Category Archives: HIV care

Twice-Yearly Sunlenca Works Well for Initial HIV Treatment

January 24, 2023 administrator Leave a comment

Sunlenca (lenacapavir), a long-acting injectable medication recently approved for treatment-experienced people with multidrug-resistant HIV, also works well for people starting antiretroviral therapy for the first time.

Results from the CALIBRATE trial showed that around 90% of study participants who used Sunlenca—either as daily pills or injections every six months—in combination with other antiretrovirals achieved an undetectable viral load.

Gilead Sciences’ Sunlenca (formerly GS-6207), the first approved HIV capsid inhibitor, disrupts the cone-shaped shell that surrounds the viral genetic material and essential enzymes. Laboratory studies showed that it interferes with multiple steps of the HIV life cycle. Because it works differently than existing antiretrovirals, it remains active against HIV that has developed resistance to other drugs. Sunlenca has a long half-life in the body, allowing it to be administered just once every six months.

Read the full article.

HIV, HIV and Disabilities, HIV care

Living with HIV and limited mobility

September 1, 2022 administrator Leave a comment

From POZ online…

[…] An analysis of national 2017 data found that 45% of people living with HIV report some form of disability—and that mobility disabilities were the most common. Fully one in four people reported them. And that’s among all adults living with HIV. At middle age, men with HIV walked more slowly, and continued to decline faster, than their HIV-negative peers.

By their 50s, Black men living with HIV were nearly three times likelier than white folks with the virus to have a mobility disability. These racial disparities were seen only in people living with HIV, not among the HIV-negative population. And the proportion of people with mobility disabilities rose significantly as people reached 65 or older. For women living with HIV, mobility was lower than it was for men with the virus.

Slow walking, limited movement and difficulty standing from a sitting position are three of the criteria required for a diagnosis of frailty, a condition of aging that can make it harder for people to recover from episodic illnesses. The good news is that mobility aids can keep people moving, which is associated with better overall health as one ages.

Read the full article at poz.com.

HIV, HIV Activism, HIV care, HIV Prevention and Care Project

Give us your feedback regarding HIV prevention and care in Pennsylvania

August 9, 2022 administrator Leave a comment

If you or someone you love has been affected by HIV, the PA Department of Health and the HIV Prevention and Care Project at the University of Pittsburgh need your input.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health, Division of HIV Disease is seeking input on the planned strategies and activities that will go into the 2022-2027 Integrated HIV Prevention and Care Plan.

This plan guides all activities related to HIV prevention and care in Pennsylvania. Feedback will help the Division of HIV Disease most effectively plan for the ongoing needs of all people served in Pennsylvania.

Go to this link to participate in the survey: https://pitt.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_er3ujTdKIIJC2x0

If you have any questions, send and email to stakeholders@stophiv.com.

HIV, HIV care, Research

Combination Anti-HIV Antibody Infusions Suppress Virus for Sustained Period

June 3, 2022 administrator Leave a comment

From HIV.gov…

Individuals with HIV who began taking antiretroviral therapy (ART) in the early stages of infection achieved a lengthy period of HIV suppression without ART after receiving two broadly neutralizing anti-HIV antibodies (bNAbs), according to a small study published today in the journal Nature . The findings suggest that combination bNAb therapy might offer a future alternative to daily ART for people living with HIV. […]

The purpose of the study was to see if treatment with the bNAbs could suppress HIV in the absence of ART. None of the seven participants who received the bNAb treatment had to restart ART before 28 weeks post-infusion compared to six of the seven participants who received placebo.

Read the full press release on HIV.gov.

HIV, HIV care, Research

Researchers document third known case of HIV remission

February 16, 2022 administrator Leave a comment

From HIV.gov…

A woman with HIV who received a cord blood stem cell transplant to treat acute myeloid leukemia has had no detectable levels of HIV for 14 months despite cessation of antiretroviral therapy (ART), according to a presentation at today’s Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI).

This is the third known case of HIV remission in an individual who received a stem cell transplant. The research was conducted by the International Maternal Pediatric Adolescent AIDS Clinical Trial Network (IMPAACT) P1107 observational study led by Yvonne Bryson, M.D., of the University of California Los Angeles, and Deborah Persaud, M.D., of Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore. The IMPAACT network is funded by the National Institutes of Health.

The IMPAACT P1107 study began in 2015 and was a U.S.-based observational study designed to describe the outcomes of up to 25 participants living with HIV who underwent a transplant with CCR5Δ32/Δ32 cord blood stem cells for treatment of cancer, hematopoietic disease, or other underlying disease. As a result of the genetic mutation CCR5Δ32/Δ32, missing cells lack CCR5 co-receptors, which is what HIV uses to infect cells. By killing off the cancerous immune cells via chemotherapy and then transplanting stem cells with the CCR5 genetic mutation, scientists theorize that people with HIV then develop an HIV-resistant immune system.

Read the full article on HIV.gov.

Black health, Health Alerts, HIV, HIV Activism, HIV care, Prevention

Today is National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

February 7, 2022 administrator Leave a comment

From POZ Magazine online…

Black woman and man standing together — “Let’s Stop HIV Together” campaign that promotes NBHAAD at https://www.cdc.gov/stophivtogether/index.html

Monday, February 7, marks National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD) 2022. By numerous measures, Black Americans are disproportionately affected by the HIV epidemic. NBHAAD highlights related challenges while raising awareness about prevention, testing, treatment and more.

