HIV Counseling shows little Response at HIV Testing
11 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.
Importance of Early HIV Infection Detection
11 years ago
by ADMIN
in HIV Research
The war on HIV rages on. While medical advancements in treatment and therapy have shown progress, there are still areas that need attention. Recent studies still show that a high percentage of Europeans infected with HIV are receiving or entering into treatment at later stages. Countries throughout the continent are still showing late detection for those with HIV. Worrisome findings reveal that many who were finally tested for the virus developed AIDS within only a few months after diagnosis. This emphasizes the need for earlier detection.
Overall, the numbers show a decrease in late detection for Europe. The increase seems to be in certain target groups and in certain regions. For example, the number of drug users (injection drugs) who presented with late detection of HIV has steadily increased. Certain countries are particularly vulnerable to this rise in numbers at present. The threat goes beyond that to the infirmed. Communities are now at risk as spreading the virus can happen unbeknownst to either party involved. An increased focus at early testing and prompt entry into treatment are highly recommended. Education and readily available programs should be implemented.
One reason these findings should motivate action is that those who remain untreated or even undiagnosed find themselves worse off health-wise in the long run. Along with this, the likelihood of spreading the disease increases greatly. While medication and therapies cannot yet cure HIV, they do have benefits. For one thing, antiretrovirals help reduce the amount of the virus carried, thus aiding in the prevention of spreading the infection. Patients receiving early treatments tend to be healthier and fare better. These positive results give birth to hope.
The battle goes on against HIV/AIDS. Education targeting the groups most at risk is imperative. Making sure proper steps are taken in a timely fashion to ensure immediate treatment after diagnosis is another area needing some attention. Through education and awareness, the population can protect against, treat and heal from the effects of HIV.
New Guidelines for HIV Occupational Exposure
11 years ago
by ADMIN
in HIV Research
The United States Public Health Service just this year has released updates to the occupational exposure to HIV procedures. These updates are effective immediately and are aimed at reducing the risk of infection in healthcare workers who have come in contact with the HIV virus. Of course, the focus of any healthcare establishment is to reduce or eliminate the potential of exposure. However, for those times when exposure does occur, this new regimen has been streamlined to be more effective.
The previous guidelines began the process with an evaluation. This was used to determine the level of exposure and helped doctors decide which medications would be most beneficial to use. Recent changes include the elimination of the assessment and proceed right to the taking of three antiretroviral drugs. These three have proved easier to tolerate in patients.
Ideally, officials hope that these new standards will allow healthcare workers to begin treatment within hours after the initial exposure. Care, counseling, treatment and follow up are expected to all take place within a 3 day period. This puts the emphasis on immediate care. The newer guidelines have been revised so as to help those exposed to receive quick, appropriate care and stick with the regimen. To help make the required treatments easier to handle, a four month care option is offered along with the longer six month plan. All of this has been put into place with the hope that those exposed will complete the recommended course of action.
Seeing as an expert in the HIV field may not be readily available at the time of the exposure, a set of the aforementioned guidelines should be given to emergency personnel and providers. These are the ones likely to be the first responders to an incident. Again, it is the timely initiation of the regimen that is emphasized with these new regulations.
New Antivirals Show Promise
11 years ago
Researchers have pored over thousands of compounds to discover two that show great potential in providing antiviral properties. Study at the atomic level has revealed that they are able to fight a particular enzyme that is the key to eliminating viruses.
This rational approach to designing drugs for medicinal use may see more action due to the possible success of this research. More than 100,000 compounds were observed in an atomic manner, running through the national database of compounds to see which have the right properties for this particular application.
There is a tremendous need for antivirals today. Everything from HIV to the common cold will be affected by finding the right antiviral compounds to produce the next generation of medications. Antivirals can be used to prevent pneumonia or AIDS from cutting a life short prematurely, putting them at the top of the medical research industry’s to-do list.
There are over 50 different strains that cause adenoviruses; therefore it is difficult to find a single compound that is effective against all of them. Rather than being able to develop something preventative, it seems more viable to create drugs that can prevent the spread of diseases within the body. This has already been the approach with HIV up to this point.
Researchers were able to look into many compounds by creating a computation to check the proteins in each compound. This helps determine if the compound can perform certain tasks necessary for an antiviral. Of the 30 compounds that the calculations set aside, only two had the desired effect in lab tests. Still, finding these two compounds is a very promising discovery.
The current roadblock is the size of the two molecules. They are both too big to be used in developing drugs. The next step for researchers is to make things more compact so that they can get to work on drug development.
Is Treating a Mother for HIV With a Child in the Womb Safe?
11 years ago
A recent study addressed concerns on the effect that an expectant mother’s HIV treatment may have on her unborn baby. In particular, the study focused on language development. What was the result? By age two, children who had been born to mothers treated for HIV during pregnancy showed no additional delay in learning to speak.
This was an important study to relieve the concerns of many in the medical field. It had been believed that treating pregnant women for HIV would result in the baby’s lessened brain development.
All of the children who were part of the study were exposed to HIV during the pregnancy. While some mothers received a cocktail of drugs to treat the condition; others did not. The results for language development in the resulting children were just about equal. On both sides, about 1 in 4 experienced development difficulties. This shows that it was not the medication’s fault that children born to HIV-infected were having this language problem.
While previous studies suggested that the antiretroviral drugs may cause these delays, this study has clearly debunked that previous concern. One drug in particular is still being monitored, however. While children born of mothers on this particular drug were on equal footing with their peers by age two, they were behind at age one and had to catch up. More research is necessary to discover the reason for this. The drug’s name is Atazanavir.
Almost 800 children were a part of this comprehensive study, so these findings clearly overturn those of previous smaller studies. On the other hand, now research must continue to try and explain why about 25% of children exposed to HIV in the womb end up experiencing some kind of early on language problem.
