HIV Therapy
Immune-Suppressing Therapies
9 years ago
by ADMIN
in HIV Therapy
HIV and Immune-Suppressing Therapies Hold Promise for Cure
The success of current HIV therapies has not gone unnoticed. Thanks to the antiviral drugs commonly prescribed to HIV-positive patients, overall well-being and length of life has been greatly improved. A slowing in the progression of the disease has helped many people to go on to lead full, happy and relatively healthy lives. However, a complete HIV cure still eludes researchers. HIV remains in the body, even though infection is controlled. Immune response to the lingering infection causes inflammation and this can lead to other issues. Because of this reality, it was decided that a different approach using immune-suppressing therapies might shed some light on how this problem could be better handled.
By combining expertise in different fields, researchers became aware of exciting new information. By closely following and monitoring patients who had recent kidney transplants and who were also HIV-positive, they found that certain transplant drugs may hold the key to better manage HIV. The immune-suppressing drugs given to transplant patients are used to ensure that the new organ is not rejected. Researchers monitoring the number of HIV infected cells in the blood, noted that levels were reduced over time when taking these drugs. This finding is different from what is normally seen in routine HIV treatments. This decrease in HIV persistence is prompting further investigation.
Specific drug therapies were found to be particularly good at reducing the amounts of HIV found in the blood. These commonly prescribed treatments will be studied in order to learn more of how they work and their potential for completely eradicating HIV from the system. If the research proves that these immune altering drugs are effective, an HIV cure could well be in reach. Researchers are optimistic that, if nothing else, immune-suppressing therapies will help to better manage HIV and reduce some of the complications associated with the infection.
Silver Nanoparticle Vaginal Cream
9 years ago
by ADMIN
in HIV Therapy
Silver Nanoparticles Fight HIV
Researchers from Mexico that specialize in virology have discovered that silver nanoparticles have the ability to block the transmission of HIV-infected cells by working against the protein that facilitates the virus adhering to healthy cells. With this knowledge, specialists have created a silver nanoparticle vaginal cream that is designed to stop the transmission of HIV. Even though the mechanism of delivery is a cream intended for female use, it would in theory protect both sexual partners from the acquiring the virus. The cream starts working within 60 seconds of application and lasts for three days.
So far the silver nanoparticle vaginal cream has been tested in human tissue and there are plans to test it using mice and then move onto clinical trials. In the past, treatment for HIV has focused mainly on fighting the replication of the virus after it has hijacked the cell and its machinery. This new development, however, would prevent the virus from even entering the cell. The tests so far have proved that the cream is very effective in keeping the virus from adhering to the cell, but further testing is required to see what the possible side effects could be.
Irritation at times can make it easier for the virus to enter the tissue. Since topical applications can cause irritation, scientists added an anti-inflammatory agent to the cream. If this cream proves efficient and nontoxic in further trials, it could be used to protect people from other types of sexually transmitted diseases, such as the human papilloma virus (HPV), along with sexually transmitted bacterial infections.
The same team is also working on a kit to test HIV-positive blood for its reaction to antiretroviral drugs. These kits could help doctors prescribe the most effective treatment for each individual patient. In order to fully develop this kit, many more clinical trials are needed.
HIV Patients Fare Better Visiting Just One Clinic
10 years ago
“Continual and consistent therapy is better”—this is according to a recent study conducted on HIV patients and the clinics they visited. While most can appreciate why this is so, especially when it comes to the complexities involved in antiretroviral therapy (or ART), the importance of continuity of care is even more pronounced in these cases.
Patients and clinics were followed for a period of time to analyze the quality of care given and the compliance of HIV patients. It was found that most patients who visited different clinics received care that was, at times, less than adequate. Most of the time, care was inconsistent and patient follow-through was poor. This could be seen in higher viral loads in HIV patients who visited numerous clinics when compared to those who went to just one.
Those who were more likely to frequent various clinics were younger women normally in their first year of treatment. This practice of going to different clinics could be in part due to fear of social stigma, needing to seek treatment for diseases other than HIV, or other reasons. This trend worries researchers and clinicians alike—the quality of care and overall health of those HIV patients is at stake. The results of the study are now beneficial, meaning the system can now be altered to ensure that care is continuous and consistent. Making changes in order for clinics to provide better care means less ART errors and a lessening of viral load in new patients. Patient follow-through is likely to increase when they receive a measure of consistency, especially when it comes to complicated ART regimens.
As far as social effects are concerned, researchers are eager for a change in how clinics play into HIV treatment. If patients are not receiving, taking and following up with therapies and drug treatments, the risks of complications and transmission increases. Physicians hope that by making the system more efficient, these risks can be reduced.
Infectious Disease Specialists A Benefit to HIV Inpatients
10 years ago
Hospitalized patients face certain challenges when dealing with existing medical issues. For patients with HIV, the challenges can be critical if not handled expertly. This is especially true when they are admitted for medical reasons other than HIV. Infection, surgery or other issues or complications can throw off their ART or antiretroviral treatment. What can be done?
It has been reviewed that when a hospitalized HIV patient is seen by an infectious disease physician, the results are generally better. The complex regimen of HIV therapies can be confusing for staff members not used to regularly handling such issues. For these reasons, errors are often made, such as a wrong dosage or prescribing other drugs with ART contraindications. Infectious disease doctors and pharmacists can provide the required level of care.
Recent studies are showing that a great percentage of HIV patients seen by an infectious disease specialist report less errors than those who didn’t. Also the number of errors that were corrected or caught in time was remarkably higher. Due to education and familiarity with HIV therapy, specialists in the field are better equipped when it comes to managing certain aspects of inpatient care. In the end, patients required fewer hours of medical attention and demonstrated overall improvement in health when compared with HIV patients not seen by an infectious disease specialist.
In the case of medication and ART, pharmacists and clinicians trained in infectious disease evaluated, altered and administered drugs as needed. They were accurately able to determine risk and benefit for changes that were made. This type of consideration resulted in better management of medical issues with as little interference as possible with HIV therapies. These studies clearly indicate that there are indeed great benefits for an HIV patient to be under the charge of an infectious disease physician when admitted for other reasons to the hospital.
HIV Counseling shows little Response at HIV Testing
10 years ago
It is encouraged to give a brief counseling session or provide information to patients who tested positive for HIV. This is done in hopes that it would help to reduce sexually transmitted infections or STI in the future. The goal is to provide practical risk reduction information and reasonable precautionary steps to take at HIV testing. With the number of HIV infections holding steady, counseling seemed a logical way to help curb the numbers. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of such counseling and education, a study was conducted. The results were both surprising and disappointing.
Over a million persons in the USA are infected with HIV. The number of those infected per year has not reduced much at all. To complicate matters more, it is estimated that nearly one in five HIV patients is undiagnosed. Therefore, the recommendation was made that patients with ages ranging from teenager to retiree should be tested. Along with the scanning for HIV, a brief counseling session would be given in hopes of preventing further spread of both HIV infection and STI.
With costs on the rise, a study was conducted to see whether the counseling was effective. One study followed over 5.000 patients from nine STI clinics across the country. The patients were each given the recommended session of counseling and then followed up with after six months. Researchers noted that there was nearly no change in participants. Those who received counseling versus those who simply received information came up with nearly identical results.
While it has long been believed that counseling to help reduce transmission risk and behavior is important, this recent study may prove otherwise. Funding to programs for education and counseling is expensive and experts are now wondering if money would be better spent on another approach.
