Health problems

Health problems features

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  ART and TB prevention

  This edition explores what is known about the potential benefits and limits of antiretroviral therapy (ART) for TB prevention and control....

  From:HIV & AIDS treatment in practice

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  Growing pain

  As people with HIV live longer, they are facing pains old and new. David McLay reports on peripheral neuropathy and arthritis....

  From:HIV treatment update

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  Breathtaking mortality: bacterial pneumonia and HIV

  Ever stopped to think about the top reason people with HIV end up in intensive care? Heart attack? Liver problems? Accidents? No, pneumonia. David McLay investigates an...

  From:HIV treatment update

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  HIV and lymphoma

  Guest writer Matt Sharp updates HTU on a group of cancers that still cause premature deaths in people with HIV, though cure rates are improving....

  From:HIV treatment update

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  Acute and chronic kidney disease

  Part of a series on kidney disease in resource-limited settings. This edition looks at the causes and prevalence of acute and chronic kidney disease in...

  From:HIV & AIDS treatment in practice

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  Kidney disease in people with HIV: a clinical review (part one)

  First in a series on kidney disease in resource-limited settings. This edition covers the scale of the problem, diagnosing kidney disease and monitoring kidney function....

  From:HIV & AIDS treatment in practice

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  The prescription for old age

  What will happen as the HIV-positive population grows older is already the topic most frequently suggested by readers for HIV Treatment Update to cover. It was recently the...

  From:HIV treatment update

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  HIV and the kidneys

  It’s becoming increasingly clear that, when it comes to HIV, amongst the most vulnerable organs in the body are those two little waste filters in the small...

  From:HIV treatment update

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  Skeleton key: a guide to HIV-related bone loss

  Many people with HIV are at risk of osteoporosis – a progressive thinning of the bones that can lead to breakage. Derek Thaczuk looks at who...

  From:HIV treatment update

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  Diarrhoea in children with HIV: a clinical review

  Diarrhoea is one of the major causes of death in infants with HIV. This article reviews causes and management in low-resource settings....

  From:HIV & AIDS treatment in practice

Health problems in your own words

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  Diagnosed far from home

  ...

  From:In your own words

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  Peripheral neuropathy – the sting in the tail

  To begin: It is estimated that between 30% and 40% of HIV patients will develop neuropathy. In the United States alone, there are 20 million sufferers (from...

  From:In your own words

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  Going into hospital

  My experiences of hospitalisation are mixed. I’ve been admitted twice in the last six months, both times for a minor operation. However, following the excellent...

  From:In your own words

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  Surving non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

  I was diagnosed with HIV in July 1997, aged 36 and was told I would not need HIV treatment for some years and that I...

  From:In your own words

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  Headaches

  In October 2000 I arrived in the UK from Zimbabwe. I went to live in Bristol with my then partner. Things went okay, and I...

  From:In your own words

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  TB - my experiences

  This might sound odd, but I was really shocked when I became seriously ill because of HIV. I was even more shocked when it turned...

  From:In your own words

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  Living with HIV and hep C co-infection and haemophilia

  For most people, coping with HIV is enough of a problem in itself, but when you throw in a lifetime disorder such as haemophilia, and...

  From:In your own words

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  The luxury of hypochondriacs

  That anxious look I get from loved ones is very hard to take, and all I want to do is reassure them that everything will...

  From:In your own words

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  The bus of doom

  I've recently read the His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman (which, if you haven't already read, I highly recommend). In this theological novel disguised...

  From:In your own words

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  Seroconversion

  I was given my diagnosis over the telephone after spending four days in hospital with meningitis. I now realise it wasn’t meningitis, it was an...

  From:In your own words

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  HIV support in Manchester

  I was diagnosed HIV-positive in the 1990s. My husband had been ill for the previous 18 months, but not with anything they could put a...

  From:In your own words

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  Finding support

  I found out I had HIV in June 2005. My world just fell apart. I didn’t know that I needed an HIV test, but the...

  From:In your own words

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  Finally undetectable!

  After almost 15 years of HIV, and six years of viral load testing, I heard on Thursday, June 21st 2001 that my viral load had...

  From:In your own words

Health problems news from aidsmap

• HIV infection is an independent risk factor for stroke

  HIV infection is associated with an increased risk of stroke, US research published in the online edition of the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes shows. The association between HIV and stroke was significant even after controlling for traditional ...

  18 May 2012 | Michael Carter

• HIV treatment reduces incidence of pre-cancerous cervical lesions and promotes their regression

  Antiretroviral therapy is associated with a reduced incidence of pre-cancerous cervical lesions in HIV-positive women, South African investigators report in the online edition of AIDS. Their study also showed that HIV therapy was associated with a regression of pre-existing lesions. ...

  10 May 2012 | Michael Carter

• Depression and pegylated interferon: doctors look at screening strategies and treatment

  Patients with hepatitis C should be carefully evaluated for symptoms of depression before and during pegylated interferon-based therapy, investigators write in the International Journal of Interferon, Cytokine and Mediator Research. The authors also highlighted evidence showing that SSRI antidepressants are ...

  09 May 2012 | Michael Carter

• Reductions in visceral fat during tesamorelin therapy associated with improvements in key metabolic markers

  Reductions in visceral adiposity achieved with tesamorelin therapy are associated with improvements in some key metabolic parameters, according to a study published in the online edition of Clinical Infectious Diseases. The HIV-positive patients who responded to the therapy had ...

