|
Positively Positive - Living with HIV/AIDS:
HIV/AIDS News Archive - March 2021
Dine Out (or In) to Give Back on Thursday, April 29
CAMDEN, N.J., March 31, 2021 /PRNewswire/- Dining Out For Life® Hosted by Subaru is More Meaningful Than Ever
In the year since the Covid-19 pandemic forced dramatic changes to our lives, our healthcare providers and restaurants have withstood devastating challenges. The success of the 25th Annual Dining Out For Life® hosted by Subaru is now more crucial than ever to support restaurants and community-basedhealth service organizations dedicated to people living with or affected by HIV/AIDS and other chronic conditions.
GETTING TO THE CORE OF HIV REPLICATION
March 31, 2021 by Jorge Salazar - HIV-1 viral capsid simulations on XSEDE-allocated Stampede2, Bridges, Darwin systems uncover nucleotide entry mechanism
Viruses lurk in the grey area between the living and the nonliving, according to scientists. Like living things, they replicate but they don't do it on their own. The HIV-1 virus, like all viruses, needs to hijack a host cell through infection in order to make copies of itself.
B.A.R. covers HIV and AIDS for 40 years
Mar 31, 2021 - by Liz Highleyman - AIDS first came to the world's attention with a June 5, 1981, report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about five cases of Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) among young gay men in Los Angeles. A second report on cases of PCP and Kaposi sarcoma in New York City and California followed a month later.
Read more...
The City Losing Its Children to H.I.V.
Mar 31, 2021 - By Helen Ouyang - A pediatric outbreak in a remote Pakistan city shows the urgency of global health after Covid.
One day in February 2019, Nazeer Shah carried his 1-year-old daughter, Eman, into a medical clinic. The doctor there, Imran Arbani, was immediately alarmed: The girl was limp and lethargic, her head flopped over on her father’s shoulder. Her breathing was shallow and fast. She was asleep, hard to rouse, except when she woke to cough. She drooled from her mouth. Her tongue was covered with a thick white coating, which Arbani recognized as thrush, a condition that usually indicates a weakened immune system. At around 11 pounds, she was frighteningly underweight.
Read more...
Fear of HIV disclosure and lack of referrals means that the pain of many Black women with HIV is unaddressed
31 March 2021 - Bakita Kasadha - Specific clinical pathways to pain management and implicit bias training for healthcare providers are needed to ensure people with HIV receive appropriate care for chronic pain, argue Venetia Baker of King’s College London and colleagues in AIDS Care. Findings showed that Black people, especially women, were less likely to be referred for specialist pain management than their White male counterparts. Moreover, participants feared stigma if they shared their HIV status with non-HIV specialists.
Read more...
Bigo Live Continues Commitment to The Trevor Project, Raises Awareness Around International Transgender Day of Visibility
LOS ANGELES, March 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- $5,000 Donation and Trans Voices Live House on Platform to Further LGBTQ Cause
Bigo Live, a global leader in live streaming and entertainment, is pleased to announce it is pledging $5,000 to The Trevor Project, the world's largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning) young people. This donation marks the company's continued commitment to The Trevor Project which kicked off with World AIDS Day initiatives in 2020. In honor of the International Transgender Day of Visibility, Bigo Live will be hosting a Trans Voices Multiguest panel on March 31 at 4:00 p.m. PST, featuring prominent transgender members of the Bigo Live community.
Living With HIV? Life Insurance Is Available but Limited
Mar 29, 2021 - Ben Moore - For decades, many people living with HIV were denied life insurance coverage, deemed too risky to insure. To this day, most life insurance applications ask applicants to answer “yes” if they are HIV-positive, and many companies deny coverage to those who do.
Read more...
Cases of sexually transmitted diseases decline in pandemic, but research suggests they could rise again soon
March 29, 2021 - SAN DIEGO - Nationally, in April 2020, reported cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea and early syphilis decreased by 47%, 33% and 30% respectively from the year prior.
Data collected during the COVID-19 pandemic suggests reported cases of sexually transmitted diseases have declined, but experts at UC San Diego's AntiViral Research Center on Monday said rates could soon be on the rise again.
Read more...
Diabetes drug may be a new weapon against HIV
CHAPEL HILL, NC, March 29, 2021 - Research from the UNC School of Medicine lab of Jenny Ting, PhD, shows that widely used drug metformin reduces metabolism of infected T cells to suppress HIV replication.
A team led by scientists at the UNC School of Medicine discovered an important vulnerability of the AIDS-causing retrovirus HIV, and has shown in preclinical experiments that a widely used diabetes drug, metformin, seems able to exploit this vulnerability.
