AIDS Weekly articles from March 2001

AIDS Weekly archives from March 2001

Abacavir Can Be Effective Addition To Pediatric Treatments.
March 5, 2001... 2001 MAR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer -- The drug abacavir can safely increase the potency of combination treatments for HIV positive children who have shown resistance to other therapies,...

Patients With Drug-Resistant HIV Still Show Significant Benefit From Continuing Treatment.
March 5, 2001... 2001 MAR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Many patients continue to derive immunologic and clinical benefit from antiretroviral therapy even after drug resistance emerges, according to researchers from the University of California, San...

Protease Inhibitor Interferes With Fat-Cell Development.(nelfinavir)
March 5, 2001... 2001 MAR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer -- The protease inhibitor nelfinavir interferes with fat-cell development, which could be a cause for wasting syndrome. "Many infected patients taking...

Community Urine Testing Program Proves Powerfully Effective.(for diagnosing HIV infection in high risk people)
March 5, 2001... 2001 MAR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Working with Baltimore, Maryland, churches, homeless shelters, and food kitchens, Johns Hopkins University researchers have proven that community-based testing programs are powerfully effective in...

Chemotherapy With Antiretroviral Regimen Is Effective In Patients With HIV And Cancer.
March 5, 2001... 2001 MAR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer -- Despite significant toxicity concerns, oncologists in Italy argue that combining chemotherapy and antiretroviral treatments can reduce mortality risks for...

Didanosine/Stavudine/Nevirapine Cocktail Effective As First-Line Treatment.
March 5, 2001... 2001 MAR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer -- A cocktail of didanosine, nevirapine, and stavudine is an effective treatment for HIV patients without prior exposure to antiretroviral agents, say...

Monetary Reinforcement Doesn't Improve Long-Term Antiretroviral Compliance.
March 5, 2001... 2001 MAR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer -- Cash rewards for successfully self-dosing bring only an ephemeral improvement in patient compliance with antiretroviral treatments. M.O. Rigsby et al....

Once-Daily Coviracil Shows Promise In HIV Infected Patients.
March 5, 2001... 2001 MAR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Triangle Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (VIRS), Durham, North Carolina, has presented data from two Phase III, 48-week trials, which included over 900 patients comparing once-daily Coviracil (emtricitabine,...

Once-Daily Didanosine Shown As Effective As Multi-Dose Drugs.
March 5, 2001... 2001 MAR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Videx EC(r) (didanosine) capsules are safe and effective when included in a combination regimen, results of a large study indicate. As reported at the Eighth Conference on Retroviruses and...

Polymorphisms Are Unlikely Markers For Co-Trimoxazole Side Effects.
March 5, 2001... 2001 MAR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer -- Polymorphisms appear to have little association with the chances of adverse reactions to the drug co-trimoxazole, pharmacologists in England say. "The...

Study Finds Phenotyping Better Than Genotyping To Predict Response To Antiretroviral Therapy.
March 5, 2001... 2001 MAR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Results presented at the 8th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections demonstrate, for the first time, the superiority of the Virtual Phenotype(tm) over conventional genotyping...

Cyberspace Collaboration Helps AIDS Research.
March 5, 2001... 2001 MAR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Collaborating in cyberspace leads to fresh insights and more efficient use of resources, but presents some challenges as well. That's the lesson learned so far from AIDS researchers who have...

Herpes Zoster Blamed For Chickenpox Outbreak In HIV(+) Children.
March 5, 2001... 2001 MAR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer -- An active case of herpes zoster in a child attending a summer camp for children with HIV was responsible for an outbreak of chickenpox. Protective...

Pneumonia Prophylaxis Is Not Necessary After Immune System Renewal.
March 5, 2001... 2001 MAR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer -- Successful antiretroviral restoration of immune function is sufficient to ward off opportunistic pneumonia in HIV infected patients, according to...

Cellular Enzymes May Play Important Role in Final Steps of HIV Integration.
March 5, 2001... 2001 MAR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer -- Cellular enzymes may play a catalytic role in the final stages of HIV DNA integration, say microbiologists working at Northwestern University, Illinois. ...

Female And Gay Doctors Communicate Best With HIV/AIDS Patients.
March 5, 2001... 2001 MAR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer -- Female and gay doctors of either sex are more likely to have better communications with their HIV infected patients, say researchers. As better...

Monocytes Harbor HIV During HAART Treatments.(highly active antiretroviral therapy)
March 12, 2001... 2001 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer -- Another type of white blood cell has been found to provide a safe haven for HIV during highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), researchers in...

