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Positively Positive - Living with HIV/AIDS:
HIV/AIDS News Archive - January 2022
U of M researchers show promising results of Phase 1 drug trial for HIV patients
JANUARY 31, 2022 – Kat Dodge - A Phase 1 clinical trial conducted by University of Minnesota researchers has demonstrated the safety and efficacy of a novel immunotherapy drug in the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Results of the trial were published today in Nature Medicine.
“We are excited by the promise shown in this initial trial,” said Tim Schacker, MD, the study principal investigator and vice dean for research at the Medical School. “We hope to move this work into Phase II trials so that we can ultimately add a hopeful treatment for those living with HIV.”
Fatty Liver Disease Is Common Among Young People Living With HIV
January 31, 2022 - By Sukanya Charuchandra - Noninvasive imaging may be the best way to screen for NAFLD in this population.
Around one third of young people living with HIV may have non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), according to study findings published in AIDS. The analysis found that fatty liver disease was only partially explained by overweight and metabolic syndrome.
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The staggering death toll of drug-resistant bacteria
31 January 2022 - Tosin Thompson - Global survey shows that in 2019, antimicrobial resistance killed more people than HIV/AIDS or malaria.
Infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria are among the leading causes of death for people of all ages, finds the most comprehensive global study of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) yet.
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People with HCV and opioid use disorder have low PrEP uptake, adherence
January 30, 2022 - By Caitlyn Stulpin - HIV PrEP uptake and adherence were low among a cohort of people with opioid use disorder who were undergoing treatment for hepatitis C virus, despite many of them meeting CDC criteria for PrEP use, according to a study.
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FAU researchers receive grant for self-administered HIV test
January 28, 2022 – Justine Kantor - The $1.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health will allow FAU researchers to develop a high-efficiency test.
FAU researchers received a $1.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop a self-administered HIV test.
Study finds cancer immunotherapy treatment can reverse HIV latency
SAN ANTONIO (Jan. 27, 2022) – An international research collaboration has found the cancer immunotherapy treatment, pembrolizumab, can reverse HIV latency, the ability for the virus to ‘hide’ inside cells of people living with HIV on antiretroviral therapy, the major barrier to a cure for HIV.
Can HIV infection be prevented? First mRNA vaccine study for HIV in San Antonio’s history is getting underway.
SAN ANTONIO (Jan. 27, 2022) – The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and clinical partner University Health soon will begin a Phase 1 clinical research study of an HIV vaccine candidate produced by Moderna. This will be San Antonio’s first-ever study of an mRNA HIV vaccine.
Societal pressure from unprecedented Omicron spread can be eased through increased vaccination uptake
NEW YORK AND CAMBRIDGE, MASS. – JANUARY 27, 2022 – The Omicron variant of concern (VOC) is currently spreading with unprecedented speed and intensity across the EU/EEA, with overall reported infection rates three times higher than the highest peak during the pandemic so far. The very high numbers of infected people are exerting significant pressure in many countries around Europe through a combination of increased hospital admissions and staff shortages due to illness. Efforts should continue to increase vaccine uptake among the unvaccinated, as well as offering a booster shot after three months to all eligible adults, says the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) in a new Rapid Risk Assessment released today.
Stella Kyriakides, EU Commissioner for Health and Food Safety said: “While it is encouraging that the numbers of people falling severely ill and requiring hospital treatment have not followed the same path as Omicron cases, the virus still poses a serious threat, especially to the most vulnerable in our societies and the unvaccinated. Whilst in some Member States, the peak of infection appears to have been reached recently, the pandemic is not over.”
IAVI and Moderna launch trial of HIV vaccine antigens delivered through mRNA technology
NEW YORK AND CAMBRIDGE, MASS. – JANUARY 27, 2022 – Phase I trial aims to build on response seen in proof-of-concept trial
IAVI and biotechnology company Moderna announced today that first doses have been administered in a clinical trial of experimental HIV vaccine antigens at George Washington University (GWU) School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Washington, D.C.
Case Western Reserve dental school researcher awarded $3.7M in NIH grants to study link between people living with HIV and higher rates of cancer and other diseases
JANUARY 27, 2022 – About 1.2 million people with HIV in the United States live relatively normal lives with uncompromised immune systems and the virus medically controlled.