Chicago: AHF Health Center-Lakeview to Open March 31st
March 29, 2021 - CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Lakeview’s Boystown District new facilities expand AHF’s existing onsite services, which include a full-service AHF Pharmacy and an Out of The Closet Thrift Store, AHF’s 20th store in 8 states, and first in Illinois
AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the world’s largest global HIV/AIDS organization, is proud to be expanding services in the city of Chicago, IL. What will now be known as AHF Health Center-Lakeview, this unique hybrid model clinic will be housed within the existing AHF Out of the Closet Thrift Store, with Dr. James Lagucik, DO as the onsite provider.
Formal Transition Plans Essential For Youths With HIV Moving to Adult Care
MARCH 29, 2021 - By Karen Blum - Many youths living with HIV disengage from medical care at some point, and for a significant number of people this happens during the transition from pediatric/adolescent to adult clinics. A number of infectious disease programs have protocols to help pave the way for their patients and keep them engaged, but experts say more education is needed for patients and health providers.
Read more...
Curtis Smith Turned His AIDS Loss and Pain Into Service to Others
March 29, 2021 - Tim Murphy - Occasionally, while covering a story, you stumble on someone absolutely remarkable in the HIV/AIDS world who you’ve never heard of before. Such was my case with Curtis Smith, 56, the founder and CEO of Families Living with AIDS Care Center (FLACC), an HIV services agency in Hemet, California, about two hours southeast of Los Angeles. Smith founded the agency in 2004, when he, his wife, and his daughter were extremely ill due to AIDS. They’d gone unaware of lifesaving services for too long—and Smith was determined that would never happen again to anyone in need in the Inland Empire region.
Read more...
When I Was Young
March 29, 2021 - By Oriol R. Gutierrez Jr. - Young people account for 21% of new HIV diagnoses annually. Our April/May issue looks at ways to raise HIV awareness among youth.
I’m not what you’d call a very dramatic person (although my partner would likely disagree). However, I will admit to getting incensed from time to time. The past few years certainly gave me good reasons to scream.
Read more...
In trying to contain COVID-19, we could be missing spread of HIV, hepatitis C and syphilis, experts warn
Mar 26, 2021 - For more than a year, the COVID-19 pandemic has shifted health-care workers and resources away from stopping the spread of other infectious diseases, including HIV, hepatitis C and sexually transmitted infections such as syphilis.
Read more...
AIDS Exhibition Virtual Opening Now Available Online
March 25, 2021 - If you missed the virtual opening of the latest Program for Art in Public Spaces exhibition, you can view it online. The March 4 virtual opening of Community in a Time of Crisis: Yale, New Haven, and HIV/AIDS, 1981-1996 includes a virtual tour of the exhibition. The Program for Art in Public Spaces (PAPS) website also has links to previous events and current exhibits. PAPS has been made possible with support from the YSM dean’s office.
Read more...
Decriminalizing HIV
March 25, 2021 - By Rachel Otwell -Bill aims to lead with science, not fear
In Illinois, engaging in certain activities as a person living with HIV can be a felony, punishable by a prison sentence and $25,000 fine. But public health experts say the law is harmful and outdated. Advocates for change say it is ineffective at stopping the spread of HIV, and instead acts to increase shame and stigma.
Read more...
Operation Triple Zero Promotes Positive Action for Youth Living with HIV
Mar 25, 2021 - The adolescent stage of life is often associated with physical and emotional stresses, which can be even more challenging for adolescents living with HIV.
Read more...
UNAIDS Board adopts new global AIDS strategy which paves the way to end AIDS by 2030
GENEVA, 25 March 2021 - The new Global AIDS Strategy 2021–2026, End Inequalities, End AIDS, is a bold approach that uses an inequalities lens to close the gaps preventing progress to end AIDS
The UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board (PCB) has adopted by consensus a new Global AIDS Strategy 2021–2026 to get every country and every community on track to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. The strategy was adopted by the PCB during a special session, chaired by the Minister of Health of Namibia, held on 24 and 25 March 2021.
Vaccine regimen fails to prevent HIV-1 infection in South Africa
MARCH 25, 2021 - (HealthDay) - A canarypox-protein HIV vaccine regimen (ALVAC-HIV) plus bivalent subtype C gp120-MF59 adjuvant does not prevent HIV-1 infection among adults in South Africa, according to a study published in the March 25 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Read more...
Canadian Nonprofits Redefine their Fundraising with OneCause Technology
INDIANAPOLIS, March 24, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- OneCause, a leader in event and online fundraising, today announced it is expanding access for its Virtual Event Center solution to help Canadian nonprofits streamline the digital giving experience. The software provider continues to grow its footprint in the Canadian charitable sector after successfully launching peer-to-peer and online fundraising solutions in 2018.
