HIV Science

New Syringe Design Fights Spread of HIV

10 years ago
by ADMIN in

Sharing needles when injecting drugs can greatly increase the risk of getting HIV. While in one respect the best way to keep such individuals from contracting HIV is to get them off drugs, another alternative may be available that is more likely to be pursued – a new design of syringes that may make it possible to prevent HIV from being passed along in this manner in the first place.

A recently conducted and published study has shown that when needles have less dead space in them, they are less likely to spread a blood-borne illness like HIV. The means by which blood is spread from individual to individual while sharing needles is that a small amount of blood is left in dead space of the syringe when depressed.

The researchers were able to show that this amount of blood can be reduced by up to 1000 times (an almost insignificant amount) when a different type of syringe with less dead space is used.

What is the significance of this study? It shows that an extreme increase or decrease in the likelihood of the spread of disease occurs when sharing needles, depending on the types of needles being used. China, Russia, and Ukraine are just a few of the nations that would benefit significantly from a switch to needles with less dead space – they are among the nations with the highest incidence of HIV contracted from needle sharing.

The study showed that in these and other nations, the number of cases caused by needles could be reduced to zero within a decade. These nations are being called upon by the study to spread awareness of the potential of alternative needles in HIV prevention.

The effects could be even greater than expected, because many individuals who contract HIV through drugs may well then pass it along through sex – by stopping the spread of HIV through needle users, it may also reduce the number of cases spread through sexual relations.

While there are obstacles to implementing this new needle design, it is hoped that the low cost and high benefit will result in many more nations joining the call to spread awareness.

HIV Increases Skin Cancer Risk

11 years ago
by ADMIN in

According to a recent study, non-melanoma skin cancer is found more frequently in patients who have HIV – specifically, two particular types of skin cancer are at least twice as likely to form in the skin of patients. This comprehensive study included tens of thousands of individuals and was conducted over the course of more than a decade. It was found that HIV antiretroviral treatments did not seem to have an effect on the incidence of skin cancer.

This is a one-of-a-kind study as previous research did not include these specific types of non-melanoma skin cancers. This is of particular interest to HIV doctors because with life expectancy of HIV patients increasing, many such individuals are now facing other life threatening illnesses like cancer.

It is interesting to note that HIV positive individuals with low CD4 counts had a greater incidence of squamous forms of skin cell cancers than HIV positive individuals with high CD4 counts, who had similar occurrences as non-HIV patients.

This is not the only cancer found to be more common in HIV positive individuals – a wide range of cancer studies have shown that a compromised immune system leads to an increased likelihood of many types of cancer. In support of this theory there are also numerous studies featuring immunosuppressed transplant patients.

Statistically, it is difficult to detect forms of skin cancer other than melanoma early on, but this study conducted in Northern California took a unique approach to patient care, allowing for earlier detection of the disease which significantly improves survival rate.

So what does this test mean for HIV patients and their doctors? The results call for HIV doctors to keep a close eye out for difficult to detect forms of skin cancer because of their prevalence in HIV-positive individuals – frequent screening is of course the best way to catch the disease early enough for an optimistic prognosis.

HIV Patients in Ethiopia Often Don’t Tell Anyone

11 years ago
by ADMIN in

One major factor in the battle against HIV is disclosure on the part of one who has it. There are over 1 million people in the African country of Ethiopia with the disease. In a study conducted among those undergoing treatment in the country, a rather upsetting trend was identified – that many patients don’t tell anyone when they discover they have HIV.

Only about two thirds can even bring themselves to tell a best friend, while less than one-in-five reveal such information to a sibling and even fewer speak to other relatives. In fact, more than one-in-ten patients did not tell anyone they know about their condition.

It was also revealed that there was a higher rate of nondisclosure among single people, which is especially disturbing as it indicates that such individuals are not disclosing this information to their sexual partner(s), which could result in further unnecessary spread of the disease.