But there are two rising concerns, said Ge Jin, a professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine.
“One, they are aging and will develop all the diseases or illnesses of the general population, like you or me,” he said. “The other problem—those morbidities, like cancer or co-infection with other viruses, happen at an earlier stage, occur at a higher rate and are more severe (for people with HIV).”
Tim Hoeffgen on Loving "The Berlin Patient" and Living With Loss on Tub Talks With Damon
January 27, 2022 - Damon L. Jacobs - Tim Hoeffgen was the husband and primary supporter of Timothy Ray Brown, aka as "The Berlin Patient," the first person cured of HIV/AIDS. Although many in the HIV community are aware of The Berlin Patient's struggles, few understand the plight of the husband who loved him, cared for him, and lost him. For the first time, Tim opens up about the details of Timothy Ray Brown's last weeks alive in 2020, and the obstacles he has faced this past year. What is the phrase he wants people to stop using? Join us in the Tub!
Blockbuster cancer med Keytruda may help flush out dormant HIV, suggesting a new way to treat long-running epidemic
Jan 26, 2022 - by Kyle LaHucik - In the 41-year HIV epidemic, no treatments have been approved to completely clear the virus largely because of its ability to live on in hidden form in the genomes of T cells. Now, researchers say an approved cancer drug might help flush the dormant HIV from immune cells, potentially paving the way for new treatment options.
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Early research suggests Merck cancer drug may target dormant HIV
Jan 26 (Reuters) - Researchers studying Merck & Co Inc's (MRK.N) cancer drug Keytruda for HIV patients who also have cancer say the immunotherapy may help displace the virus from human immune cells, offering an intriguing area of study for treatment of chronic HIV infection.
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International research collaboration to investigate eliminating hepatitis C in Ethiopia
26 January 2022 - An international research team will lead elimination efforts of Hepatitis C in Ethiopia - one of the worst affected African countries of the disease - thanks to funding of £2.2 million by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).
The DESTINE project will bring together the Universities of Bristol and Dundee and NHS Tayside with several medical schools and other key institutions in Ethiopia. The team will investigate the extent of Hepatitis C (HCV) infection in the country using epidemiological and modelling techniques. They will then design care based around treatment pathways created in the UK but moulded to suit the Ethiopian context.
Better education needed about oral sex disease risk, poll of young people shows
January 26, 2022 By Kara Gavin - Most teens and young adults underestimate sexually transmitted infection risk, and feel their generation needs better information.
Most teens and young adults know it’s possible to catch or spread a sexually transmitted infection by having unprotected oral sex, a new poll shows. But more than half underestimate the level of that risk, including many who focus on avoiding pregnancy risk, the data show.
Men who paid for sex more likely to live with HIV News
25JAN2022 - Surveys from 35 African countries suggest 68 percent of men used a condom in most recent paid sex encounter
Twenty years’ worth of surveys suggest that nearly one in ten sexually active men in 35 countries in sub-Saharan Africa have been clients of sex workers. These men are about 50 percent more likely to be living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), according to a team of international researchers, including Professor Mathieu Maheu-Giroux and Caroline Hodgins of McGill University.
UCLA Fielding School Center for LGBTQ+ Advocacy, Research & Health Marks Its First Year
LOS ANGELES (Jan. 26, 2022) - In the center’s first year, the Fielding School’s UCLA Center for LGBTQ+ Advocacy, Research & Health (C-LARAH) has had impact across a spectrum of applied research and organizational work, focused on increasing equity for an underserved community.
Opening the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health's newest research center, dedicated to the mission of improving the health and social well-being of sexual and gender minorities, would be a challenging task at any time. For Dr. Matthew Mimiaga, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health professor of epidemiology, founding, organizing, and leading the new UCLA Center for LGBTQ+ Advocacy, Research & Health (C-LARAH), which officially opened its doors in December of 2020, opening the center in the middle of a global pandemic was just part of the job.
Edmonton group delivering free HIV self-testing kits to community members
Jan 25, 2022 - Kellen Taniguchi - A local peer-based harm reduction and sexual health program for queer and trans people is offering community members free HIV self-testing kits.
