CROI 2018

When is a pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) failure actually a provider failure? And how do we tell the difference? This was a question that came up at CROI 2018 after a poster presentation titled "Seroconversion on PrEP: A Protocol for Untangling Adherence versus Resistance Failure" sparked conversations and debates about how you distinguish an example of tenofovir/emtricitabine (Truvada) failing to protect an individual from acquiring HIV, versus a provider whose negligence and failure to follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) protocol may have put his or her patient at grave risk.

The Body PRO

21 Mar 18

Hepatitis C symptoms & diagnosis

Acute HCV spontaneous clearance rates low among HIV coinfected

Most patients with HIV who become infected with hepatitis C will not clear the infection spontaneously and face a chronic course, according to a study presented at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, also known as CROI. The researchers advocate for amended direct-acting drug labels and guidelines to allow usage of DAA therapy during the acute phase of HCV in high-risk individuals.

Healio

13 Mar 18

Opportunistic infections

Raltegravir-Intensified ART: More Rapid Declines in HIV Viral Load But No Impact On IRIS

At the 25th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) Diana Gibb, MD, professor of epidemiology, program leader of the Pediatric Program of trials and cohorts at the Medical Research Council Clinical Trials Unit at UCL, London, shared results from a REALITY trial (ISRCTN43622374) which explored the impact of raltegravir intensification of first-line antiretroviral therapy (ART) on immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS).

Contagion Live

13 Mar 18

PrEP

A daily pill can prevent HIV infections. Why don’t more people use it?

Although millions of people around the world could benefit, only 200,000 are prescribed what’s called pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, and 75% of them are in the United States. “I’m frustrated,” says Linda-Gail Bekker, a researcher at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. “We have nearly 1700 infections every week in young women and girls, and this might be a way to throttle this.”

Science

13 Mar 18

Health services & systems

Separate and Unequal Access Frames Discussion at CROI Panel on U.S. HIV Care Cascade

Attendees of the Monday, March 5, panel at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) discussing the HIV care cascade were probably expecting your usual set of presentations on what we're getting right or wrong about testing, linkage to/retention in care, and viral suppression. Those elements were there. But what was also clear from every presenter (a group that includes both researchers and medical providers) was that the lack of Medicaid expansion in the South is creating worse racial disparities in the U.S.

The Body Pro

8 Mar 18

Government, leadership & policy

More than 200 Scientists, Researchers and Clinicians including the co-discoverer of HIV Denounce Trump Administration Policies that Undermine the Global HIV Response

More than 200 HIV scientists, researchers and clinicians – including Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, a virologist and Nobel Laureate who co-discovered HIV; Linda-Gail Bekker, President of the International AIDS Society; and the HIV Medicine Association – have signed an open letter to U.S. President Donald Trump denouncing the deterioration of evidence-based policymaking during his administration. The letter was released today on the final day of the annual Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) in Boston, Massachusetts.

Health Gap

8 Mar 18

How HIV works

Scientists Find No Signs That Well-Treated HIV Replicates in Lymph Nodes

A research team has found no evidence of ongoing HIV replication in the lymph nodes among individuals receiving fully suppressive antiretroviral (ARV) treatment for the virus. This finding stands in sharp contrast to the conclusions of a 2016 study out of Northwestern University, published in Nature, that indicated that even in the face of ARV treatment, HIV replicates in the lymph nodes, thus helping to replenish the viral reservoir.

Poz

6 Mar 18

Transgender people

Exploring Factors That Contribute to Increased Risk of HIV Infection in Transgender Women

Although transgender women's increased risk of HIV infection has been attributed to behavioral risk factors, Sandhya Vasan, MD, from the department of Retrovirology at the Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences (AFRIMS), in Bangkok, Thailand, shared that other factors may also impact the risk of infection, such as the effects that exogenous hormones have on the immune system and the impact that injectable fillers or sex reassignment surgery (SRS) has on immune reactivation.

Contagion Live

6 Mar 18