  30 April 2012 | Michael Carter

• Depression associated with socioeconomic difficulties and poor virological outcomes in UK HIV patients

  A quarter of people with HIV in the UK have a depressive disorder, according to an ongoing study presented by Dr Fiona Lampe to the British HIV Association conference in Birmingham yesterday. The study found strong ...

  20 April 2012 | Roger Pebody

• Does CMV underlie the increased risk of cardiovascular disease in patients with HIV?

  Cytomegalovirus (CMV) antibody levels are associated with some important markers of vascular disease in HIV-positive women, US researchers show in a study published in the online edition of the Journal of Infectious Diseases. "Our findings suggest that CMV ...

  16 April 2012 | Michael Carter

• HIV is an independent risk factor for lung cancer

  Infection with HIV is an independent risk factor for lung cancer, according to the results of a large US study published in the online edition of AIDS. Investigators from the US Department of Veterans Affairs found that HIV increased ...

  03 April 2012 | Michael Carter

• Cognitive function improves through the first year of HIV therapy

  Cognitive function continues to improve up to one year after starting antiretroviral therapy, according to the results of a small international study published in HIV Medicine. The investigators monitored changes in cognitive function six and twelve months after patients started ...

  29 March 2012 | Michael Carter

• Vitamin D deficiency increases risk of 'silent' cardiovascular disease in HIV-positive African Americans

  Vitamin D deficiency is associated with “silent” coronary artery disease, according to the results of a study involving HIV-positive African Americans published in the online edition of Clinical Infectious Diseases. Other risk factors included high blood pressure, long-term cocaine ...

  22 March 2012 | Michael Carter

• Genital warts a marker for increased risk of anogenital cancers, cancers of the head and neck as well as some other malignancies

  Infection with genital warts is associated with an increased risk of ano-genital cancers, malignancies of the head and neck and cancers in some other sites, according to the results of a large Danish study published in the online edition ...

  22 March 2012 | Michael Carter

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Health problems news selected from other sources

• Long-term health gains: Investing in emotional and psychological wellbeing for patients with long-term conditions and medically unexplained symptoms

  A close relationship exists between long-term physical conditions and mental health and wellbeing. Long-term physical conditions often affect a patient’s mental health, and psychological wellbeing can also have an impact on the effectiveness of treatment for, and a patient’s ability to manage, long-term conditions. Despite this, many individuals do not receive care that addresses both their physical and psychological needs.

  25 April 2012 | NHS Confederation

• CROI: Crofelemer Reduces Diarrhea in People with HIV; FDA Grants Priority Review

  A plant compound known as crofelemer significantly decreased the frequency of secretory diarrhea in HIV positive patients, researchers reported at the 19th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI 2012) last month in Seattle. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given crofelemer priority review status and is expected to take action by early June.

  13 April 2012 | HIVandHepatitis.com

• Zoledronate Protects HIV Positive Men against Bone Loss for at Least 5 Years

  The effects of 2 annual doses of zoledronate persist for at least 5 years in HIV positive men on antiretroviral therapy (ART), according to a New Zealand study published in the March 14, 2012, advance online edition of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

  11 April 2012 | HIVandHepatitis.com

• CROI: Switching to Tenofovir Increases Bone Turnover, Raltegravir Can Improve Bone Density

  HIV positive people who substituted tenofovir (Viread) for zidovudine (AZT; Retrovir) in their antiretroviral regimen showed elevated levels of biomarkers associated with bone turnover and decreased bone mineral density (BMD), researchers reported at the 19th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI 2012) last month in Seattle.

  11 April 2012 | HIVandHepatitis.com

• Young girls more likely to report side effects after HPV vaccine

  Younger girls are more likely than adult women to report side effects after receiving Gardasil, the human papillomavirus vaccine. The side effects are non-serious and similar to those associated with other vaccines, according to a new study.

  04 April 2012 | Eurekalert Medicine & Health

• High Rate of Precancerous Anal Lesions Among HIV-Positive Women

  Results from a study conducted in the Bronx, New York, serve as an important reminder to HIV care providers: Comprehensive screening for precancerous anal lesions isn’t of importance only to HIV-positive men who have sex with men (MSM). 

  04 April 2012 | AIDSMeds

• HIV viral load at yellow fever vaccine determines response to vaccine

  A higher viral load lowered odds of response to the yellow fever vaccine.

  29 March 2012 | International AIDS Society

• AIDS down, heart disease up in hospital admissions of HIV+ in US

  Hospital admissions for AIDS illnesses dropped steadily from 2001 to 2008 in a four-center US study, while admissions for cardiovascular disease in HIV-positive people rose.

  29 March 2012 | International AIDS Society

• HIV Exacerbates Heart Risk from Hypertension

  Elevated blood pressure may warrant more aggressive management in HIV-positive individuals, suggest results from a cohort study reported at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections.

  22 March 2012 | Family Practice News Digital Network

• Lung Damage Poses New Hazard in HIV

  In an observational study, people with uncontrolled HIV experienced a loss in lung function at a higher rate than HIV-negative people and those with good viral control.

  11 March 2012 | MedPage Today HIV/AIDS

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