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Edmonton Men’s Health Collective’s (EMHC) Peer N Peer program is distributing the testing kits through the Test Now pilot project amid the fifth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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HIV killed Paul Michael Glaser’s wife and daughter. Now his son is fighting to end stigma around the virus
Jan 25, 2022 - Kellen Taniguchi - Jake Glaser, the son of Elizabeth Glaser and actor Paul Michael Glaser, contracted HIV in utero after his mother was infected during a blood transfusion. He speaks to Clémence Michallon about stigma, his work as an advocate, and his hopes for the future
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Missing men living with HIV
24 JANUARY 2022 - Globally, the testing and treatment targets for 2020 were almost reached among adult women (15 years and older) living with HIV. Men living with HIV, however, are consistently faring worse than women across the HIV testing and treatment continuum. Compared to women living with HIV, there are 740 000 more men living with HIV who do not know their HIV status, 1.3 million more men who are not on treatment and 920 000 more men who are not virally suppressed.
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The 2022 GLAAD Award Nominees Include Multiple HIV Stories and Outlets
January 24, 2022 - By Mark S. King - The annual GLAAD Media Awards, which “honor media for fair, accurate, and inclusive representations of LGBTQ people and issues,” included several stories, writers, and outlets from the HIV community among their 2022 award nominees.
South African doctors fear new COVID variants could evolve in untreated HIV population
Jan 23, 2022 - South Africa's Omicron COVID wave is passing but scientists fear patients with untreated HIV are more vulnerable to the virus.
Deep dive into HIV’s hidden DNA finds that some people could eventually drop their drugs
24 January 2022 - Gus Cairns - Eighteen months ago, aidsmap.com reported on a study that suggested a mechanism behind some people’s ability to control their HIV without drugs. A new study, published in the scientific journal Cell, used sophisticated probes to uncover every bit of HIV genetic material hidden in the cells of six patients. It goes a long way towards finding out how this happens naturally – which is a first step in finding out how to ‘Block and Lock’ ongoing HIV infection permanently.
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Undetectable HIV: What to know
January 23, 2022 - by Aaron Kandolal - There is currently no cure for HIV. However, treatment can improve health and reduce the virus to levels where it is undetectable and untransmissible.
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Self-Testing Kit for HPV Aims to Improve Access to Care
January 21, 2022 By Kristen Mitchell - GW Nursing Assistant Professor Daisy Le’s MySHARE study will assess whether self-sampling could be an effective tool to detect cervical cancer in local women living with HIV.
A George Washington University School of Nursing faculty member is working on research aimed at promoting HPV self-sampling test kits to increase cervical cancer screening among women living with HIV. By reducing barriers to care, Assistant Professor Daisy Le aims to better serve one of the Washington, D.C., region’s most vulnerable populations.
People Living with HIV Need Tailored COVID-19 Vaccination Information
JANUARY 21, 2022 BY Michelle Edelstein - The new research adds to the extremely limited information on COVID-19 vaccination rates among people living with HIV
While most people living with HIV have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, younger and Black individuals are hesitant to get vaccinated and have lower vaccination rates, according to a new study by Rutgers researchers.
The study, published in AIDS Patient Care and STDs, is among the first to examine COVID-19 vaccination efforts based on people living with HIV in the United States.
HIV clinicians should ask gay men if they want to become fathers
21 January 2022 - Bakita Kasadha - Healthcare professionals should avoid making assumptions about gay men’s parenting desires, report Dr Robert Pralat of the University of Cambridge and colleagues in the BMC Public Health. The London study shows that healthcare professionals are less likely to discuss parenting options with gay men than women and heterosexual men. The study also found that gay men rarely instigated conversations about parenthood with their HIV care team.
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State Laws About Prescribing May Limit Access to HIV Pre-exposure Prophylaxis
Newswise — January 21, 2022 - State laws in the US that require medical doctors (MDs) to determine which medications a nurse practitioner (NP) or physician assistant (PA) can prescribe, and under what conditions, may limit the number of patients who use HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), reports a study in The Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care (JANAC). The official journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care, JANAC is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.
