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Even Small Viral Load Reduction Is Beneficial for People with Highly Resistant HIV

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) can help raise CD4 T-cell counts even if it does not produce undetectable HIV RNA due to extensive drug resistance, indicating that treatment likely has immunological benefits even for people with few therapeutic options, according to a report in the March 1, 2013 Journal of Infectious Diseases.

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Only 1 in 5 Medicaid Users Linked to Care Within a Year After HIV Diagnosis

Only about 20% of adult Medicaid recipients who tested positive for HIV during the past decade began receiving appropriate care -- including CDC T-cell count and viral load monitoring -- within a year of diagnosis, and the rate did not improve much within 5 years, according to an analysis described in the January 2013 issue of Sexually Transmitted Diseases.

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Antiretroviral Treatment Lowers Risk of Non-AIDS Illness in People Newly Diagnosed with HIV

Non-AIDS conditions are a significant cause of illness and death for people recently diagnosed with HIV, but starting antiretroviral therapy (ART) can reduce the likelihood of non-AIDS events including psychiatric and kidney problems, according to study findings published in the September 26, 2012, advance online edition of AIDS.alt

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Poor CD4 Cell Recovery on ART Predicts Non-AIDS Death

People with HIV who have poor CD4 T-cell recovery despite viral suppression on antiretroviral therapy (ART) have a higher risk of death due to non-AIDS-related causes, but so do their parents, suggesting a genetic factor may be involved in T-cell regeneration, according to a Danish study described in the November 28, 2012, advance online edition of AIDS.

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ICAAC 2012: HIV May Be Shed in Semen Even If Blood Viral Load Is Undetectable

About 8% of HIV positive gay and bisexual men intermittently had detectable HIV viral load in their semen even when their blood viral load was fully suppressed, researchers reported at the 52nd Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC 2012) this month in San Francisco. This is more than twice the rate seen in a similar study of heterosexual men. alt

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