Bridging lessons from the HIV/AIDS pandemic to COVID-19
24 March 2021 - The HIV/AIDS epidemic offers lessons for today’s COVID-19 pandemic. The Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) Center for Humanities & History of Modern Biology captured some of those lessons in a 2016 CSHL conference, “HIV/AIDS Research: Its History and Future.” In 2021, they developed a new kind of annotated digital archive that allows readers to easily look up and analyze keywords used in talks at the conference. The project, titled “Oral Histories of Biology, Medicine, and Pandemic Response,” was led by the executive director of the CSHL Libraries & Archives Ludmila Pollock and supported by a U.S. National Endowment for the Humanities CARE grant.
Read more...
Low CD4 cell count linked to increased risk of cancer among people with HIV in South Africa
24 March 2021 - Michael Carter - Immune suppression is associated with an increased risk of numerous infection-related cancers among people with HIV in South Africa, investigators report in Clinical Infectious Diseases. There was a strong association between a lower CD4 cell count and the incidence of Kaposi's sarcoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, cervical cancer and other cancers linked to human papillomavirus (HPV), as well as conjunctival cancer (a malignancy of the eye). In addition, there was some evidence that a lower CD4 cell count increased the risk of a small number of cancers not thought to be related to infections, especially cancer of the oesophagus (food pipe).
Read more...
Conversation with the Creator and Cast of It’s a Sin and amfAR
March 24, 2021 - amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, will be hosting a very special virtual conversation with the creator, cast, and executive producer of the HBO Max limited series, It’s a Sin on Thursday, March 25 at 7pm EDT. This free virtual event will stream on amfAR's official YouTube page.
Brazilian Man With HIV Is No Longer in Remission
March 23, 2021 - By Liz Highleyman - The São Paolo Patient is no longer HIV-free after more than 15 months off treatment, but was it a relapse or reinfection?
A Brazilian man who last summer had no evidence of remaining HIV after more than a year off antiretroviral treatment once again had detectable viral load a few months later, according to a report at the recent Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections.
Read more...
$3M HIV Discrimination Lawsuit Filed Against Morehouse College
March 23, 2021 - By Trenton Straube - A student claims Atlanta’s Morehouse College did not accept him into an academic program because he has HIV.
A former student at Morehouse College in Atlanta filed an HIV discrimination lawsuit against the historically Black men’s liberal arts school seeking over $3 million in emotional distress damages, reports The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Read more...
Robert Gallo, Co-Discoverer of HIV, Delivers Prestigious Uniformed Services University Packard Award Lecture
22-Mar-2021 - Newswise - Bethesda, MD - Dr. Robert C. Gallo, the Homer and Martha Gudelsky Distinguished Professor in Medicine, director and co-founder of the Institute of Human Virology (IHV) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, and the co-Founder and International Scientific Advisor of the Global Virus Network, presented “From T Cells and Human Retroviruses to the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic and Innate Immunity” as the 2021 David Packard Award Lecturer at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU), Monday, March 22.
Why are transgender people at higher risk of HIV?
March 22, 2021 - by Zawn Villines - HIV is a virus t22 MARCH 2021 hat alters the immune system and can increase the impact of other infections and diseases. Without treatment, HIV may progress to stage 3, an advanced stage commonly known as AIDS. Transgender people are at a higher risk of HIV and may not have access to adequate care.
Read more...
Amid Hate Crimes, Asians and Pacific Islanders in HIV Say Relatively Low Numbers Shouldn’t Equal Invisibility
March 22, 2021 - Tim Murphy - A few months into the COVID-19 pandemic, New York City’s Chinatown-based Apicha Community Health Center, which began in 1989 as the Asian and Pacific Islander Coalition on HIV/AIDS, informally collected stories from its staff about their pandemic experiences.
Read more...
81m condoms distributed in Zimbabwe last year
22 MARCH 2021 - Thandeka Moyo-Ndlovu, Health Reporter - A STAGGERING 81 million condoms were distributed in Zimbabwe last year as the country strives to achieve global HIV testing and condom use targets by 2030.
Read more...
Ukraine reports nearly 1400 HIV cases in February
March 21, 2021 - by NEWS DESK - Ukrainian health officials reported in February 2021, 1,395 new cases of HIV infection were officially registered in Ukraine.
In addition, 389 patients were diagnosed with AIDS, and 123 people died of AIDS.
Read more...
US invests $85tr globally in fight against HIV/AIDS in 18 years
21 March 2021 - By Isa Abdulsalami Ahovi, Jos - United States (US) Ambassador to Nigeria, Mary Beth Leonard, yesterday, revealed that US government, through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has invested more than $85tr in its fight against HIV/AIDS globally.
Read more...