Maintenance Treatment Is Unnecessary After Successful HAART.(highly active antiretroviral therapy)
March 12, 2001... 2001 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer -- Maintenance treatment for retinitis isn't needed after successful highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), according to researchers in France. C....

CCR5 Cell Depletion Has Potential For Treatment.(chemokine receptor)
March 12, 2001... 2001 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer -- Researchers have found ways to selectively attack blood cells with a particular HIV friendly receptor, which may lead to a novel treatment for the...

Efavirenz Levels Predict Poor Treatment Outcome.
March 12, 2001... 2001 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer -- Monitoring blood levels of the HIV drug efavirenz is worthwhile, as they often portend the outcome of treatment, researchers in Switzerland say. ...

Specific Immune Response May Underlie Neonatal Resistance to HIV.(T-cell response to HIV protein envelope components)
March 12, 2001... 2001 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer -- Newborns who remain uninfected despite maternal HIV exposure show specific immune cell responses to the virus, researchers say. Almost four out of 10...

Successful HAART Has Few Psychological Benefits.(highly active antiretroviral therapy)
March 12, 2001... 2001 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer -- Researchers in New York have questioned the ability of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) to improve quality of life for HIV patients. J.R....

Azodicarbonamide Is Safe, Effective In Preliminary Study.
March 12, 2001... 2001 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer -- A new HIV inhibitor drug has shown encouraging results in an early clinical study, researchers in Germany report. The drug, azodicarbonamide (ADA),...

Encouraging 48-Week Protease Inhibitor Resistance Data Reported.(from patients treated with a Kaletra-based regimen)
March 12, 2001... 2001 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Data from a 48-week study of patients new to HIV therapy showed that of those who experienced viral rebound (HIV RNA >400 copies/mL), none of 31 patients treated with a Kaletra-based regimen was...

Monoclonal Antibodies May Effectively Inhibit HIV.
March 12, 2001... 2001 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers in New York have shown that monoclonal antibodies targeting the crucial CCR5 co-receptor can potently and selectively block HIV infection to an even higher degree than some natural CCR5...

Preliminary Results Presented From Phase III Study Of Tenofovir DF.
March 12, 2001... 2001 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Gilead Sciences, Inc. (GILD) announced that 24-week data from Study 907 were unblinded and show that treatment of HIV infected patients with once-daily tenofovir disoproxil fumarate 300 mg...

International Reference Standards Encouraged.(for detecting viral contaminants in blood and blood products)
March 12, 2001... 2001 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer -- International standards for expressing the results of blood screening are necessary to validate cross-country study results, virologists say. ...

Successful Treatment Reduces HIV Infection Risk.(treatment of bacterial cervix inflammation)
March 12, 2001... 2001 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer -- Successful treatment of bacterial cervix inflammation reduces the risk of HIV transmission, say AIDS researchers in the United States. R.S. McClelland...

High HCV Blood Levels In HIV Patients May Increase Risk Of Developing AIDS.
March 12, 2001... 2001 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center report that high amounts of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in the blood and simultaneous co-infection with HIV may be linked to a greater risk of developing AIDS...

HIV Infection Rate of Ethiopian Prostitutes at 74%.
March 12, 2001... 2001 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer -- New insight into the practices of Addis Ababa sex workers may help forge HIV prevention strategies for other developing countries, researchers say. M....

No Single Antiretroviral Therapy Increases Risk.(of lipodystrophy)
March 12, 2001... 2001 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The risk of lipodystrophy (abnormal fat distribution) in HIV-1 individuals undergoing antiretroviral therapy cannot be attributed to one antiretroviral agent, finds a study from Spain. ...

Drugfacts.Com, NewsRx Collaboration Expands Availability Of Custom Health News For Professionals.
March 12, 2001... 2001 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Drugfacts.com, the premier free drug information resource on the Internet for pharmacists and other healthcare professionals, and NewsRx, the leading provider of daily and weekly health news, have...

CD8 Cells Can Prevent CD4(+) Cell-Harbored Virus Replication.
March 12, 2001... 2001 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer -- Researchers in Maryland have clarified the role played by immune cells in HIV patients responsive to treatment. The researchers found that autologous...

Efficient Integration Is Not Necessary For Efficient Replication.(HIV integration)
March 12, 2001... 2001 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer -- Virologists in Massachusetts have shown that disrupting the efficiency of HIV integration may have little impact on replication ability. J.M. Coffin...

Pregnant Women Need Facts On Transmission Risks.(HIV transmission from mother to child)
March 12, 2001... 2001 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer -- New mothers often need education about the risks of transmitting HIV to their babies, researchers warn. While almost all women in their study knew...

