A great volume of HIV and AIDS research enters the medical literature every month. It’s difficult to monitor everything, so here’s a quick look at some notable news items and journal articles published over the past few weeks.
Since 2011, HIV incidence appears unchanged in the European Union/European Economic Area with between 29,000 and 33,000 new cases reported annually up to 2015, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.
A study in the journal AIDS found that smoking is a highly prevalent exposure with important consequences for pregnancy in HIV-positive pregnant women in the United States, even in the presence of potent highly active antiretroviral therapy.
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Around a quarter of all people living with HIV in South Africa have achieved viral suppression, a study found, although expanding HIV testing, strengthening prompt linkage to care and further expansion of antiretroviral therapy are needed for the country to reach the 90-90-90 target.
Viremia appears to occur frequently, particularly postpartum, among HIV-infected women after initial viral suppression, according to a South African study.
A study in New York City found that peer-referral approaches were more efficacious than venue-based sampling for uncovering heterosexuals at high-risk with undiagnosed HIV, and have a vital role to play in efforts to eliminate HIV transmission.
According to a study in AIDS Care, counseling messages for sterilized HIV-positive women should be sensitive to the fact that women may have regret regarding their sterilization decision that may historically have been part of provider recommendations to prevent vertical transmission of HIV.
A recent study found that frailty in virologically suppressed HIV+ men was associated with immune activation beyond that due to treated HIV infection, and the inflammatory markers associated with frailty were primarily products of activated monocytes/macrophages.
A Swiss study found that 22% of HIV post-exposure prophylaxis decisions were risk-discordant due to an exposed person’s request, incorrect estimation of the sexual transmission risk by the physician, or an exposed person’s refusal to accept PEP.
In HIV hyperendemic settings, a gift can be highly effective at increasing consent rates for home-based HIV testing, according to a study in the International Journal of Epidemiology.
Mortality among those untested for HIV contributes a declining portion of deaths among HIV-infected individuals in Rwanda, a recent study found, but the portion of deaths among those lost to follow-up is expected to increase the most over the next decade.
A high proportion of HIV-HCV-coinfected patients had chronic hepatitis C virus infection, according to a study of patients in Southeast Asia. HCV genotype 1 was predominant, and 62% of patients had liver disease warranting prompt treatment.
Early initiation of combination antiretroviral therapy for HIV-infected patients with and without hepatitis coinfections may mitigate or slow down some of liver fibrosis, a Chinese study found, but special attention should be given to those who are older, male, coinfected with HCV.
A recent study showed that Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpes virus infects human central nervous system resident cells, primarily neurons, in HIV positive Zambian individuals.
In a pilot study, the use of rosuvastatin for 24 weeks appeared to slow worsening of airflow obstruction and to improve diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide in HIV-infected individuals with abnormal lung function.
A study of HIV-positive adults found that switching to tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF)-based treatment regimens is associated with reductions of bone mineral density and lipid levels and possibly lowered kidney function.
A study in the journal AIDS demonstrated virological 24-weeks efficacy in twice and once daily administered fozivudine-based antiretroviral treatment regimens, although researchers said reduced myelotoxicity of fozivudine needs to be confirmed in a larger trial.
A study in HIV Clinical Trials suggested potential differences in bone structure, estimated bone strength, and asymptomatic vertebral fractures among HIV-infected adults with and without fracture, warranting further study as markers of fracture risk in HIV.
A study in Hepatology found that HIV/HCV-coinfected and HCV-monoinfected adults had significantly less liver fat than uninfected adults, even after adjustment for demographic, lifestyle, metabolic factors, and hepatic fibrosis, suggesting that non-genotype 3 HCV infection may be protective against hepatic steatosis.
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