Congressman Cohen Announces $2.25 Million in HIV Funding for Shelby County
MEMPHIS - January 20, 2022 - Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today announced that Shelby County will receive $2,252,803 for its Ryan White HIV Emergency Relief Program from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Why humans are losing the race against superbugs
January 20, 2022 - JASON BEAUBIEN - Drug-resistant bacteria — also known as superbugs — are on the rise globally, and they're now killing more people each year than either HIV/AIDS or malaria. And low- and middle-income countries are being hit the hardest by the rise in antibiotic-resistant infections.
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This HIV prevention medicine is for everyone. Why do so few people take it?
Jan 20, 2022 - By Kathryn Macapagal - About 60% of older Americans take a cholesterol-lowering statin to prevent heart attack, stroke, and other forms of cardiovascular disease. In contrast, only 25% of eligible, HIV-negative people take pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), a safe, highly effective way to prevent HIV infection.
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HIV fight on hold for over 2 years
Jan 20, 2022 - By Yim Hyun-su - With South Korea fixated on COVID response, Seoul sees 82% drop in HIV testing in 2020
Concerns are growing as HIV testing has been suspended at most local health centers across Seoul to prioritize the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Further evidence that COVID breakthrough infections are more common in people living with HIV
20 January 2022 - Andy Carstens - A new study provides more evidence that people living with HIV who are vaccinated against COVID-19 are more likely to experience a breakthrough COVID infection compared to HIV-negative people. The good news is that – across the board – fully vaccinated people had less severe COVID illness than unvaccinated people.
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New electron microscopy technique could shortcut the development of vaccines and monoclonal antibody therapies
January 19, 2022 - The new method by scientists at Scripps Research identifies specific antibodies in immune responses to vaccination or infection in fraction of time needed for traditional approach.
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Historian delves into LGBTQ life and the American home
January 19, 2022 - By David Nutt - Both academic studies and popular representations of LGBTQ history have typically focused on battles for public space and visibility. As gay liberation activists put it in the 1970s: “Out of the closets, into the street.”
But the intimacy of domestic space was an equally crucial aspect of LGBTQ life in the postwar era, according to Stephen Vider, assistant professor of history and director of the Public History Initiative in the College of Arts and Sciences. Vider delves into that history in his new book, “The Queerness of Home: Gender, Sexuality, and the Politics of Domesticity after World War II,” published Dec. 24 by the University of Chicago Press.
UNAIDS Director of Innovation receives prestigious Social Innovators of the Year award
GENEVA, 19 January 2022 - The Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship has announced that the Director of Innovation at UNAIDS, Pradeep Kakkattil, has been awarded a 2022 Social Innovators of the Year award. Mr Kakkattil received the prestigious award for his work in creating the Health Innovation Exchange (HIEx), a platform that links innovators, governments and investors and finds solutions to global health-care problems, from COVID-19 diagnosis to the cost of medicines.
The HIV/AIDS crisis showed us how to equitably overcome a pandemic
January 19, 2022 - On Jan. 10, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the director-general of the World Trade Organization (WTO), urged member states “to fully contribute to the global efforts in the fight against COVID-19" by reaching a multilateral outcome on intellectual property issues. This comes as a year-old proposal to temporarily waive intellectual property barriers to scaling up the manufacturing of tests, vaccines and treatments continues to languish, despite the endorsement of more than 100 countries (but not Canada).
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HIV Care in 2022: How Our Past Will Shape Our Future
Jan. 18, 2022 - Myles Helfand - Episode 1 of The Future of HIV Care, a Podcast From TheBodyPro
Welcome to The Future of HIV Care. In this monthly podcast, we highlight innovative projects in HIV-related science and explain the bigger questions and issues they seek to resolve.
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Gilead says counterfeit versions of its HIV drugs ended up with patients
NEW YORK - January 18, 2022 - Jonathan Stempel and Manas Mishra - Gilead Sciences Inc said an unauthorized network of drug distributors and suppliers sold pharmacies more than US$250 million of counterfeit versions of its HIV treatments over the last two years, endangering patients.
The drugmaker said it found 85,247 bottles that had been tampered with or faked, including versions of its Biktarvy and Descovy treatments.