Antiretroviral Failure After Pretreatment Linked To HIV Mutations.(Brief Article)
March 19, 2001... 2001 MAR 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer -- Extensive pretreatment can induce HIV mutations that render antiretroviral therapy permanently ineffective, researchers in France caution. M.N....

Researchers Warn Against Amprenavir Combinations In HIV/MAC Coinfected Patients.(Brief Article)
March 19, 2001... 2001 MAR 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer -- Neither rifabutin nor rifampin should be used to prevent Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) in HIV patients treated with the protease inhibitor amprenavir,...

New Prime-Boost Strategy Shows Promise In Monkeys.(Brief Article)
March 19, 2001... 2001 MAR 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A team of academic and government researchers in the United States has reported on a promising new "prime-boost" HIV vaccine approach that is currently on a development fast-track for human...

Novel Antiviral Agent Works Despite Putative Deficiencies.(Brief Article)
March 19, 2001... 2001 MAR 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer -- Researchers in Israel have discovered a peptide that potently inhibits HIV infection, despite lacking qualities thought to be necessary for such action....

Novel Assay Can Determine HIV-1 Susceptibility.(Brief Article)
March 19, 2001... 2001 MAR 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer -- Researchers have developed an accurate and comprehensive test for measuring HIV drug susceptibility. For their assay, A. Hachiya and colleagues at the...

Study Confirms HIV Viral Load Lower In Women Than Men; Implications For Therapy.(Brief Article)
March 19, 2001... 2001 MAR 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A 10-year study of injection drug users infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has conclusively confirmed that women have lower viral load (the number of HIV particles present in...

Current Rationing Policies Unpopular With Patients.(Brief Article)
March 19, 2001... 2001 MAR 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer -- Neither patients nor the general public support the current rationing policies used by state AIDS programs to distribute costly drugs, researchers say. ...

Cytokines Do Not Help Flush Viral Reservoirs.(Brief Article)
March 19, 2001... 2001 MAR 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer -- Adding cytokines to antiretroviral therapy does not produce HIV remission by cleansing latent viral reservoirs, researchers report. A. Lafeuillade and...

Scientists Identify Structural Characteristics Necessary For Binding Affinity.(Brief Article)
March 19, 2001... 2001 MAR 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer -- Researchers at Yale University have identified a number of structural properties necessary for effective HIV reverse transcriptase inhibitors. Writing...

AIDS Intervention Programs Curb Risky Sex and Drug Use by HIV(+) Youth.(Brief Article)
March 19, 2001... 2001 MAR 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A University of California, Los Angeles, study found that HIV infected youth participating in an AIDS intervention program willingly cut their high-risk sex by 82% and lowered their drug use by a...

Injection Drug Users At Needle Exchange Program Share Few Syringes, And Those Who Do Share With Friends.(Brief Article)
March 19, 2001... 2001 MAR 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Most injection drug users who use community needle exchange programs - which aim to reduce the risk of illness spread through tainted needles - do not share their needles, according to public...

Questionnaires Can Accurately Determine Drug Adherence.(Brief Article)
March 19, 2001... 2001 MAR 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer -- Self-reports of compliance with antiretroviral therapy are reliable, and can accurately identify at-risk populations, researchers say. "Assessment of...

Mechanism Uncovered For Drug-Drug Interaction With Isoniazid.(Brief Article)
March 19, 2001... 2001 MAR 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer -- HIV drugs that are metabolized by two specific enzymes are more likely to interact with the tuberculosis drug isoniazid, with potentially toxic results....

Apoprotein C-III Levels Strongly Linked To Development.(Brief Article)
March 19, 2001... 2001 MAR 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer -- Elevated apoprotein C-III (apo C-III) levels may underlie the development of HIV wasting syndrome, researchers in France report. E. Bonnet and...

Modified Canarypox Vector Shows Promise.(Brief Article)
March 19, 2001... 2001 MAR 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer -- A novel HIV vaccine has shown encouraging results in early studies, researchers in Washington state report. L. Corey and colleagues at the Fred...

Sequential Use Of Different Vaccines Can Improve Effectiveness.(Brief Article)
March 19, 2001... 2001 MAR 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer -- A series of vaccinations using formulations with different attenuations may improve the chances of HIV prevention. A. Kumar and colleagues at the...

Study Finds Those Exposed To HIV Infection Seek Early Preventive Treatment, Adhere To Medication Schedules.(Brief Article)
March 19, 2001... 2001 MAR 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), study has found that individuals potentially exposed to HIV through sexual contact or injection drug use will, given the opportunity, seek...