“This #NBHAAD we are focused on equity,” tweeted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of HIV Prevention, adding: “We must end unequal access to #HIV prevention & care, & address root causes that contribute to disparities in HIV such as poverty, stigma, systemic racism, & unequal access to healthcare & education.”

In 2020, African Americans represented 12% of the U.S. population age 13 and older but accounted for 43% of new HIV diagnoses, according to AIDSVu.org, which analyzes HIV data and creates related infographics and interactive maps.

Disproportionate HIV rates are more pronounced in the South, where in 2020, Black Americans accounted for 52% of new HIV diagnoses but made up only 19% of the population in that region.

See the full article.

HIV, HIV care, Research

Two People With HIV Suppressed Virus After Stopping Treatment

November 1, 2021 administrator Leave a comment

From US News and World Report…

In one patient, viral suppression lasted nearly three and a half years, with occasional rebounds in virus counts. The other patient had nearly complete HIV suppression for close to four years, but then had a big surge when he was infected with a different HIV strain, a situation called “superinfection.”

In the first patient, researchers found high levels of HIV-specific immune cells called CD8+ T cells that can kill virus-infected cells.

The second patient had a weaker CD8+ T cell response against HIV, but a very strong neutralizing antibody response until the sudden viral rebound.

Read the full article.

HIV, HIV care, Stigma

New National Challenge to Reduce HIV-Related Stigma and Disparities

July 23, 2021 administrator Leave a comment

From POZ.com…

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has launched The HIV Challenge, a national competition to engage communities to reduce HIV-related stigma and increase prevention and treatment among racial and ethnic minority people. The HIV Challenge is part of a new partnership between the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH) Office of Infectious Disease and HIV/AIDS Policy (OIDP) and the HHS Office of Minority Health (OMH).

Through this challenge, HHS is seeking innovative and effective approaches to increase the use of pre-exposure prophylaxis medication (PrEP) and antiretroviral therapy (ART) among people who are at increased risk for HIV or are people with HIV. The HIV Challenge is open to the public, and HHS will award a total of $760,000 to 15 winners over three phases. Phase 1 submissions are open from July 16, 2021, through September 23, 2021.

“HIV-related stigma is one of the reasons why prevention and treatment options, such as PrEP and ART, are underutilized,” said Assistant Secretary for Health, Rachel L. Levine, M.D. “The latest science shows that people living with HIV who take the proper medicine as prescribed and get and keep their HIV at an undetectable level do not transmit HIV to others.

Read the full article.

HIV, HIV care, HIV Undetectable

Ten-year Italian study shows that people with HIV remain undetectable for 97% of the time

March 5, 2021 administrator Leave a comment

From aidsmap.com…

Long-term monitoring of people with HIV with an undetectable viral load has shown that viral suppression is rarely lost, enforcing the validity of ‘U=U’ (Undetectable equals Untransmittable) messaging, according to Italian research published in the online edition of AIDS. The study involved over 8000 HIV-positive individuals taking antiretroviral therapy (ART) and with viral suppression (a viral load below 200) at baseline. Regular monitoring of viral load (at least twice a year for most) showed that viral load remained suppressed 97% of the time.

However, some groups, including women, people who inject drugs and those with a past history of ART failing to control viral replication spent more time with a viral load above 200. The investigators suggest that people with these characteristics may need more support to maintain viral suppression.

“We found that in our population of people with HIV the ‘U’ status was maintained on average, for 97% of the following ten years of observation and the proportion of [time] spent in ‘U’ status showed a trend for an increase in recent years,” write the authors. “This data reassuringly suggests that U=U is an appropriate message to communicate to help decrease stigma and increase motivation to remain virally suppressed.”

Read the full article on aidsmap.com.

HIV care

FDA approves the first and only complete long-acting regimen for HIV treatment

January 28, 2021 administrator Leave a comment

A press release from ViiV Healthcare:

ViiV Healthcare, the global specialist HIV company majority owned by GlaxoSmithKline plc (“GSK”), with Pfizer Inc. and Shionogi Limited as shareholders, today announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Cabenuva, the first and only complete long-acting regimen for the treatment of HIV-1 infection in adults. Cabenuva is provided as a co-pack with two injectable medicines — ViiV Healthcare’s cabotegravir and Janssen’s rilpivirine — dosed once monthly, as an option to replace the current antiretroviral (ARV) regimen in those who are virologically suppressed (HIV-1 RNA less than 50 copies per milliliter [mL]) on a stable regimen, with no history of treatment failure, and with no known or suspected resistance to either cabotegravir or rilpivirine. Prior to initiating treatment of Cabenuva, oral dosing of cabotegravir and rilpivirine should be administered for approximately one month to assess the tolerability of each therapy.

Lynn Baxter, Head of North America, ViiV Healthcare, said: “Today’s FDA approval of Cabenuva represents a shift in the way HIV is treated, offering people living with HIV a completely new approach to care. Cabenuva reduces the treatment dosing days from 365 days to 12 days per year. At ViiV Healthcare, we are dedicated to ensuring no one living with HIV is left behind, and adding this first-ofits-kind regimen to our industry-leading portfolio of innovative medicines reinforces our mission.”

Read the full press release (pdf file).