Quilt ceremony honoring Native Americans and Hawaiians lost to AIDS
SAN FRANCISCO - March 21, 2021 - by Noah Christiansen - The National AIDS Memorial launched a Virtual Quilt Exhibition to raise greater awareness about rising HIV diagnosis rates in Native American and Hawaiian communities. The kick-off event was held at the National AIDS Memorial Grove which is located at the de Laveaga Dell in eastern Golden Gate Park in San Francisco on Saturday.
Read more...
Long-time gay rights activist Carmichael 'opened doors, found collaborators' in Springfield
Mar 21, 2021 - by Noah Christiansen - Long-time Springfield activist Buff Carmichael, who pushed for marriage equality in Illinois and the creation of the AIDS Memorial in Lincoln Park, died early Sunday morning, his pastor the Rev. Martin Woulfe announced.
He was 73 and surrounded by family members at his home, Woulfe said.
Read more...
ALL THE RAGE by Brad Fraser to be Released in May
MarH 19, 2021 - by BWW News Desk - Brad Fraser suffered an impoverished and abusive childhood, living with his teenage parents in motel rooms and shacks on the side of the highway in Alberta and Northern British Columbia. He grew to be one of the most celebrated, and controversial, Canadian playwrights, his work produced to acclaim all over the world.
Read more...
Promising uptake of HIV self-testing in Africa
19 March 2021 - HIV self-testing is found to be more popular than standard testing, particularly among men, but accessing treatment after a positive result is an issue.
An evidence review of 11 HIV self-testing trials in East and Southern Africa has found promising uptake among many groups, particularly men.
Read more...
AHF Salutes US Pledges on COVID-19 and AIDS
March 19, 2021 - WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global HIV/AIDS organization, praised today the United States government for recently approving $3.5 billion in new appropriations for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and $250 million for the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) as an expression of American commitment to global public health solidarity during the COVID-19 pandemic.
AIDS Memorial Quilt Virtual Exhibition and Stories Raise Awareness About Rise in HIV Infection Rates in Certain Native Community Populations
San Francisco, March 19, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- March 20th is National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NNHAAD), a national mobilization effort designed to encourage American Indians, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians across the United States and Territorial Areas to increase their awareness, get tested, get involved in prevention efforts and be treated for HIV..
Disappointment and hope from two HIV prevention trials
MARCH 18, 2021 - An antibody infusion being tested for preventing HIV does not seem to thwart most infections—but its success against certain strains of the virus suggests researchers are on the right track.
Read more...
HIV: An antidiabetic drug to reduce chronic inflammation
18-MAR-2021 - Researchers at the CRCHUM find that metformin could help people living with HIV who are being treated with antiretroviral therapy
Metformin, a drug used to treat type-2 diabetes, could help reduce chronic inflammation in people living with HIV (PLWH) who are being treated with antiretroviral therapy (ART), according to researchers at the University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre (CRCHUM).
The Poignant Beauty of Instagram's AIDS Memorial
MARCH 17, 2021 - BY JOHN CASEY - Haunting photos, personal stories, and heartbreak reveal boundless love.
There has been a secret and often unsaid guilt that has hung over me through my life. I am old enough to have lived through and survived the AIDS crisis of the 1980s and '90s. I was also left unscathed, with no scars, wounds or grief from caring for, caring about, or losing a loved one. AIDS did not come near me, and I did not go near it.
Read more...
GAY HISTORY – March 18, 1986: William F. Buckley, Jr. Proposes Tattooing All “AIDS Carriers” in New York Times Op-Ed
MARCH 17, 2021 - Will Kohler - On March 18th, 1986 two op-eds appeared in The New York Times’s editorial page under the heading, “Critical Steps in Combating the AIDS Epidemic.” One was written by Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz, and the other by Buckley. Dershowitz’s column, in keeping with the general hysteria of the day, was not without its alarmist elements. He repeated the belief that “AIDS may, in fact, be transmissible by tears, saliva, bodily fluids and mosquito bites” — a contention that was quickly refuted by those more familiar with the disease. But he also pleaded that “the flow of solid data should not be polluted by personal moralism. … We have a right to know the hard facts about AIDS, unvarnished by moralistic prejudgments.”
Read more...
Street renamed after Bianca Paige; longtime performer and AIDS activist
NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV)- MAR 17, 2021 - FORREST SANDERS - A community long hoped this day would come. Now that it's arrived, they couldn't be more proud. An honor is coming for a voice for important causes.
Read more...
Four-days-on, three-days-off treatment regimen still looks effective after two years
16 March 2021 - Liz Highleyman - Taking antiretroviral medication four consecutive days each week followed by a three-day break maintained viral suppression as well as a daily regimen, according to 96-week follow-up results presented last week at the virtual Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic infection CROI).
