News headlines

A selection of news stories which have appeared since 26 June 2003

Brazilian study finds reduced bone protein levels in people with HIV

HIV-positive patients have lower levels of a protein associated with bone density according to a small Brazilian study published in the July 4th edition of AIDS.

HIV Resistance Workshop 2003: resistance in non-B HIV subtypes

Two years ago at the HIV Resistance Workshop Deenan Pillay from University College London noted in his overview presentation that only 4% of the meeting abstracts addressed issues related to non-B viral subtypes an almost inverse proportion he observed, to the worlds population affected by non-B virus. This year, Dr Pillay commended the meeting on extending this level of interest to 12%. Hopefully, future plans for surveillance and investments in research in least developed countries will teach us more about the evolution of resistance in non-B subtypes.

HAART patients have increased risk of heart disease say French

HIV-positive individuals taking a HAART combination including a protease inhibitor (PI )have a slight, but significant, increased risk of long-term coronary heart disease compared to the general population, according to a French study published in the online edition of Clinical Infectious Diseases.

High-dose pulsed therapy - the future for structured treatment breaks?

A study conducted before the availability of HAART, but only recently published in the July 1st edition of the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, has found that using pulses of high dose d4T monotherapy can achieve a significant reduction in HIV viral load and transient increases in CD4 cell count in HIV-positive individuals who have been extensively pre-treated with AZT.

HAART causes asymptomatic lactate increase in third of HIV-positive children

A third of HAART-treated children had elevated lactic acid levels in a US study published in the July 4th edition of AIDS. Increased lactic acid levels did not cause symptoms, and were associated with an undetectable viral load, suggesting to the investigators that measuring lactic acid levels could be a useful measure of adherence in children.