HIV / AIDS News From Medical News Today

A New Design Strategy For The Development Of Vaccines For HIV

Sat, 25 Feb 2012 00:00:00 PST

HIV has eluded vaccine-makers for thirty years, in part due to the virus' extreme ability to mutate. Physical scientists and clinical virologists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Ragon Institute in Cambridge, Mass...

Improper Condom Use A Public Health Issue Worldwide

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 PST

Problems with the correct use of the male condom, such as not wearing a condom throughout sex or putting it on upside down, are common in the U.S. and have become a major concern of public health officials. New research shows that countries around the world are facing similar challenges...

Myanmar : Big Issues With HIV & TB

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 14:00:00 PST

MÃ©decins Sans FrontiÃ¨res (MSF), the largest provider of HIV treatment in Myanmar, released a report today highlighting the urgency of treating HIV and multi-drug resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB) in their country - Myanmar used to be called Burma...

Large Waists Linked To Memory Difficulties In HIV Patients

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 05:00:00 PST

A study published in the print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, suggests that a larger waistline may be associated with a greater risk of decreased mental functioning in HIV-positive individuals. J. Allen McCutchan, M.D...

Financial Aid To Young Women In Poor Nations May Reduce HIV And HSV-2 Rates

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 13:00:00 PST

A recent study published by The Lancet, indicates that an effective way of reducing the prevalence of HIV and HSV-2 infections among young women, is through providing financial aid to them and their families. The study was led by Dr Berk-zler, The World Bank; Prof Richard Garfein and Dr Craig McIntosh, University of California at San Diego; and Dr Sarah Baird, George Washington University, USA...

SIV Infection May Lead To Increase In Immune-Suppressive Treg Cells

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 01:00:00 PST

Tissue in monkeys infected with a close relative of HIV can ramp up production of a type of T cell that actually weakens the body's attack against the invading virus. The discovery, in lymph nodes draining the intestinal tract, could help explain how the HIV virus evades the body's immune defenses...

The Cost-Effectiveness Of HAART Underestimated

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 00:00:00 PST

Bohdan Nosyk and Julio Montaner of the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS in Vancouver, Canada argue in an Essay published in this week's PLoS Medicine that the cost-effectiveness of HAART roll out has been significantly underestimated, because economic analyses have not yet taken into account the beneficial impact of HAART on prevention of HIV transmission...

HIV Resistance Among Many Sex Workers In Africa

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 08:00:00 PST

According to a new study, HIV-resistant sex workers in Africa have a weak inflammatory response in their vaginas. The researchers, led by Dr. Michel Roger of the University of Montreal Hospital Centre and the university's Department of Microbiology and Immunology, were surprised by this finding, as they expected the opposite, due to the women's high exposure to the virus...

Scientist Works To Detach Protein That HIV Uses As Protective Shield

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 01:00:00 PST

One of the frustrations for scientists working on HIV/AIDS treatments has been the human immunodeficiency virus' ability to evade the body's immune system. Now an Indiana University researcher has discovered a compound that could help put the immune system back in the hunt. It's not that the human immune system doesn't recognize HIV...

Human Testing Of New HIV-Vaccine

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 00:00:00 PST

Scientists from the Antwerp Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp University Hospital and Antwerp University have tested a new 'therapeutic vaccine' against HIV on volunteers. The participants were 'so to say' vaccinated with their own cells. The researchers filtered certain white blood cells out of the volunteer's blood, 'loaded' them outside the body and then gave them back...

Kidney Damage Risk Linked To Tenofovir, Leading HIV Medication

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 02:00:00 PST

Tenofovir, one of the most effective and commonly prescribed antiretroviral medications for HIV/AIDS, is associated with a significant risk of kidney damage and chronic kidney disease that increases over time, according to a study of more than 10,000 patients led by researchers at the San Francisco VA Medical Center (SFVAMC) and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)...

How Protein Protects Cells From HIV Infection

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 02:00:00 PST

A novel discovery by researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center and colleagues reveals a mechanism by which the immune system tries to halt the spread of HIV. Harnessing this mechanism may open up new paths for therapeutic research aimed at slowing the virus' progression to AIDS. The study appears online ahead of print today in Nature Immunology...