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The direct action of ACT UP helped end AIDS. Here's what it can teach us in 2022
January 18, 2022 - Sam revisits his 2021 conversation with Sarah Schulman about ACT UP. The organization united a diverse, non-partisan group of individuals committed to direct action to end the AIDS crisis. In Schulman's book, Let The Record Show: A Political History of ACT UP New York, 1987-1993, she draws from nearly 200 interviews with ACT UP members to document the movement's history and explore how the group's activism transformed the way the media, the government, corporations and medical professionals talked about AIDS and provided treatment. Schulman and Sam discuss this transformation and its relevance to social movements today.
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London's permanent supervised drug-use site could open in 2022
January 18, 2022 - Andrew Lupton - Need for supervised consumption site hasn't abated during COVID-19 pandemic
After a long series of hurdles, including opposition and legal challenges from neighbours, London's supervised drug-use consumption site should be open and running before the end of 2022.
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Non-traditional signaling: Memory T cells activate innate immunity
January 17, 2022 - BY AT OLSON - From the Zhu and Corey Lab, Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division
How does our immune system defend us against viruses at sites of recurrent infection? This fundamental question is one driver of the research conducted by Drs. Tao Peng, Jia Zhu, and Larry Corey in the Zhu and Corey Lab with the aim of applying this basic knowledge to vaccine development. They recently published their findings in the journal of Frontiers in Immunology. Corresponding author Dr. Zhu described the research as “an in vivo interaction between the adaptive and innate/intrinsic immune system in naturally recurring herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) infection in human skin.”
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How two nurses kept hope alive early in the AIDS crisis
January 17, 2022 - By Anthony Eaton - Ellen Matzer and Valery Hughes couldn't make their patients survive, but they reduced their suffering and made sure they didn't die alone.
Before World AIDS Day 2021, I had the great privilege to sit down with Ellen Matzer, RN, CCRN, and Valery Hughes, FNP, RN authors of the book, Nurses On the Inside: Stories of the HIV/AIDS Epidemic in NYC.
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Hepatitis B may increase cancer risk in people with HIV
17 January 2022 - Keith Alcorn - People with both HIV and hepatitis B have a higher rate of non-liver cancers compared to other people with HIV, a large European study has found.
The study investigators, who have published their findings in the journal HIV Medicine, say that people coinfected with HIV and hepatitis B may need extra screening for some common cancers. The study found that the rate of non-liver cancers was 23% higher in people with HIV and hepatitis B compared to people with HIV alone.
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Healthcare worker who helped tackle Edinburgh HIV epidemic up for lifetime award
January 16, 2022 - Lucinda Cameron
- Edinburgh was known as the ‘HIV capital of Europe’ in the mid-1980s.
A healthcare worker credited with helping to turn the tide of Edinburgh’s HIV epidemic in the 1980s has been nominated for a lifetime contribution award.
Colleagues who nominated James Shanley for the Our Health Heroes award said he had undoubtedly saved many lives and reduced HIV rates in the city.
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PAC’s Journey to 400K Takes the Main Stage at the Country’s First National HIV Conference of the Year
January 15, 2022 - By Undetectable = Untransmittable - Prevention Access Campaign and Thera Technologies partner on a plenary at NAESM 2022.
As conferences across the country begin to gear up for 2022, the Prevention Access Campaign – in partnership with Theratechnologies – makes its way to the first national HIV conference of the year – NAESM’s 2022 NATIONAL AFRICAN AMERICAN MSM LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE ON HEALTH DISPARITIES AND SOCIAL JUSTICE in Los Angeles, CA. PAC (thanks to the generous support of Theratechnologies) is set to take the main stage on Saturday, January 15, 2022, as the official sponsors of the morning breakfast plenary titled: “The Journey to 400,000: An Initiative to End the HIV Epidemic”.
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Dozens of US states still criminalise HIV transmission. New Jersey is about to break away
JANUARY 14, 2022 - JOSH MILTON - New Jersey is set to decriminalise HIV transmission, ending an historic law that “fuels stigma”.
Under current New Jersey law, a person who engages in sexual penetration by any body part without disclosing they are HIV-positive could face up to five years in prison.
