HIV and ID Observations

February 17th, 2011

Zinc May Work for Colds — But Don’t Pretend It’s Not a Drug

Does zinc work for colds? Apparently it does, according to this Cochrane Review.  From the “Plain Language Summary”: This review identified 15 randomized controlled trials, enrolling 1360 participants of all age groups, comparing zinc with placebo (no zinc). We found that zinc (lozenges or syrup) is beneficial in reducing the duration and severity of the […]

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February 14th, 2011

Pspring Training Pseudomonads

A few ID/HIV issues to ponder as we welcome back the most important sport in the universe: Interesting new Guidelines on UTIs from IDSA — especially their recommendations not to use fluoroquinolones for uncomplicated cystitis and to promote nitrofurantoin for 5 days to first-line for this indication. And welcome to fosfomycin — though this could eliminate […]

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January 26th, 2011

Insurance Company Cheese Shop Redux

I had an interesting exchange with one of our nurses this week about a long-term patient of ours. The e-mails went something like this: Got a fax from —-‘s insurance that his Lipitor won’t be covered anymore.  They will cover simvastatin, lovastatin, and pravastatin.  Let me know what you want to do. Charlie He’s on […]

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January 6th, 2011

Thursday Thienamycins

Plenty going on in the ID, HIV, and (for the middle of winter) baseball worlds: Just out in CID, there’s a comprehensive review of Management of MRSA as part of the IDSA’s Practice Guidelines Series. Soft tissue infections, bacteremia, endocarditis, pneumonia, bone and joint infections, frequent relapses …  MRSA in all its painful glory. Some […]

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January 2nd, 2011

2011: A New Meaning for “Antiviral”

January 1, 2011 Dear Lake Superior State University, Clinicians are particularly concerned about this year’s “List of Words Banished from the Queen’s English for Mis-use, Over-use and General Uselessness“, as topping the list was the word, viral. One nominator said: Events, photographs, written pieces and even occasional videos that attracted a great deal of attention once […]

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December 17th, 2010

Update on Berlin Patient II: Still Cured of HIV

First, who was Berlin Patient I? Second, over in the journal Blood is the latest update on Berlin Patient II, the guy apparently cured of HIV by bone marrow transplantation: We have previously reported the case of an HIV-infected patient in whom viral replication remained absent despite discontinuation of antiretroviral therapy after transplantation with CCR5Δ32/Δ32 […]

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December 6th, 2010

Tough Diagnoses: Neurosyphilis, Then and Now

During Thanksgiving, my brother-in-law — who is a professional musician and also a passionate history buff — gave me a scholarly paper to review on the strange death of the famous American explorer Meriwether Lewis, of “Lewis and Clark” fame. The bottom line?  Lewis may well have had neurosyphilis — at least that’s the premise of […]

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November 23rd, 2010

iPrEx: First-Ever PrEP Efficacy Study Published

It’s been quite the year (plus a month) for HIV prevention research. That glimmer of hope from the Thai vaccine trial.  The striking effect of HIV-treatment as prevention.  The positive results of the CAPRISA vaginal microbicide study, which were presented to rapturous applause this summer in Vienna. And today, the iPrEx study is published, which shows that […]

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November 17th, 2010

Ferlater Antibiotics

In this absolutely hysterical, laugh-out-loud comedy routine, Mal Z. Lawrence describes a woman at a Catskill hotel, piling danish into her handbag. She calls them “ferlater danish” — as opposed to the ones she’s eating at breakfast, those are “fernow.” Did you ever have one of your patients request “ferlater” antibiotics?  That is, ask that […]

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November 12th, 2010

Tesamorelin is Approved

This just in from the FDA: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Egrifta (tesamorelin) to treat HIV patients with lipodystrophy, a condition in which excess fat develops in different areas of the body, most notably around the liver, stomach, and other abdominal organs. The condition is associated with many antiretroviral drugs used to […]

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