Read more...
 
Gilead and Merck Announce Agreement to Jointly Develop and Commercialize Long-Acting, Investigational Treatment Combinations of Lenacapavir and Islatravir in HIV
15-MAR-2021 - – Collaboration to Focus on Oral and Injectable Formulations of Lenacapavir and Islatravir –
– Agreement Brings Together Potentially Complementary Medicines in Late-Stage Development with the Goal to Provide Innovative, Long-Acting Treatments in HIV –
March 15, 2021 - FOSTER CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE) - Gilead Sciences, Inc.(Nasdaq: GILD) and Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today announced that they have entered into an agreement to co-develop and co-commercialize long-acting treatments in HIV that combine Gilead’s investigational capsid inhibitor, lenacapavir, and Merck’s investigational nucleoside reverse transcriptase translocation inhibitor, islatravir,into a two-drug regimen with the potential to provide new, meaningful treatment options for people living with HIV.
HIV research: Increased weight gain with TAF medication
15-MAR-2021 - In Switzerland about 17 000 people are living with an HIV infection, worldwide there are about 38 million. Today, the disease can be treated so successfully that a normal life can be ensured to a great extent. However, weight increases are often observed at the beginning of HIV therapy due to adaptations of the metabolism, which are part of a successful therapy. Therefore, body weight control plays an important role in HIV therapy. It is important, for example, to avoid metabolic problems that can lead to heart attacks or diabetes over the long term.
Switching from TDF- to TAF-containing ART associated with the development of obesity in people living with HIV
15-MAR-2021 - Switching from antiretroviral therapy (ART) containing tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) to ART containing tenofovir alafenamide (TAF) is associated with increased risk for significant weight increases, obesity, and rising blood lipid levels in people living with HIV. In contrast to most previous studies that were performed among treatment-naive patients, the changes in weight in the present study could not be attributed to better health due to starting HIV treatment as the patients studied were already taking ART with TDF for 6 months or longer. These findings from a cohort study are published in Annals of Internal Medicine.
New Phase 1 Clinical Trial Will Evaluate Whether Army-developed Adjuvant Boosts Immune Response to Experimental HIV Vaccines
March 15, 2021 - A new Phase 1 vaccine study began today that will evaluate experimental prime/boost HIV-1 vaccine regimens formulated with combinations of different adjuvants, including one from the Army Liposome Formulation (ALF) family of adjuvants developed by scientists with the U.S. Military HIV Research Program (MHRP) at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research.
Injectable HIV medications must be practical and affordable, conference hears
15 March 2021 - Roger Pebody - More sensitive tests for HIV infection will also be required
HIV treatment advances in the last decade were dominated by potent integrase inhibitors and single-tablet regimens, but the next decade promises to be an era of long-acting products, Professor Diane Havlir said at a panel discussion at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI 2021) last week.
Read more...
President Biden vowed to end the HIV epidemic by 2025 – but how realistic is that goal?
March 13, 2021 - By David Hudson - On the campaign trail last year, Joe Biden made an election pledge to end the HIV epidemic in the United States by 2025.
That’s a five-year improvement on former President Donald Trump’s aim to end the epidemic by 2030. Now that Biden’s in the White House, how realistic is that goal?
Read more...
Every-other-month injectable cabotegravir and rilpivirine suppresses viral load for two years
12 March 2021 - Liz Highleyman - Long-acting cabotegravir (Vocabria) and rilpivirine (Rekambys) injections maintain viral suppression for two years, according to follow-up study results presented this week at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI).
Read more...
RESEARCHERS BOOST THE POTENCY OF AN HIV-1 ANTIBODY, TRACING NEW POTENTIAL PATHWAYS FOR VACCINE DEVELOPMENT
LAWRENCE - March, 11, 2021 - Much like coronavirus, circulating HIV-1 viruses mutate into diverse variants that pose challenges for scientists developing vaccines to protect people from HIV/AIDS.
“AIDS vaccine development has been a decades-long challenge partly because our immune systems have difficulty recognizing all the diverse variants of the rapidly mutating HIV virus, which is the cause of AIDS,” said Brandon DeKosky, assistant professor of pharmaceutical chemistry and chemical & petroleum engineering at the University of Kansas.
mRNA vaccine protects monkeys against HIV-like virus
11 March 2021 - Liz Highleyman - The same messenger RNA (mRNA) approach used for the highly effective Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines also shows promise for protection against HIV, according to a presentation this week at the virtual Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections.
Read more...
