Medical notes: HIV Oct 28, 2009
This combination, called HAART or highly active antiretroviral therapy, has improved life expectancy significantly. Although they are very effective, antiretroviral drugs can have unwanted side effects such as nausea. (BBC News -- Europe)
Research Shows Treating HIV-AIDS With Interleukin-2 Is Ineffective Oct 21, 2009
IL-2 is currently used as a complement to highly active antiretroviral therapy (known as HAART), which is administered to patients with HIV-AIDS. Since HAART controls replication of viruses in the blood, doctors thought that IL-2 would help regenerate more CD4+ immune cells, which serve as an indicator of viral progression. It was thought that IL-2 increased the natural immunity of patients by helping immune cells mature and multiply. (Science Daily)
Maternal HIV-1 treatment protects against transmission to newborns Oct 17, 2009
Mothers receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) to treat HIV-1 infection are less likely than untreated mothers to transmit the virus to their newborns through breastfeeding, according to a new study. The findings, now available online in the Nov. 15 issue of The Journal of Infectious Diseases, suggest HAART regimens should be initiated as early as possible in eligible mothers in areas with limited resources, such as Africa, where most infant HIV-1 infections occur, and... (EurekAlert!)
On Terrorist Attack Anniversary, Australian Rugby Club Refuses Defeat Oct 13, 2009
Erik de Haart said he will never forget the frantic, awful night he spent for the bodies of his friends. De Haart and four others had gone back to their hotel early, leaving their six teammates to keep on carousing at the Sari Club, which was heaving with young people, mostly Westerners ... De Haart said he rushed to the club and spent the next five hours pulling out bodies from the smoldering ruins, although he recognized no one he knew. (ABC News)
Endothelin Drugs Benefit Those With Pulmonary Hypertension Sep 16, 2009
2, 2009) Researchers have discovered that HAART contributes to pulmonary hypertension in HIV-infected. (Mar. (Science Daily)
New Study Suggests An Unidentified Source As Cause Of Residual Viremia In HIV-1 Patients On HAART Aug 31, 2009
31, 2009) A new study suggests that an unidentified cellular source may be responsible for residual viremia in HIV-1 patients on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) ... When successful, HAART can reduce HIV-1 levels in the blood to undetectable amounts, however, HIV-1 still persists as latent proviruses in resting CD4+ T cells, also known as residual viremia ... "The finding that some of the residual viremia in patients on HAART stems from an unidentified cellular source other than CD4+... (Science Daily)
Summary for Patients Aug 4, 2009
These treatment combinations are known as highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). Efavirenz is 1 of the drugs used in HAART and is very effective at fighting HIV infection ... 144 patients with HIV infection from 7 HIV clinics in Spain who were eligible to start a HAART regimen that included efavirenz plus 2 other drugs. (Annals of Internal Medicine)
Rise 'n Die, HIV: Strategies for a Cure Based on Waking the AIDS Virus Jul 31, 2009
Drug cocktails or more technically, (HAART) have turned what used to be a death sentence into more of a chronic disease in recent years ... "Whenever anybody stops HAART, the virus comes back," says , who studies the dynamics of HIV replication at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. (Scientific American)
Botswana: Mother-to-Child HIV Transmission Lowest in Africa - Study Jul 30, 2009
This was revealed by Dr Roger Shapiro of the Botswana-Havard AIDS Institute when releasing the findings of a random trial comparing HAART regimens for virologic efficacy and the prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission among breastfeeding mothers in Botswana at Boipuso Hall in Gaborone last Friday. The Mmabana Study, as the programme is called, also revealed that Maternal Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) from early in the third trimester of pregnancy through six months of... (allAfrica.com)
Africa: Optimism Over Stemming HIV/Aids Jul 26, 2009
"The gap between evidence and implementation is particularly apparent between North and South. In the North we have virtually eliminated vertical (mother to child) transmission of HIV infection with the use of Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART). We have unrestricted access to drug combinations, and new, highly-potent, and safer drugs that are easier to adhere to. We also have highly effective second and third line regimens, as well as point of care testing, and routine viral load and... (allAfrica.com)
Africa: IAS Opening Address By Stephen Lewis Jul 21, 2009
Second, even now a dreadful double standard prevails: in the industrial world we use full HAART; in the developing world we still use, in the majority, single-dose nevirapine. You're scientists: you know what that means in terms of unnecessary infant infection and death. (allAfrica.com)