For other sexually-transmitted infections, the sentence is limited to 18 months.
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Connecticut Lawmaker Jorge Cruz Opens Up About Going Public With His HIV
Jan. 13, 2022 - Tim Murphy - Most folks who come out with their HIV status are gay men or women, either cis- or transgender, and there aren’t many open role models for the relatively small number of heterosexual men living with HIV in the U.S. That’s why we took special notice when we read that Jorge Cruz, 64, a former heroin user turned city councilmember in the working-class city of Bridgeport, Connecticut, had come out publicly with his HIV status at a local event on World AIDS Day 2021. In the local news clip preceding the event at which he disclosed his 1997 diagnosis, he said, “Together, we can eliminate the stigma here in society to let people know that people with HIV are not bad people—we’re not trying to infect nobody. … We wanna live as normally as possible, just like anybody else.”
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Research shows that human immune system uses ancient family of cell death proteins also found in bacteria
JANUARY 13, 2022 - Study illustrates conservation of immune system’s cell death mechanisms originating billions of years ago in single-celled organisms.
The human immune system, that marvel of complexity, subtlety, and sophistication, includes a billion-year-old family of proteins used by bacteria to defend themselves against viruses, scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and in Israel have discovered.
The findings, published online today by the journal Science, are the latest in a growing body of evidence that components of our immune system – as advanced a shield against disease as exists on the planet – evolved early in ancient forms of life. The study shows that the immune system absorbed already existing elements and, over eons of evolution, put them to use in novel ways to meet the requirements of creatures as biologically complicated as human beings.
FAU LANDS $1.3 MILLION NIH GRANT FOR RAPID, AUTOMATED HIV SELF-TEST
1/13/2022 - BY GISELE GALOUSTIAN - As of 2020, there were 37.7 million people globally living with HIV and 680,000 people died from AIDS-related illnesses last year. Since the start of the epidemic, more than 36.3 million people have died from AIDS-related illnesses.
Although antiretroviral therapy is effective in saving AIDS patients’ lives, implementing the therapy worldwide has been drastically hampered by the lack of treatment monitoring diagnostics and disease management. According to recent statistics by USAIDS, the coverage of antiretroviral therapy is still only 59 percent, despite being affordable or freely available in most countries. Moreover, worldwide, about 1 in 4 people who have contracted the virus are unaware of their HIV status.
With health resources stretched, self-tests for HIV/AIDs could be a valuable resource
January 13, 2022 - by Stephen Wentzell - Cases of HIV continue to go up in Canada, especially in prisons. Lack of testing exacerbates the problem, but there is hope from the self-test, as easy to administer as the COVID rapid test. Governments should take note and act.
While Canada continues to pump unprecedented resources into combatting the COVID-19 pandemic, some health experts wish the federal government would have the same sense of urgency when it comes to the ongoing epidemic of HIV/AIDS.
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A street named after a founding Sister of Perpetual Indulgence!
January 13, 2022 - San Francisco is renaming a street in the Mission district to honor a longtime LGBTQ+ activist and co-founder of The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, Sister Vish-Knew.
Covid Study to Assess Pfizer, J&J Suitability for HIV Infected
January 12, 2022 - by Antony Sguazzin - Trial will also assess safety of boosters for wider population
Study to be carried out at four sites in South Africa
A South African Covid-19 vaccine trial will assess the safety and impact of varying doses of Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer Inc. shots as boosters for those infected with HIV as well as the wider population.
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Val Bias, 63, crusader for better care for those with hemophilia and HIV/AIDS
January 12, 2022 - By Antony Sguazzin - March 20, 1958 – Dec. 30, 2021
Val Bias, who overcame the effects of a bleeding disorder that disabled him as a child growing up in Buffalo and successfully pushed on a national level for better health care for those with hemophilia and HIV/AIDS, died unexpectedly Dec. 30 in Mercy Hospital. He was 63.
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People With HIV at Higher Risk of COVID-19 Infection Even After Vaccination, Study Finds
January 11, 2022- Hayden E. Klein - Researchers found that fully vaccinated people with HIV have a 41% higher risk of COVID-19 breakthrough infection compared with people without HIV.
