HIV and ID Observations

July 30th, 2010

Perinatal Transmission of HIV “Solved” — Now How Do We Pay For It?

Conspicuously absent from this year’s International AIDS Conference were major studies on prevention of maternal-to-child transmission. It could be that I just missed them, so I emailed a colleague who specializes in the area, and she concurred: Nope, did not see or hear major PMTCT updates at IAS. The thing is, this problem has been all but solved, […]

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July 19th, 2010

Vienna IAS: First (Really) Positive Microbicide Study

Big news from Vienna and Science, imminently: The CAPRISA 004 trial assessed effectiveness and safety of a 1% vaginal gel formulation of tenofovir, a nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitor, for the prevention of HIV acquisition in women. A double-blind, randomized controlled trial was conducted comparing tenofovir gel (n = 445) with placebo gel (n = 444) in sexually active, HIV-uninfected 18- to 40-year-old women in […]

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July 14th, 2010

Common Sense on the HIV Testing Law in the Bay State

From yesterday’s Boston Globe: Existing state law puts up a speed bump, by demanding a special written consent form before doctors can check for the AIDS virus. A bill before the state Senate would bring the rules for HIV screening closer to those for other routine tests. The change is warranted, yet some AIDS activists are […]

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July 12th, 2010

Neutralizing AB and How to Interpret HIV Vaccine News

Lots of attention in the news media on the recent papers in Science that elucidate the structure and function of broadly neutralizing antibody to HIV.  (Proof:  a patient asked me about it today.) For example, here’s the take by the Wall Street Journal: HIV research is undergoing a renaissance that could lead to new ways to develop […]

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July 6th, 2010

Torrid Tuesday

Some ID/HIV-related items for a sweltering summer day: Are the AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAPs) in trouble?  Certainly in some states they are, and this interview gives additional perspective.  But I wonder — how much of this is HIV-specific, and how much is just the ongoing lousy economy.  In other words, are other government-funded programs comparably stressed?  Headline:  […]

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July 1st, 2010

RFA-AI-10-009, HIV Cure, and “Berlin Patient” Update

Interesting “RFA” (Request for Application, #RFA-AI-10-009) from Bethesda: The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), National Institutes of Health (NIH), encourage grant applications from institutions/organizations to address the problem of HIV-1 persistence in HIV-1-infected persons treated with suppressive antiretroviral drug regimens… The goal of this initiative […]

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