Treatment News

A Mind of Her Own

TasCAHRD — Thu, 05 May 2011 02:32:00 +0000

Long-term survivor Maggie Atkinson adds cognitive problems to her list of HIV-related issues. Here she takes a walk down memory lane and shares what she's learned about protecting her brain.

I FIRST NOTICED a slight reduction in my ability to think clearly in 1993, when my CD4+ cell count fell below 200. I just didn't feel as sharp.

A year later when I got PCP, the life threatening pneumonia that is a hallmark of AIDS, my handwriting deteriorated so much that I had to concentrate to write legibly.

About five years ago, I started having trouble remembering names of famous people. Over the next couple of years, these memory lapses progressed to the names of colleagues and then friends, which was awkward, to say the least.

I also began to have difficulty finding words. It started with complex words. My brain would substitute another similar-sounding or simpler word. My sentences began to be filled with 'thing' or 'stuff' or 'you know'.

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New findings may impact HIV drug use

TasCAHRD — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 05:40:55 +0000

HIV patients may have a greater chance of avoiding life-threatening diseases thought to be associated with their treatment, after a breakthrough discovery by Sydney researchers.

The study looked at the impact of two leading anti-HIV drugs to determine if either were contributing to an increased prevalence of heart disease and heart attack among those taking certain medication.

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PrEP looks safe

TasCAHRD — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 04:21:52 +0000

A study involving US gay men suggests that pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) using tenofovir (Viread) is safe.

The Study involved 373 men; 86% completed the two-year study,

Divided into four groups, the first two groups were randomised to receive either tenofovir or a placebo; treatment lasted for two years. Men in the other groups were monitored for six months and then started treatment with either tenofovir or a placebo. These delayed-treatment arms were to see if taking PrEP increased sexual risk behaviour.

There was no real difference in side-effects reported by patients taking tenofovir or the placebo, other than greater reporting back pain from those on tenofovir.

Encouragingly, there was no evidence that tenofovir affected kidney function, or caused bone loss.

Sexual risk behaviour did not increase during the trial.

Seven men became HIV-positive during the study: none of them were taking tenofovir.

But the researchers emphasised that their research didn't have the statistical power to show whether PrEP was effective.

To view full report CLICK HERE

Study supports starting treatment above 350

TasCAHRD — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 03:36:49 +0000

Patients who start HIV treatment when their CD4 cell count is between 350 and 500 cells/mm3 have better outcomes than people who initiate therapy when their CD4 count is 350 or below, a study has shown.

However, the research also demonstrated that starting treatment with a CD4 cell count above 500 gave no additional advantage.

The CASCADE study involved over 9000 patients, recruitment within six months of their infection, none had AIDS, nor had any started HIV treatment.

Patients were followed for an average of five years. comparing progression to AIDS and death on and off treatment. Approximately 9% progressed to AIDS and 6% died.

For patients with a CD4 cell count between 200 and 350, starting treatment reduced the risk of AIDS or death by about %40

Benefits of treatment were also clear for those starting treatment when their CD4 cell count was between 350 and 500.

But the risk of AIDS or death was low for patients with a CD4 cell count above 500, regardless of whether or not they took antiretroviral drugs.

For full report CLICK HERE