COVID-19 vaccination has been proven effective, but findings from a study by Johns Hopkins University investigators published online as a preprint showed that people living with HIV have an increased risk of breakthrough infections compared with people without HIV.
UCLA-led team refines ‘kick and kill’ strategy aimed at eliminating HIV-infected cells
January 11, 2022 - Enrique Rivero - In a study using mice, a UCLA-led team of researchers have improved upon a method they developed in 2017 that was designed to kill HIV-infected cells. The advance could move scientists a step closer to being able to reduce the amount of virus, or even eliminate it, from infected people who are dependent on lifesaving medications to keep the virus from multiplying and illness at bay.
Tomato concentrate could help reduce chronic intestinal inflammation associated with HIV
January 11, 2022 - Enrique Rivero - In a study using mice, a UCLA-led team of researchers have improved upon a method they developed in 2017 that was designed to kill HIV-infected cells. The advance could move scientists a step closer to being able to reduce the amount of virus, or even eliminate it, from infected people who are dependent on lifesaving medications to keep the virus from multiplying and illness at bay.
Should INSTI- or TAF-Related Weight Gain Prompt a Switch?
January 11, 2022 - By David Wild - Roughly 15% of people living with HIV gain more than 10% of their body weight in the first one to two years of treatment with an integrase strand transfer inhibitor (INSTI) or tenofovir alafenamide (TAF) regimen, leaving clinicians with the clinical question of whether to switch to a non-INSTI or non-TAF regimen. The answer is unclear, experts said.
Experimental mRNA HIV vaccine shows promise in animals
January 11, 2022 - A novel HIV vaccine using mRNA technology was safe and reduced the risk of HIV-like infection in monkeys.
The findings could be an early step in developing an effective mRNA vaccine for HIV.
Messenger RNA, or mRNA, is a molecule that tells the body how to make proteins. Vaccines based on mRNA are newly available to the public. These vaccines instruct your cells to make certain proteins from a virus or other microbe. These harmless pieces can trigger the body’s immune response. That immune response produces antibodies and cells that help protect you against getting infected if the real virus enters the body.
Transgender Lab Research Team Addresses HIV Prevention
January 10, 2022 - By Peggy Pico - A public health researcher’s work could help reduce health disparities and expand transgender women’s access to a lifesaving drug.
n a vital effort to reduce health disparities and barriers in the transgender community, San Diego State University public health researcher Erik Storholm has established an innovative lab and research partnership with the Transgender Wellness Center (TWC) in Los Angeles.
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How a community-based ART programme improves HIV treatment: lessons from Uganda and South Africa
10 January 2022 - Anna Miti - Researchers have identified four intervention mechanisms that may have contributed to increased viral suppression rates with community-based delivery of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in sub-Saharan Africa. The community programme was flexible to patients’ needs, integrated multiple components into a single interaction with a healthcare provider, allowed for longer interactions with the provider, and reduced travel time to clinical services.
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Stanford COVID-19 case suggests possible link between Omicron variant and HIV
January 6, 2022 - By Anshika Agarwal - Findings from a Stanford study into a patient with both COVID-19 and the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) support prevailing theories that new viral variants, including the highly transmissible omicron variant, may originate in immunocompromised persons due to the virus’s ability to accumulate mutations in individuals with weaker immune systems.
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When HIV Messaging Perpetuates Stigma
Jan. 10, 2022 - Juan Michael Porter II - Matt Ebert Liam, an alumnus of the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) movement, has been fighting against AIDS and stigma for nearly 35 years. Much of his time has been devoted to standing against abusive power structures that barred his friends and loved ones in arms from accessing the treatment and dignity that they deserved.
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Breakout 'Legendary' Star Savion Garcon Opens Up About Living With HIV
JANUARY 07 2022 - By Neal Broverman - Savion Ashford of the House of Garcon is making the most out of a memorable TV appearance.