HIV: When the Cure is worse than th... Jul 20, 2009
Thanks to HAART and other medications, most people can manage their HIV and live a full life (life expectancy is a median 32 years from infection with proper HAART treatment, a number which will increase before any HAART patients reach it). In rare cases where HAART is ineffective, most patients have 9-10 years before AIDS develops ... Where HAART is effective, living with HIV is an obviously superior option to trying to have it cured via BMT, which comes with up to a 30% chance of death,... (Suite101.com)
Focusing HIV Treatment Helps Control Concurrent Hepatitis B Infection Jul 16, 2009
ScienceDaily (July 16, 2009) Prolonged use of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) to treat people infected with both HIV and hepatitis B (HBV) helps to better control the hepatitis B infection and could delay or prevent liver complications, according to a new study by researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine ... HAART is the treatment for HIV infection, consisting of a combination of drugs commonly known as the "cocktail." ... Of the 72 patient charts reviewed primarily... (Science Daily)
Hodgkin Lymphoma Survivors Have Increased Risk Of Stroke And Transient Ischemic Attack Jun 26, 2009
8, 2005) In people infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) may prevent most excess cases of Kaposi sarcoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, according to a new. (Oct. (Science Daily)
New Strategy Eyed for AIDS Treatment Jun 24, 2009
A team of American and Canadian researchers have high hopes for a combination of targeted chemotherapy and what's known as highly active anti-retroviral (HAART) treatments. When HIV viruses hide in immune cells, the researchers explained, existing HAART treatments can't reach them. (MEDLINEplus)
Researchers claim breakthrough in AIDS treatment Jun 22, 2009
Existing drug cocktails known as highly active antiretroviral therapy of HAART destroy the AIDS virus circulating in the body, yet cannot reach those hidden in reservoir cells, they said. "Based on this research, we believe one possible method for eliminating HIV in the body is to use a combined approach," said Sekaly. (Xinhuanet, China)
A new weapon in the war against HIV-AIDS: Combined antiviral and targeted chemotherapy Jun 22, 2009
Montreal, June 21, 2009 A discovery by a team of Canadian and American researchers could provide new ways to fight HIV-AIDS. According to a new study published in Nature Medicine, HIV-AIDS could be treated through a combination of targeted chemotherapy and current Highly Active Retroviral (HAART) treatments ... To date, anti-AIDS treatments have been stymied by "HIV reservoirs" immune system cells where the virus hides and where existing HAART treatments cannot reach ... Existing HAART... (EurekAlert!)
AIDS: Clues To Virus-cancer Link Uncovered Jun 19, 2009
8, 2005) In people infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) may prevent most excess cases of Kaposi sarcoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, according to a new. (July 10, 2007) HIV/AIDS and kidney transplant patients are at much greater risk of contracting 20 different types of cancer than the general population, according to a recent article. (Science Daily)
New cellular targets for HIV drug development May 30, 2009
Four of the patients had been treated with highly active antiretroviral therapy, called HAART, at or near the time of death. The research team compared brain and lymphoma tissues having heavy concentrations of macrophages with tissues from the spleen and lymph nodes that had a mix of HIV-infected macrophages and T cells. (India Times, India -- Health/Science)
Research suggests new cellular targets for HIV drug development May 28, 2009
Four patients had been treated with highly active antiretroviral therapy, called HAART, at or near the time of death. The researchers compared brain and lymphoma tissues, which had heavy concentrations of macrophages, with lymphoid tissues such as from the spleen and lymph nodes that had a mix of HIV-infected macrophages and T cells. (EurekAlert!)
AIDS Patients With Serious Complications Benefit From Early Retroviral Use, Study Shows May 21, 2009
14, 2005) Although clinical progression to AIDS of patients infected with Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has declined since the introduction of Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART), there is little. . (Science Daily)
New therapies mean HIV patients gain longer lives, face new challenges May 18, 2009
"The long-term effects of HIV were therefore fairly obvious: death. But with the advent of a new class of anti-retroviral drugs called 'highly active anti-retroviral therapy,' or HAART, the clinical picture of HIV has changed. The disease has gone from being an automatic death sentence to a chronic condition, and like all chronic conditions, it brings with it other complications that can seriously affect the lives of those who have it.". Mr. Kadri and colleagues are directing a prospective study... (EurekAlert!)
