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HIV-Positive People May Lose More Years of Life from Smoking than from HIV/AIDS

People with HIV on effective antiretroviral treatment who smoke cigarettes may incur more risk of death and reduction in life expectancy from smoking than from HIV/AIDS-related conditions, according to a study described in the November 3 advance edition of the Journal of Infectious Diseases.

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Coverage of 21st International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2016)

HIVandHepatitis.com coverage of the 21st International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2016), held July 18-22, in Durban, South Africa.

Conference highlights include PrEP and other biomedical HIV prevention, HIV cure research, experimental antiretroviral therapy, and access to treatment and prevention for key affected populations.

Full listing by topic

AIDS 2016 website

7/28/16

IDWeek 2016: Only a Small Proportion of HIV+ Gay Men Receive Anal Cancer Screening

In the absence of national screening guidelines, only 11% of HIV-positive gay and bisexual men in the U.S. received anal Pap smears to detect anal cancer or precancerous cell changes during 2009-2012, with disparities between patient groups and variations across centers, according to a presentation at IDWeek, taking place this week in New Orleans.

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Mild Neurological Impairment Is Common During Early HIV Infection

People with HIV infection often have neurological signs and symptoms very soon after becoming infected -- even before they develop antibodies that show up on a test -- but these are typically mild to moderate and resolve after starting effective antiretroviral therapy (ART), according to a study published in the June 10 advance online edition of Neurology. These findings provide further evidence for starting treatment as soon as possible after HIV diagnosis.

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HIV Glasgow: French Study Reveals Growing Complexity of Medical Needs as People with HIV Age

The complexity of the needs of people living with HIV will continue to increase as the population ages, and clinicians need to go beyond thinking about co-morbidities to consider multi-morbidities -- clusters of medical conditions that complicate one another -- when caring for these people, Edouard Battegay from the University Hospital Zurich told attendees at the International Congress on Drug Therapy in HIV Infection (HIV Glasgow) this week.

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CROI 2016: Antidepressant Improves HIV-Related Cognitive Impairment

The SSRI antidepressant paroxetine (Paxil) was associated with a modest improvement in cognitive function and reduced central nervous system inflammation among people with HIV-related neurocognitive disorder, but the antifungal drug fluconazole showed no apparent benefit even though it reduced oxidative stress, according to a study presented at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI 2016) last month in Boston.

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AIDS 2016: Managing Non-Communicable Diseases Among People Living with HIV

Speakers at the recent 21st International AIDS Conference in Durban addressed non-communicable diseases (NCDs) -- including cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancers, and other illnesses -- which have become more common complications for people with HIV who are living longer on antiretroviral therapy (ART). NCDs represent a significant challenge in low- and middle-income countries, where the burden of these illnesses has been reaching epidemic proportions, but where health systems have traditionally focused on providing episodic rather than chronic care.

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CROI 2016: Women and African Americans with HIV Have a Higher Risk of Stroke

The risk of stroke among people living with HIV is highest among people with unsuppressed viral load, and among women and African Americans, according to findings presented at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI 2016)last month in Boston.

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