Furthermore, those who are illiterate were also less likely to disclose information about their HIV – many of these are likely to be poorer individuals fearing a higher degree of stigma and discrimination due to their disease.

Researchers came up with the idea of checking disclosure rates when it was noticed that many patients went through added time and expense to get treated some distance from home, rather than going to a local treatment facility – it then became clear that many simply didn’t want to be seen going to the doctor to receive the necessary medication and treatment.

This really seems to be indicative of two things. Firstly, it shows a lack of understanding among HIV patients of how important knowledge about the disease is in preventing its spread. Secondly, it reveals that there is still a terrible stigma associated with HIV in Ethiopia, which people are willing to go to great lengths to avoid – and this is clear to see when they even fear telling loved ones.

Researchers believe that counselors could help remedy the situation by creating a safer environment – one in which HIV patients feel they can speak to those close to them without being concerned about prejudice.

Smoking Kills People With HIV Faster Than the Disease

11 years ago
by ADMIN in

A published study has revealed that HIV patients who are receiving treatment for the disease lose more years off their lives from smoking than they do from HIV. This highlights the necessity to kick the smoking habit immediately if someone is infected with HIV.

The study followed over 3,000 HIV patients in Denmark over the course of 25 years, making it a very thorough study on the effects that smoking cigarettes has on an individual’s life expectancy. When patients were able to get HIV treatment for free, over three fifths of the individuals ended up losing their lives due to complications of smoking. The study compared the life span of individual smokers with HIV who were part of the study against the general population.

A smoker in his mid-thirties had nearly 16 years knocked off of his life expectancy according to the study. HIV patients who smoked had a 200 percent loss of life expectancy versus non smokers. It was a 300 percent difference versus non smokers who did not have HIV. Clearly, smoking is indeed one of the biggest factors in determining how long a person lives, regardless of their health otherwise.

The whole study just helps people to appreciate the need to band together to help friends kick this terrible habit before it is too late. As soon as a smoker gives up cigarettes, it becomes far less likely the he or she will end up with heart disease. It takes several years of being smoke free before the cancer risks begins to decline.

This also displays the importance of having a team of individuals to assist an HIV patient. In this case, there needs to be someone to help the patient make necessary personal changes. It is both important for an HIV patient to quit smoking and to not start after being diagnosed.

Kids With HIV Also at Risk for Atherosclerosis

11 years ago
by ADMIN in

A recent study has shown that kids who are HIV positive are 250 percent more likely to contract atherosclerosis. This can result in heart attacks and premature death. Due to the seriousness of the matter, a healthy routine of food and exercise, as well as certain medications, is vital to survival.

While medications now make it possible for those with HIV to live much longer without the progression of the disease, it doesn’t mean they no longer have the disease at all. Complications still arise than can result in death, and this is one of those complications. With the immune system constantly locked in conflict with HIV, the person is far more likely to contract other life threatening illnesses and to develop various medical conditions like heart problems.

Elevated LDL levels are another side effect of the HIV virus that can cause serious health complications. HIV treatment does seem to help lower these levels. There is presently about a 10-year difference in life expectancy for those with HIV.

The study was performed with 300 children in total. Half of the kids were those infected with HIV. The other half were a control group that did not have the disease. One factor that was considered in the study, because it does have an effect on the heart, is the number of smokers in the group. There were more smokers in the HIV positive group than in the control group (6 percent more), and it is believed the reason for this is that those in the HIV positive group had a poorer economic status and difficult family histories. All of this was taken into consideration when the study was done, and even with adjusting the numbers to make up for the smoking discrepancy and other factors, there was still a 250 percent increased risk of heart disease for the HIV patients.

The results of this study have shown that physicians treating children who have HIV need to pay close attention to their lifestyle and help them to appreciate the need to take care of their heart from an early age due to the complications of HIV. It also shows the importance of antiretroviral drugs in helping increase the life expectancy of those who suffer from HIV.

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