Normal Vaccine Response Possible in Kids with HIV May 1, 2009
Highly active antiretroviral therapy, better known as HAART, involves treatment with three or more drugs, of various classes, to combat HIV.. When HAART begins is the key factor that will determine whether an HIV-infected child will develop a normal vaccine response and how long it will last, Dr. Paolo Rossi, at the University of Tor Vergata in Rome, and colleagues state in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ... Whether the timing of HAART could help preserve these cells and... (MEDLINEplus)
AIDS drug: Study backs early treatment Apr 9, 2009
Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) began to overturn the automatic death sentence associated with AIDS after this powerful cocktail of drugs was introduced in 1996 ... There is no universal guideline for when HAART should be administered, but a common recommendation is to start the drugs when there are fewer than 200-250 CD4 cells- key immune cells that are attacked by the virus- per microlitre of blood ... In a paper published in The Lancet today, a team led by Jonathan Sterne of... (India Times, India)
Potential New HIV Drug May Help Patients Not Responding To Treatment Apr 8, 2009
Currently, the 'gold standard' treatment for HIV is Highly Active Anti-Retroviral Therapy (HAART), a cocktail of drugs that reduces the viral load by stopping the virus from replicating. HAART can increase the life expectancy of an HIV-positive patient substantially if it works well ... However, the treatment is not effective for around one in ten patients, partly because some develop resistance to the drugs used in HAART. The researchers, from Imperial College London, the National Cancer... (Science Daily)
South Africa: Hundreds of Thousands Die Due to Delay in ARV Rollout - Studies Mar 10, 2009
The latest edition of the HIV Treatment Bulletin contains a report on two studies calculating the excess number of AIDS deaths in South Africa resulting from a delay in governmental roll-out of highly active ARV treatment (HAART) and in preventing mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) ... Public sector HAART in South Africa only moved beyond the pilot phase in 2004, with WHO estimates showing that HAART was scaled up from less than 3% in 2000 to 23% in 2005 ... The study suggests that an earlier... (allAfrica.com)
Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) Leads To Pulmonary Hypertension, Study Suggests Mar 2, 2009
2, 2009) Researchers led by Dr. Changyi Chen at Baylor College of Medicine discovered that HAART contributes to pulmonary hypertension in HIV-infected patients ... HAART is a combination therapy for HIV that consists of at least three antiretroviral drugs that suppress viral replication and restore CD4+ T cell numbers in HIV-infected patients ... HAART dramatically improves the prognosis of HIV-infected patients; however, HAART drugs may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. (Science Daily)
Gene Therapy Shows Promise As Weapon Against HIV Feb 27, 2009
"What we were able to demonstrate was that the patients who received the gene-modified cells had a somewhat better suppression of their HIV viral replication after discontinuing their highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) treatment, compared with the controls." ... At the primary end-point, the difference in viral load between the OZ1 and placebo group at weeks seven and eight, after they had stopped HAART treatment, was not statistically significant. (Science Daily)
Readers respond Feb 18, 2009
The following is one example how an integrated health centre can benefit this region specifically: Highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART) has dramatically changed the development of HIV-related therapies in industrialized countries. But where HAART is not available or not economically feasible, patients are very likely to seek complementary and alternative medicine ... Without going into too much detail, where HAART therapies have proven to be ineffective, there has been cases shown where... (Globe and Mail)
'Major Advance' in HIV Gene Therapy Feb 17, 2009
All of the patients had HIV infection and had their infections under control with highly active antiretroviral (HAART) drug combinations. What happened. (WebMD)
HIV gene therapy trial promising Feb 16, 2009
Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has greatly improved the prognosis for people infected with HIV.. However, it must be taken on a daily basis, there is a risk of adverse reactions and the virus - which has an astonishing capacity to evolve rapidly - is starting to develop resistance to the drugs. (BBC News -- Health)
Man appears free of HIV after stem cell transplant Feb 12, 2009
"For HIV patients, this report is an important flicker of hope that antiretroviral therapy like HAART [highly active antiretroviral therapy] is not the endpoint of medical research," Hutter said. Share this on. (CNN -- Health)
HIV & AIDS Feb 7, 2009
This aggressive approach is known as highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART). The aim of HAART is to reduce the amount of virus in your blood to very low or even nondetectable levels, although this doesn't mean the virus is gone. (CNN -- Health)
