The latest news from the XVII International AIDS Conference, Mexico City, Mexico, 2008.

News from Mexico 2008

• Justice Edwin Cameron calls for a campaign against 'misguided criminal laws and prosecutions'
• Incidence increasing of HIV-associated multicentric Castleman's disease, a relatively rare lymphatic cancer
• Next generation first-line NNRTI, rilpivirine (TMC278) potent; lowest dose better-tolerated than efavirenz at 96 weeks
• `Express care` by nurses for people starting HIV treatment decreases clinic congestion, and may improve outcomes
• Heat-stable ritonavir tablet equivalent to soft gel capsule; may be approved next year
• Erection loss with condoms predicts subsequent unsafe sex
• Uptake of second-line treatment `stagnant` in developing world
• Ethnic minority gay men in UK have very different rates of HIV infection despite similar behaviours
• Three per cent of TB cases in Lisbon found to be extensively drug-resistant
• One in five patients at London clinic are lost to follow-up and do not attend elsewhere in the UK
• Hepatitis C coinfection may increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes in people with HIV
• Occult hepatitis B is more common in people with HIV, but occult hepatitis C is rare
• Monkey study strengthens the case for a microbicide combining several anti-HIV drugs
• Systematic review unable to confirm or deny Swiss statement on infection risk with undetectable viral load
• Two new NNRTIs look promising in early clinical trials
• Which gay men should be the target for prevention work?
• High prevalence of hepatitis C in Dutch HIV-positive gay men
• Protective effect of circumcision is sustained for at least 3.5 years; also works against HPV
• Men more likely to drop out of clinic care than women in western Kenya
• How does abacavir/3TC compare to tenofovir/FTC? ACTG5202 and GSK studies disagree
• Two novel immune therapies in early investigation: autologous dendritic cells and CD4 zeta gene-modified T cells
• Treatment as prevention tool: enough evidence to say it works, says IAS president
• Tenofovir kidney toxicity most likely with high blood pressure medications and PIs
• Skills-building behavioural interventions advocated for reducing alcohol-related HIV risk in South Africa
• Criminal HIV transmission and exposure laws spreading around the world ‘like a virus’
• Prevention – there will be no magic bullet, we need ‘combination prevention’
• AIDS in 2031: where will we be?
• Major prevention success for sex workers and men who have sex with men in India
• Raltegravir versus efavirenz in treatment-naïves at 96 weeks: continued efficacy and fewer adverse effects
• Treatment outcomes in Latin America, China and Botswana: successes and shortfalls
• Efavirenz superior to lopinavir/ritonavir in very advanced HIV, Mexican trial shows
• Infants starting HIV treatment less likely to completely suppress viral load
• Slowing CD4 cell decline with IL-2 allows HIV treatment to be deferred by 92 weeks
• Circumcision will halve HIV rates but may take decades to reach full impact
• Widespread NRTI and NNRTI resistance seen in Malawian patients failing first-line antiretroviral therapy
• High HIV incidence among young Thai men who have sex with men
• HIV programme in Western Kenya successfully delivers isoniazid preventive therapy to thousands
• Swiss statement that ‘undetectable equals uninfectious’ creates more controversy in Mexico City
• Who defines ‘Positive prevention’?
• South African men with genital ulcers have very high incidence of HIV and should be a target of prevention interventions
• HIV-1 subtype, genital ulcer disease influence risk of HIV transmission among heterosexual couples
• Earlier ART benefits HIV/TB co-infected patients in Iran; Argentinian study yields uncertain results
• Microfinance project reduces HIV risk in South African women, gold standard trial shows
• Lipodystrophy common, but does not affect adherence in Thai patients
• Invisible men: action urged for gay men in the global South
• Switch to atazanavir does not reduce belly fat
• US HIV incidence 40% higher than previous estimates, new test shows
• Malawi MSM survey reveals very high HIV acquisition and transmission risks
• World AIDS conference comes to Latin America