Protein Starves HIV, Thus Protecting Cells

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 12:00:00 PST

A protein called SAMHD1 has been found to starve HIV in cells so that it cannot do anything, thus making the cell resistant to HIV infection, researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center reported in Nature Immunology. The authors explained that their discovery could pave the way for new therapeutic research at halting or slowing the HIV's progression to AIDS. Research co-leader, Nathaniel R...

In HIV Prevention More Focus Needed On Men

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 01:00:00 PST

Edward Mills of the University of Ottawa, Canada and colleagues argue in this week's PLoS Medicine that the HIV/AIDS response in Africa needs a more balanced approach to gender, so that both men and women are involved in HIV treatment and prevention...

National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 10:00:00 PST

President, Founder and CEO of Black AIDS Institute, Phill Wilson, released a letter in light of the 12th annual National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, stating that the Institute will be releasing their 8th annual State of AIDS in Black America Report. He comments that "It will highlight a reality that would have been unthinkable not long ago...

Simultaneously Confronting HIV/AIDS, Malaria, And The Need For Clean Water Improves Health At A Lower Cost

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 01:00:00 PST

The great paradox of global health efforts is that regions of the world most plagued by poverty, poor infrastructure and rampant disease are often the most difficult to deliver care to...

When HIV Patients Waver On Meds

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 00:00:00 PST

According to a new analysis of hundreds of recorded office visits, doctors and nurse practitioners typically issued orders and asked closed or leading questions when talking to their HIV-positive patients about adherence to antiretroviral therapy. Attempts at problem-solving with patients who had lapsed occurred in less than a quarter of visits. Take your medicine, Doctor's orders...

News From The Journal Of Clinical Investigation: Feb. 1, 2012

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 01:00:00 PST

ONCOLOGY: Answers to age-old questions surrounding fat cell cancer Myxoid round cell liposarcoma (MRCLS) is a cancerous tumor that typically arises in deep fat tissues of the limbs or abdomen. It was shown almost 20 years ago to be characterized by a chromosomal change that generates a fusion protein known as TLS:CHOP...

South Africa Recalls Millions Of Condoms

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 12:00:00 PST

Health authorities in South Africa have recalled more than a million condoms that were handed out in the lead up to the African National Congress centenary celebrations...

Tracking The Birth Of An Evolutionary Arms Race Between HIV-Like Viruses And Primate Genomes

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 00:00:00 PST

Using a combination of evolutionary biology and virology, scientists at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have traced the birth of the ability of some HIV-related viruses to defeat a newly discovered cellular-defense system in primates. The research, led by Michael Emerman, Ph.D., a member of the Hutchinson Center's Human Biology and Basic Sciences Division, and Harmit Malik, Ph.D...

Antiretrovirals Raise Birth Defect Risk

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 09:00:00 PST

HIV-positive mothers can protected their babies from becoming infected with the virus if they take antiretroviral drugs during pregnancy. However, even though these drugs prevent transmitting the disease to the child, they could potentially cause birth defects like cleft lip and palate...

In HIV-Positive Patients, Standard Treatments For Head And Neck Cancer Are Less Effective

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 04:00:00 PST

Radiation therapy with or without chemotherapy is less effective for patients with HIV when compared to the recurrence and overall survival rates in patients who do not have HIV, according to a study presented at the Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer Symposium, sponsored by AHNS, ASCO, ASTRO and SNM. Treating head and neck cancer in HIV-positive patients is a challenge for oncologists...

Study Compares HIV Saliva Self-Test To Blood Test

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 00:00:00 PST

A saliva test used to diagnose the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), is comparable in accuracy to the traditional blood test, according to a new study led by the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) and McGill University...

Women Cope Better With HIV/AIDS When They Have The Love Of A Dog Or Cat

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 00:00:00 PST

A spoonful of medicine goes down a lot easier if there is a dog or cat around. Having pets is helpful for women living with HIV/AIDS and managing their chronic illness, according to a new study from the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing at Case Western Reserve University. "We think this finding about pets can apply to women managing other chronic illnesses," said Allison R...

MSU Seeks To Revamp HIV-Prevention Programs In Caribbean

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 01:00:00 PST

While global attention to HIV/AIDS remains strong, a lack of focus on prevention strategies is stonewalling health experts in many developing nations, specifically in the Caribbean...