Glycoprotein 120 Responses Can Determine Infection Or Immunity.(Brief Article)
March 19, 2001... 2001 MAR 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer -- HIV glycoprotein 120 (gp120) may be able to help identify both infection and incipient immunity. Florian Hadlik and colleagues evaluated the...

Phagocyte Production Of Reactive Oxygen Species Is Altered In HIV Patients.
March 26, 2001... 2001 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer - Phagocyte production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is markedly different during HIV infection, a fact that may help explain the course of the disease,...

Azithromycin Is Safe For Use With Zidovudine And Dideoxyinosine.
March 26, 2001... 2001 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer - Pharmacologists have shown that the antibiotic azithromycin is safe for use with zidovudine and dideoxyinosine. Writing in the Journal of Clinical...

Anaphylatoxins Can Increase Monocyte/Macrophage Susceptibility To HIV.
March 26, 2001... 2001 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer - Some anaphylatoxins can dramatically increase the susceptibility of monocytes and macrophages to HIV infection, researchers report. "Mononuclear...

Risky Behavior And Misconceptions Common In Russia.(high-risk sexual behavior and misinformation about HIV transmission)
March 26, 2001... 2001 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer - AIDS researchers in Wisconsin are alarmed by widespread high-risk sexual behavior in Russia, which they say is accompanied by equally widespread...

Simian Virus Mimics HIV Disease Course.(simian immunodeficiency virus)
March 26, 2001... 2001 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer - Assessing the usefulness of new HIV vaccines depends in large part on the animals in which they are tested. The more closely their disease mimics human...

Survival Times Improving For People Diagnosed With AIDS.
March 26, 2001... 2001 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Survival times after a diagnosis of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) improved from 1984 to 1997, and the increasing number of people living with AIDS represents a growing public health...

In Rural Africa, Behavior Management Is More Important Than STD Treatment.
March 26, 2001... 2001 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer - AIDS researchers in South Africa have found, to their surprise, that emphasizing changes in sexual behavior has a greater impact on reducing HIV...

Oligodeoxynucleotide Co-Administration With HIV-1 Vaccine Boosts Immune Response.
March 26, 2001... 2001 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer - Administering an oligodeoxynucleotide (ODN) DNA sequence together with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) vaccine induces a stronger immune...

Iron Chelation May Enhance Treatments.(of HIV infection)
March 26, 2001... 2001 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer - Drugs that help remove iron from circulation may be able to improve the effectiveness of existing HIV treatment regimens, virologists in The Netherlands...

Open Communication, Advocacy Needed To Overcome HIV/AIDS Pandemic.
March 26, 2001... 2001 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The United Nations' Commission on the Status of Women concluded on March 12, 2001, its general discussion on follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on Women and to the special session of the...

Bristol-Myers Squibb Announces Accelerated Program To Fight HIV/AIDS In Africa.
March 26, 2001... 2001 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) announced on March 14, 2001, new initiatives to help fight the HIV/AIDS epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa. The company will now make its two AIDS medicines, Videx(R)...

Battle Fatigue: HIV Patients Have Problems Adhering to Drug Regimens.
March 26, 2001... 2001 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Twenty years after the start of the epidemic, patients' "AIDS Battle Fatigue" is visible, with HIV(+) individuals finding it difficult to comply with their drug regimens and looking to take fewer...

Interleukin-10 Has Opposite Effects On Dendritic Cells And Macrophages.
March 26, 2001... 2001 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer - The cytokine interleukin (IL)-10 can both stimulate and inhibit HIV replication by monocyte-derived cells, according to researchers in France. ...

Trials Fail To Address Africa's Needs, Harvard Expert Tells UN Panel.
March 26, 2001... 2001 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Trials aimed at developing vaccine against the HIV virus are failing to address the needs of millions of Africans at risk for the disease, an expert from Harvard University told a panel discussion...

Dopaminergic Drugs Can Hasten Neurologic Damage In HIV Patients.
March 26, 2001... 2001 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer - Dopaminergic drugs can aggravate brain and central nervous system (CNS) damage resulting from HIV infection, researchers in Germany report. S. Czub and...

DNA Assays Can Miss Some Viral Subtypes.(polymerase chain reaction can fail to detect some HIV subtypes)
March 26, 2001... 2001 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer - Without supplementary primers, some DNA polymerase chain reaction (PCR) HIV tests can fail to detect some subtypes of the virus, researchers in Denmark say....

Chloroquine Can Be Effective Option For Patients In Poor Countries.(affordable drug for HIV infection treatment)
March 26, 2001... 2001 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer - Chloroquine, commonly used as a treatment for malaria, may also help solve the problem of finding effective HIV drugs affordable for developing countries....