News from the 15th CROI Conference, Boston

• CROI: <i>Kivexa</i> and <i>Truvada</i> have similar efficacy and safety
• CROI: Symptom checklist may help rule out advanced HIV in infants
• CROI: Region of origin and gender significant in long-term changes in CD4 cell count during effective HIV therapy
• CROI: Tetherin: a newly discovered host cell protein that inhibits HIV replication
• CROI: Recreational drug use a risk for asymptomatic heart disorders in HIV-positive patients
• CROI: Risk of lymphomas depends on cumulative viral load and latest CD4 counts
• CROI: Tenofovir plus emtricitabine safe and effective when added to nevirapine for PMTCT
• CROI: Once daily <i>Kaletra</i> tablets non-inferior to twice daily dose
• CROI: Door-to-door Ugandan VCT programme finds more HIV-positive males than females among serodiscordant couples
• CROI: HAART Breastfeeding study detects drug resistance in HIV-infected infants
• CROI: MDR TB cases in South Africa - person-to-person spread likely to be chief cause
• CROI: Large cohorts show excellent responses to ART in developing countries
• CROI: Untreated HIV-positive individuals have a higher risk of death even at CD4 counts over 350
• CROI: Delaying HAART while treating opportunistic infections increases the risk of disease progression and death
• CROI: Herpes virus suppression with valaciclovir lowers viral load in HIV positive women: could work for gay men too
• CROI: Risk of second virological failure has declined since 1996, but risk of death remains stable
• CROI: Biomarker changes may help explain detrimental effects of treatment interruption
• CROI: Nanoparticle technology creates a once-a-month HIV drug
• CROI: Three children in US infected with HIV from pre-chewed food
• CROI: TDM-based PI dose escalation shows modest benefit in black and Hispanic, but not Caucasian, treatment-experienced patients
• CROI: People receiving TB treatment no more likely to die than others who start ARVs
• CROI: AIDS vaccine: additional infection risk restricted to uncircumcised men
• CROI: Darunavir found effective and tolerable in treatment-experienced children and adolescents at 24 weeks
• CROI: Could earlier ART reduce risk of death from non-AIDS related illnesses in people with HIV?
• CROI: Sustained response to hepatitis C treatment lowers liver complications and death in HIV/HCV coinfected people
• CROI: Unplanned pregnancy frequent among women after starting ARVs, need for family planning
• CROI: HAART use in mothers substantially reduces HIV infections in breastfeeding infants in Kisumu, Kenya
• CROI: Extended infant nevirapine prophylaxis reduces HIV transmission through breastfeeding
• CROI: Risk of treatment interruption persists after restarting HAART
• CROI: CCR5 antagonist SCH532706 shows potent activity and good tolerability in small trial
• CROI: Pegylated interferon maintenance therapy demonstrates no benefit in HIV/hepatitis C coinfected individuals
• CROI: DAD cohort finds increased risk of heart attack in people taking abacavir or ddI
• CROI: Lactobacillus supplementation could help reduce vaginal HIV
• CROI: Recurrent hepatitis C in HIV-positive gay men: relapse or reinfection?
• CROI: Vicriviroc appears safe and effective at higher doses in treatment-experienced patients after 48 weeks
• CROI: Once-daily boosted atazanavir comparable to twice-daily Kaletra in treatment-naive patients, with better lipid profile
• CROI: Aciclovir treatment for genital herpes does not reduce HIV acquisition in men or women, major trial shows
• CROI: ARV provision in Africa could cut HIV transmission by 90 per cent
• CROI: Circumcising HIV positive men may increase HIV infections in female partners, but fewer STIs seen