‘An accelerated cauldron of evolution’: Covid-19 patients with cancer, HIV, may play a role in emergence of variants
March 11, 2021 - By Ariana Eunjung Cha - Some hospitalized patients with weakened immune systems were shown to have mutating viruses months before the variants were discovered in the outside world
Deepa Bhojwani recalled feeling lucky her 2-year-old cancer patient with covid-19 bounced back quickly after being seen for a fever in the emergency department at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. But in the months that followed, an unnerving thing happened.
Read more...
 
National AIDS Memorial Announces First Recipient of the Mary Bowman Arts in Activism Award
San Francisco, March 10, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) - Applications for 2021 Award Now Being Accepted for social justice program funded through the support of ViiV Healthcare
The National AIDS Memorial has announced Isabel Fatima (Ima) Diawara of Los Angeles as the first recipient of the Mary Bowman Arts in Activism Award. The newly created and inspiring program, funded through a multi-year grant from ViiV Healthcare, offers support to artist-activists who are working and committed to making a difference in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
Second known person to naturally cure their HIV infection is discovered in Argentina raising future hopes for millions of other sufferers
10 March 2021 - By CHRIS JEWERS - The second-known person to naturally cure their HIV infection has been discovered by scientists in Argentina, raising hopes for a future cure.
Read more...
How the AIDS epidemic can inform our handling of COVID-19
TORONTO - Mar 10, 2021 - Brooke Taylor - Grassroots activism was a driving force when informing the public about the HIV/AIDS epidemic information, and that same sort of messaging may be the key in sharing clear and concise messaging about the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read more...
AIDS activist Tryfan Morys Eibhlyn Llwyd dies
Mar 10, 2021 - by Tyler Breisacher - AIDS activist and longtime anti-imperialist organizer Tryfan Morys Eibhlyn Llwyd died March 3 in Louisville, Kentucky at the age of 70. Survivors said the death was due to natural causes, and not related to COVID-19.
When Llwyd, who identified as nonbinary or genderqueer, lived in San Francisco, they were one of the central figures in the emergence of militant AIDS activism in San Francisco, starting with the AIDS Action Pledge in 1986 (which became ACT UP/San Francisco in 1988), noted queer historian Gerard Koskovich.
Read more...
Therapeutic vaccine shows potential for HIV control off treatment in early study
10 March 2021 - Keith Alcorn - A therapeutic vaccine allowed some people with HIV to interrupt treatment for at least 22 weeks and maintain very low viral load, Dr Beatriz Mothe of the IrsiCaixa Institute for AIDS Research, Badalona, Spain, told the virtual Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI 2021) today.
Read more...
HIV capsid inhibitor offers new option for people with highly resistant HIV
10 March 2021 - Liz Highleyman
- Lenacapavir, an experimental HIV capsid inhibitor, led to rapid viral load reduction in highly treatment-experienced people with multidrug-resistant virus, according to a study presented yesterday at the virtual Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI 2021).
Read more...
amfAR Announces 2021 Mathilde Krim Fellowship Recipients
NEW YORK, March 9, 2021 - New research fellows harness powerful technologies in support of HIV vaccine and latency studies
amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, has announced the 2021 recipients of the Mathilde Krim Fellowship in Basic Biomedical Research. The fellowships will support an HIV vaccine study by Aleksandar Antanasijevic, Ph.D., of The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, and a study of the genes involved in maintaining HIV latency by Ujjwal Rathore, Ph.D., of the Gladstone Institutes, San Francisco, CA. The researchers were each awarded $150,000 over two years.
Group led by UCLA professor awarded $8.8 million for HIV intervention using mobile app
March 9, 2021 - by Brad Smith - NIH-funded project aims to prevent infection among high-risk transgender women
A team of researchers co-led by UCLA Fielding School of Public Health epidemiology professor Matthew Mimiaga has received an $8.8 million grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to conduct a nationwide study aimed at reducing the spread of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, among young transgender women through the use of a mobile app.
Puerto Rico: New AHF Carolina Healthcare Center and AHF Pharmacy to Open March 9 - Paseo del Prado Shopping Center
March 09, 2021 - SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- New state-of-the-art facilities aim to serve those whose access to HIV/AIDS care and services still suffer from fallout from 2017’s Hurricane Maria as well as the COVID-19 pandemic
AHF’s newest site includes an AHF Healthcare Center in Carolina (relocating from Trujillo Alto in San Juan) and an AHF Pharmacy Access Center, providing HIV/AIDS healthcare and pharmacy services as well as HIV testing and treatment and STD/STI treatment and preventionAIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the world’s largest global AIDS organization, is proud to announce expansion of its services delivering state-of-the-art HIV/AIDS medical care and pharmacy services to patients regardless of their insurance status or ability to pay at its newest site in Carolina, Puerto Rico. AHF currently cares for over 1.5 million patients in 45 countries around the globe.
