Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS, a condition in humans in which the immune system begins to fail, leading to life-threatening opportunistic infections).
A study opens the possibility of developing a preventive vaccine against HIV/AIDS – The HIV epidemic is the largest in the world and represents one of the most serious public health problems, according to data from the World Health Organization (WHO). Only 30% of the more than 10 million patients in need have the access to the antiretroviral treatment.
Treating HIV-infected people with antiretrovirals significantly reduces transmission to partners — Findings result from NIH-funded international study – Men and women infected with HIV reduced the risk of transmitting the virus to their sexual partners by taking oral antiretroviral medicines when their immune systems were relatively healthy, according to findings from a large-scale clinical study.
HIV Infection May Be a Risk Factor for Heart Failure – Patients with HIV infection without a prior history of coronary heart disease may be at a higher risk of developing heart failure, according to a report in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Fighting HIV in South Africa should focus on couples, study finds — Risky behaviors among HIV-positive members of long-term relationships concerns researchers – HIV-positive people in South Africa take almost as much risk in their behavior when they know their partner is HIV-negative or don’t know their status, as when they know their partner is already infected.
Research suggests HIV-infected patients at higher risk for bone fractures — Study compared fracture rates among HIV patients with general US population – Low bone mineral density in HIV-infected patients is common and raises concerns about increased risks of fracture, revealed by researchers.
Huge decline in HIV rates in Zimbabwe driven by fear of infection, says study – The big drop in the numbers of people infected with HIV in Zimbabwe is because of mass social change, driven by fear of infection, according to an international study reported in the journal PLoS Medicine.
Expansion of HIV screening cost-effective in reducing spread of AIDS, Stanford study shows – An expanded U.S. program of HIV screening and treatment could prevent as many as 212,000 new infections over the next 20 years and prove to be very cost-effective, according to a new study by Stanford University School of Medicine researchers.
HIV virus hides in the brain – Studies of the spinal fluid of patients given anti-HIV drugs have resulted in new findings suggesting that the brain can act as a hiding place for the HIV virus.
Exciting new avenues of research and policy drive expansion of HIV treatment access, use of antiretrovirals to prevent infections and pursuit of a cure — Exciting new avenues of research and policy – The unwillingness of the global AIDS community to accept the status quo is fuelling a new era of scientific innovation to drive novel ways of treating and preventing HIV, organizers of the XVIII International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2010) taking place in Vienna, Austria said today.
Fellowships for outstanding research in drug use and HIV are presented by the International AIDS Society and the National Institute on Drug Abuse at AIDS 2010 – The International AIDS Society (IAS) and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) today announced the recipients of their second annual joint research fellowships. Recipients of the prestigious awards will receive US$75,000 each to advance the scientific understanding of the linkage between illicit drug use and HIV, while fostering multinational research.
NIH-led scientists find antibodies that prevent most HIV strains from infecting human cells — Discovery to advance HIV vaccine design, antibody therapy for other diseases – Scientists have discovered two potent human antibodies that can stop more than 90 percent of known global HIV strains from infecting human cells in the laboratory, and have demonstrated how one of these disease-fighting proteins accomplishes this feat.
Pregnancy doubles HIV risk in men; first trial of a microbicide in pregnant women — New research presented at International Microbicides Conference – A new study finds that pregnancy is a time when men are at greater risk. In fact, their risk doubles if their partner is both HIV-infected and pregnant.
