
A readily available dietary supplement may reverse organ damage caused by HIV and antiretroviral therapy
MitoQ, a mitochondrial antioxidant that is available to the public as a diet supplement, was found in a mouse study to reverse the detrimental effects that HIV and antiretroviral therapy (ART) have on mitochondria in the brain, heart, aorta, lungs, kidney and liver.
Texas Biomed HIV vaccine candidate aims to block virus before it takes root
The National Institutes of Health has awarded $3.8 million to Texas Biomedical Research Institute to further develop a promising HIV vaccine candidate that stops the virus upon entry, before it begins rapidly spreading throughout the body.
CDC-UNC Collaboration Yields Potential Long-term HIV Protection
Since 2017, the lab of Rahima Benhabbour, PhD, MSc, associate professor in the UNC/NCSU Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering, has been working with a research team at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and others at UNC to develop an injectable implant that can release HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) medications into the body for a long period of time.
Their latest research, published in Nature Communications, shows that the team’s latest formulation can provide up to six months of full protection.
Scientists Document Two Separate Reservoirs of Latent HIV in Patients
UNC-Chapel Hill scientists and colleagues provide indirect evidence for the existence of a distinct latent reservoir of CD4+ T cells in the central nervous system, by analyzing rebound virus in the cerebral spinal fluid during the period when people had just stopped taking ART.
SLU Researcher Receives $1.76 Million NIH Grant to Create STAR, an HIV-Focused Experiential Research and Capacity Building Program for Students and Young Researchers
Using a crowdsourcing framework utilized over the past five years, Juliet Iwelunmor, Ph.D., professor of global health and behavioral science and health education at Saint Louis University’s College for Public Health and Social Justice, is taking what she learned from empowering youth in Nigeria to identify young people in the United States who aim to become the next generation of HIV researchers, leaders and innovators in the field.
Moffitt Cancer Center Joins Weill Cornell Medicine and University of North Carolina to Improve HIV-Related Cancer Care Abroad
Moffitt Cancer Center, Weill Cornell Medicine and the University of North Carolina School of Medicine have received a $3.5 million, five-year grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to improve screening and preventative treatment of cervical cancer for women living with HIV in low-resource countries.
Commonly used antiretroviral drugs used to treat HIV and hepatitis B reduce immune cells’ energy production
New UCLA-led research suggests that antiretroviral drugs called TAF and TDF directly reduce energy production by mitochondria, structures inside cells that generate the power that cells use to function. Both drugs led to reduced cellular oxygen consumption rates, a measure of the ability of the mitochondria to produce energy, compared with controls.
Phase 1 Trial of the First-In Human HIV Vaccine Shows Promising Results
The George Washington University Vaccine Research Unit in partnership with Scripps Research, IAVI, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center (FHCC) and the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Vaccine Research Center published the results of their Phase 1 Clinical Trial in Science.
Lung Cancer Screening Has the Potential to Reduce HIV Deaths
This World AIDS Day, the Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS), of which the American Thoracic Society is a founding member, is calling on the health care community to increase lung cancer screening for people with HIV who are current or former heavy smokers and may be at high risk for developing the disease. As HIV- infected individuals have high smoking rates, smoking cessation should also be encouraged.
HIV Infection Leaves a ‘Memory’ in Cells
Though antiretroviral therapy has made HIV a manageable disease, people living with HIV often suffer from chronic inflammation. This can put them at an increased risk of developing comorbidities such as cardiovascular disease and neurocognitive dysfunction, impacting the longevity and quality of their lives.
HIV, AIDS training center at UIC goes national with help of $3M grant
The Midwest AIDS Training and Education Center at the University of Illinois Chicago will expand its services nationwide with the help of a new $3 million grant.
Addressing stigma is critical to containing the monkeypox outbreak
Inaccurate media coverage of the monkeypox outbreak has resulted in misinformation about the many ways it can be spread, resulting in stigma (shaming and biased attitudes) toward people who develop the disease. Nurses play a key role in delivering appropriate care related to monkeypox by creating safe spaces for affected individuals regardless of sexual behaviors, race and ethnicity, gender, or co-infections. These conclusions come from two papers in the November/December issue of The Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care (JANAC), the official journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care. JANAC is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.