Large numbers now on Descovy PrEP in the United States
9 March 2021 - Roger Pebody - In the year following the US approval of emtricitabine/TAF (Descovy) as PrEP in October 2019, 29% of existing PrEP users switched to the newer formulation and 36% of new PrEP users started on it. Dr Karen Hoover of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention presented these data, based on a large pharmacy database, to the virtual Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI 2021) this week.
Read more...
Women of Distinction 2021: Dr. Anne-Marie Zajdlik
Mar 8, 2021 - By: Ariel Deutschmann - To understand Anne-Marie Zajdlik’s work, you have to go back to her first encounter with an HIV patient at Dalhousie University.
Read more...
Study: Increase in taking HIV meds using Amazon Prime model
March 8, 2021 - Study took place in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa, among 162 people living with HIV.
Home delivery of HIV medicines in South Africa significantly increased viral suppression compared to those who received clinical care, according to a study by researchers at the University of Washington School of Medicine.
Greater Tobacco Use Linked to Higher Levels of Inflammation in HIV-positive People
March 8th, 2021 - AMHERST, Mass. - UMass Amherst study points to health benefits from reducing cigarette smoking
Inflammation in the body has been linked to the intensity of tobacco smoking among people with HIV, according to a team of University of Massachusetts Amherst researchers.
Researchers Identify Basic Mechanisms that Regulate HIV Expression
March 8th, 2021 - Despite the positive advances that anti-human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) therapy, commonly called anti-retroviral therapy (ART) or highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), has had on the life expectancy of HIV-positive people, finding a cure for HIV or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) has remained elusive.
Merck Presents Results from Phase 1 Trial Evaluating Investigational Islatravir Subdermal Implant for the Prevention of HIV-1 Infection at CROI 2021
March 8, 2021 - KENILWORTH, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Company to Proceed with Phase 2 Development Program for Islatravir Subdermal Implant
Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today announced results from a Phase 1 study evaluating the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics (PK) of the company’s investigational subdermal drug-eluting implant with potential for extended administration of islatravir for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) of HIV-1 infection.
The woman with HIV helping others have a 'good death'
March 8, 2021 - By Megha Mohan - Thembi Nkambule has been there for hundreds of people dying from Aids in Eswatini - a country where one in four people have HIV. These are the lessons she has learned on what it means to have "a good death".
Read more...
UN appreciates Iran’s ‘leading role’ in fight against AIDS
March 8, 2021 - TEHRAN – The Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) has praised Iran’s leading role in the fight against the virus.
UNAIDS executive director Winnie Byanyima, in a letter to Esmaeil Baghaei-Hamaneh, permanent representative to the UN in Geneva, appreciated Iran for its efforts in eradication of HIV and welcomed a visit to the country.
Read more...
One Size Doesn’t Fit All When It Comes to Products for Preventing HIV from Anal Sex
PITTSBURGH, 6 March 2021 - After “trying on” three placebo methods for the delivery of a rectal microbicide, study participants said they could see all of them – a douche, rectal suppository and fast-dissolving rectal insert – fitting into their daily lives. These results, which also identified the product attributes most important to participants, underscore the importance of developing a range of HIV prevention products for people who practice anal sex.
Virginia is poised to reform its HIV criminalization laws. Is the rest of the U.S. next?
March 5, 2021 - By Dan Avery - “Being HIV positive is itself not a threat to public safety,” state Sen. Jennifer McClellan, a Democrat, said.
Virginia lawmakers have approved legislation modernizing laws around HIV exposure.
Read more...
Ten-year Italian study shows that people with HIV remain undetectable for 97% of the time
5 March 2021 - Michael Carter - 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.
Read more...
Help Celebrate Black Women in the HIV Movement
MARCH 05 2021 - By Desirée Guerrero - The Positive Women’s Network announces the first official day honoring Black women in the continued fight against HIV.
Black women have long been the silent soldiers in the fight against HIV, often selflessly devoting their time, love, and energy to serve their local HIV communities. But now, one organization is dedicating a special day to honor these hard-working, courageous women. Next Friday, March 12, will be a day to “Celebrate & Honor Black Women in the HIV Movement.” The event is being put on by the Positive Women’s Network (PWN), “a nationwide community of women living with HIV,” as stated on its website. “Our mission is to prepare and involve all women living with HIV, in all our diversity, including gender identity and sexual expression, in all levels of policy and decision-making.”
Read more...
Shock as new HIV infections in youths double in 7 years
05 March 2021 - Six in every ten infections now among young people below 30 years
The Ministry of Health and Health CECs will conduct nationwide HIV campaigns after the latest statistics showed extremely high new infections in youths.
Read more...