Self-proclaimed “butchest of all queens,” dancer and performer Savion Ashford, a.k.a. Savion Garcon of the House of Garcon, shined on HBO Max’s Legendary. In 2020, Ashford made it onto the second season of the ballroom competition show along with his fellow house members. The team ended up the underdogs of the season, making it to the semi-finals. Ashford made news again the following year when he spoke out about living with HIV, exactly 14 years after first being diagnosed. Ashford, a barber and makeup artist in Atlanta, said on Twitter that he’s “living happily and healthy with HIV,” and recently spoke to Plus about his announcement, the ball scene, and what’s next.
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We must re-focus our attention on HIV and AIDS
January 6, 2022 - By Hank Trout, MA - After World AIDS Day, Dr. Monica Gandhi says that healthcare workers must team up with activists and people living with HIV to “take back” HIV as a priority.
World AIDS Day, held December 1 every year, is an opportunity for people living with HIV and other people who have been touched by the epidemic to come together in remembrance of those we have lost–and to keep the spotlight focused on everything we still must do to end the HIV epidemic once and for all. Amidst the pain and suffering caused by the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, a worsening overdose crisis, poverty, housing shortages and more–all of which disproportionately affect people living with and at risk for HIV–World AIDS Day should have been even more revered as a time for San Franciscans to come together on this special day.
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New Book Compiles 40 Years of HIV/AIDS Prevention Posters From Around the World
Jan. 6, 2022 - Tim Murphy - Many of us are familiar with the iconic ACT UP–era “Silence Equals Death” poster, the vintage New York City subway PSA “Kissing Doesn’t Kill,” or the color-block “AIDS” riff on Robert Indiana’s famous LOVE graphic. But how many of us have seen HIV prevention posters from Africa, Asia, Australia, and Europe?
Now you can in Up Against the Wall: Art, Activism, and the AIDS Poster, a remarkable new book.
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Researchers Study Cannabis Pain Relief with $1.37 Million Grant
JANUARY 5, 2022 - BY WHITNEY TARPY - Pharmacy faculty use NIDA support to examine reducing HIV-related pain and inflammation
Three researchers from the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy have been awarded a $1.37 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, as their research focuses on reducing HIV-related pain through cannabis.
Nicole Ashpole, Mahmoud ElSohly and Jason Paris are screening and identifying the compounds found in cannabis that may hold anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving effects without the addiction potential.
Love and condoms: broadcast on the importance of condoms in eastern Europe and central Asia
05 JANUARY 2022 - On the eve of World AIDS Day, the Russian language social media network OK.RU hosted a live broadcast, Telling the Truth, as part of an education project that has been run by UNAIDS and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization since 2015. The show was organized in collaboration with a popular magazine, Domashniy Ochag, and was devoted to the use of condoms and the link to the HIV epidemic in eastern Europe and central Asia.
During the broadcast, which was watched by more than 1 million people, experts and celebrities discussed the most common myths, misconceptions, difficulties and fears connected to condom use.
Gryshyna places second in 2021 World AIDS Day Research Competition
January 05, 2022 - by Tehreem Khan - Anastasiia Gryshyna, a graduate student at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, won second place in the 2021 World AIDS Day Research Competition and was awarded $2,000 for research funding and a $125 personal prize.
AIDS Activist Steve Pieters Revisits His Pivotal Interview with Tammy Faye Bakker
January 4, 2022 -By Emily Johnson - The Rev. A. Stephen Pieters is a wellspring of joy and optimism. He is also one of the longest-term survivors of HIV/AIDS in the United States. For more than 35 years, Pieters has worked to raise awareness and empathy on behalf of those living with AIDS.
Lessons for Africa: Kenya’s PrEP integration in public clinics can inform scale-up in other countries
3 January 2022 - Edith Magak - PrEP services can be successfully integrated into public HIV care clinics across Africa, a trial in 25 high-volume public clinics in Kenya found. There were 4,898 PrEP initiations, with reasonable continuation and high adherence observed. This was achieved with existing personnel and infrastructure in the health facilities.
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Betty White tackled HIV stigma in game-changing Golden Girls episode
JANUARY 1, 2022 - LILY WAKEFIELD - Betty White, who tragically died at home on Friday morning (31 December), once tackled AIDS stigma in a historic episode of The Golden Girls.
Throughout her life and career, White and The Golden Girls were known for tackling social issues in a way that sitcoms had never done before.
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