Mount Sinai’s Yvette Calderon, MD, MS, Elected to National Academy of Medicine for Contributions to Emergency Medicine
Yvette Calderon, MD, MS, Chair of Emergency Medicine at Mount Sinai Beth Israel and Professor of Emergency Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine (NAM). Election to the NAM is considered one of the highest honors in health and medicine, recognizing individuals who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service. With her election, Mount Sinai has 26 faculty members in the NAM.
Risk of Severe Breakthrough COVID-19 Infection Is Higher for People With HIV With Moderately Low CD4 Cell Counts
People with HIV who have moderate immune suppression appear to be at greater risk of severe COVID-19 “breakthrough” infection after vaccination, according to a study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Gut bacteria may contribute to susceptibility to HIV infection, UCLA-led research suggests
New UCLA-led research suggests certain gut bacteria — including one that is essential for a healthy gut microbiome – differ between people who go on to acquire HIV infection compared to those who have not become infected. The findings, published in the peer-reviewed journal eBioMedicine, suggest that the gut microbiome could contribute to one’s risk for HIV infection, said study lead Dr.
The longer the bootcamp, the better the antibodies
LJI research shows that a “slow delivery, escalating dose” vaccination strategy can prompt B cells to spend months mutating and evolving their pathogen-fighting antibodies.
Researchers Receive $4.2M Grant to Improve PrEP Access and Prevent New HIV Infections
Bronx county has the country’s fifth-highest rate of HIV diagnosis—but the lowest rate in New York State for use of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), medications that are extremely effective in preventing HIV infection. Physician-researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Health System have received a five-year, $4.2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to compare two strategies for improving PrEP access and use in the Bronx.
Dolutegravir-Based Antiretroviral Therapies for HIV-1 Effective in Pregnancy
Dolutegravir-based antiretroviral therapy (ART) for HIV-1 infection is more effective in pregnancy than some other ART regimens commonly used in the U.S. and Europe, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
State-level Earned Income Tax Credit linked to reduction in high-risk HIV behavior among single mothers
UCLA research finds that a refundable State-level Earned Income Tax Credit (SEITC) of 10% or above the Federal EITC was associated with a 21% relative risk reduction in reported behavior that could put single mothers at high risk for becoming infected with HIV during the previous year. Also, a 10 percentage-point increase in SEITC was linked to a 38% relative reduction in the same reported high-risk behavior the previous year.
Cancer and HIV
Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center researcher Emmanuel Thomas, M.D., Ph.D., F.A.A.S.L.D., has been appointed to the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) Coinfections and HIV Associated Cancers (HCAC) study section.
Additional Antibody Mediated Prevention (AMP) trials data published in Nature Medicine
An embargoed study published in the Aug. 22, 2022 issue of Nature Medicine identifies a new biomarker that appears effective as a surrogate endpoint to reliably predict the ability of broadly neutralizing monoclonal antibodies to prevent acquisition of HIV-1, the most common type of the virus that causes AIDS. Broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) are defined by their ability to neutralize multiple genetically distinct viral strains.
U of U Health-Led Research Awarded $28 Million to Explore HIV’s Inner Workings and Vulnerabilities
A University of Utah Health-led multi-institutional research center that studies the inner workings and vulnerabilities of HIV, the human immunodeficieny virus that causes AIDS, recently received a five-year, $28 million grant renewal from the National Institutes of Health.
Journal Special Issue Offers Evidence and Guidance Supporting National PrEP Program to Turn Tide on HIV
Special issue includes research and commentary addressing important considerations for national PrEP program that would lower prices and expand access.
New insights into HIV latent cells yield potential cure targets
In a presentation today at AIDS 2022, the 24th International AIDS Conference in Montreal, scientists with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases’ (NIAID) Vaccine Research Center (VRC) and their collaborators described how their use of cutting-edge technology revealed new insights into cellular reservoirs of HIV and what those observations could mean for the next steps in HIV cure research. NIAID is part of the National Institutes of Health.
Beyond the blood-brain barrier: HIV research at Texas Biomed gets NIH funding boost
Texas Biomed has received a $3.9 million NIH grant to explore how gene-editing technology may help eradicate HIV in the brain.
Sylvester Plays Pivotal Role in Practice-Changing Anal Cancer Prevention Study Published by NEJM
The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) has published the results of a study by Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School and other investigators on anal cancer prevention in people living with HIV (PLHIV) that will likely establish a…
Mathematical Model Helps Predict Anal Cancer Risk in Persons with HIV Infection
UC San Diego researchers have created a mathematical model to help predict risk of anal cancer in persons with HIV infection and aid patients and doctors regarding screening decisions.