Fred Hutch at CROI: COVID-19 vaccine efficacy trials, T-cell immunity following vaccination, immune responses to SARS-CoV-2, and late-breaking science on HPV, HIV and long-term antiretroviral therapy
SEATTLE —Mar. 4, 2021 - Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections to be held virtually March 6 – 10, 2021
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center experts will present research on SARS-CoV-2 infection and immunity, and COVID-19 vaccine trial design at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections 2021. The meeting, which will be held virtually March 6-10, also will feature findings from the Uganda Cancer Institute-Fred Hutch Cancer Centre.
This Week in HIV Research: The Unsung Opportunities of Long-Acting Antiretrovirals
March 4, 2021 - Barbara Jungwirth - Myles Helfand - Since receiving U.S. approval in January, much of the conversation around the long-acting injectable cabotegravir/rilpivirine (Cabenuva) has centered around the types of patients who may be the best candidates for switching off their current oral daily regimen and onto the new monthly injection. Meanwhile, there’s plenty of buzz around the eventual greenlight of long-acting injectable cabotegravir as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).
Read more...
A Cream Bests Surgery as Treatment for Abnormal Anal Cells in Men With HIV
March 4, 2021 - By Heather Boerner - While researchers try to figure out whether treating early anal tissue changes can prevent cancer, some are investigating treatments.
Treating high-risk anal tissue changes with a self-administered 5% imiquimod cream resulted in fewer follow-up treatments and more total remission of potentially precancerous cells compared with surgery alone.
Read more...
Merck to Present New Data from Various HIV Research and Development Programs at CROI 2021
March 3, 2021 - KENILWORTH, N.J.-- (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, announced today upcoming presentations from its HIV clinical development programs that will be featured during the 2021 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI 2021), taking place virtually from March 6 – 10, 2021.
BlueCity Partners with UNAIDS for Zero Discrimination Day Campaign
BEIJING, March 02, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --Brand calls for ending inequalities in Asia Pacific with a monthlong series of
awareness-building events
BlueCity, a world-leading LGBTQ community platform providing a full suite of services to foster connections and enhance the well-being of the LGBTQ community, has partnered with UNAIDS on Zero Discrimination Day, March 1, with a monthlong series of awareness-building events aiming to help end discrimination and inequality across societies in Asia-Pacific.
Gilead to Present New Data at CROI 2021 Demonstrating the Company's Commitment to Addressing Urgent Global Health Needs
March 02, 2021 - FOSTER CITY, Calif. --(BUSINESS WIRE) - -- 19 Abstracts Will Feature the Latest Advances in the Company’s HIV, COVID-19 and Viral Hepatitis Research Programs --
Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: GILD) today announced the upcoming presentation of new data from the company’s HIV, hepatitis C virus (HCV), and COVID-19 research and development programs at the 28th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (virtual CROI 2021) taking place from March 6-10. The breadth of data at the meeting reflects Gilead’s longstanding commitment to applying its scientific innovation toward addressing some of the world’s most challenging viruses and advancing global health.
New MHRP pre-clinical SHIV remission study shows progress in delaying viral load rebound
March 1, 2021 - A recent preclinical study by U.S. Military HIV Research Program (MHRP) researchers showed that an experimental therapy combining a TLR7 agonist and two broadly neutralizing antibodies delayed viral rebound in SHIV-infected macaques after antiretroviral therapy (ART) interruption.
Message from the UNAIDS Executive Director on Zero Discrimination Day 2021
March 1, 2021 - This year’s Zero Discrimination Day is an especially poignant one.
US study suggests women living with HIV should be screened earlier for non-AIDS co-morbidities
1 March 2021 - Rosalie Hayes - Women living with HIV are at greater risk of developing non-AIDS co-morbidities than their HIV-negative peers, with the difference most evident among younger women, according to US research published in Clinical Infectious Diseases. Overall, women living with HIV were 36% more likely to develop non-AIDS co-morbidities during the study period compared to women without HIV, after adjusting for demographics factors, drug and alcohol use, body mass index (BMI) and income level. This rose to 48% among women aged below 25 – a group not traditionally prioritised in co-morbidity screening guidelines.
Read more...
HIV findings in DR Congo 'give hope for cure'
March 1, 2021 - The discovery of a large group of people whose bodies naturally control HIV without taking medication is leading to hopes of an eventual cure, scientists say.
The study found as many as 4% of HIV carriers in the Democratic Republic of Congo were able to suppress the virus.
Read more...
2020 Elisse Zack Award for Excellence in HIV and Rehabilitation Recipient: Colleen Price
Mar 1, 2021 - Colleagues Francisco Ibáñez-?Carrasco and Kelly O'Brien, and Colleen Price speak about her receiving the 2020 Elisse Zack Award for Excellence in HIV and Rehabilitation
| 
