aidsmap news: Study of injectable PrEP reports the best efficacy seen yet for any form of PrEP in women, 16 November 2020

News from aidsmap

Study of injectable PrEP reports the best efficacy seen yet for any form of PrEP in women

A second study of an injectable HIV drug used to prevent HIV has had its randomised phase stopped early after it became clear that giving women a two-monthly injection of a prevention drug resulted in nearly nine times fewer infections than giving them oral PrEP tablets. 

Reservoirs of HIV-infected cells that can't be reached by antiretroviral therapy associated with an important marker of cardiovascular disease risk

The increased risk of cardiovascular disease observed in people with HIV taking effective antiretroviral therapy, even when they have an undetectable viral load, could be down to reservoirs of HIV-infected cells that cannot be reached by current treatments, according to research from San Francisco published in JAMA Network Open.

European HIV doctors conduct their first-ever region-wide audit of services

For the first time, the European AIDS Clinical Society (EACS) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) have conducted an audit of one aspect of HIV clinical services, measuring provision in five disparate countries against one set of standards and comparing the degree to which different countries and clinics meet that standard.

U=U improves gay men's sense of self and many believe it will reduce HIV-related stigma

Undetectable = Untransmittable (U=U) messaging makes HIV-positive gay and bisexual men feel better about their HIV status, with many believing that it also lessens the stigma associated with living with HIV, according to the research published in the journal AIDS Patient Care and STDs.

“We forget that we're human. We are. We are human beings”: long-term HIV survivors living on society’s margins

Black and Latinx people living with HIV and in poverty in New York City describe how their sense of self-worth is diminished over time and they become increasingly socially isolated as a result of the multiple challenges resulting from intersecting forms of stigma, discrimination and structural barriers related to HIV, poverty and substance use.

Diabetes drug may aid weight loss in people with HIV

Metformin, a drug used in the treatment of type 2 diabetes, may have a role in reversing weight gain in people with HIV on antiretroviral treatment, a small preliminary study suggests.

Unstable housing explains higher rates of COVID-19 in people with HIV in San Francisco

Almost half of people living with HIV who tested positive for COVID-19 in San Francisco had housing problems and Latinx people were also over-represented, researchers report in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes.

Long-acting injectables appear feasible for long-term HIV treatment

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) last month recommended approval of cabotegravir (Vocabria) plus rilpivirine (Rekambys), a long-acting injectable regimen administered every one or two months to treat HIV. The injectables are currently approved in Canada, marketed as Cabenuva. Long-acting cabotegravir alone is also being studied as PrEP.

Living with HIV is still a burden, Dutch gay and bisexual men tell researchers

A study in The Lancet HIV of the practical and psychological burdens of HIV among gay and bisexual men in the Netherlands reveals that about a third of the participants still find that having HIV exposes them to significantly negative consequences or to a high burden of anxiety.

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Editors' picks from other sources

Three immediate ways the fight against HIV is likely to change in the Biden-Harris Administration | TheBodyPro

Hopes rest on president-elect Biden to fight HIV along with COVID-19, implement a more humane and inclusive approach to health policy, and expand the Affordable Care Act.

Escalate HIV adherence strategies amid COVID-19 | Medscape (requires free registration)

"The virtual patient-centered medical home may be the new normal after COVID-19, and we have to be thinking about how we use this model with patients for whom it works, but supplement this model in patients that it does not," Jason Farley said at the virtual Association of Nurses in AIDS Care (ANAC) 2020 Annual Meeting.

ViiV Healthcare announces CHMP positive opinion for the first-ever dispersible-tablet formulation of dolutegravir, Tivicay, a treatment for children living with HIV in Europe | ViiV press release

Dolutegravir is the first integrase inhibitor available as a dispersible tablet for children weighing at least 3kg and from four weeks of age. The positive opinion follows an FDA approval for Tivicay PD in June 2020.

The trans community organisers taking health care into their own hands | i-D

Trans and gender non-conforming people are turning to trans-led centres like Casa Kuà in Berlin and CliniQ in London to have their needs met.

Women can wait up to two months to find out if their babies have HIV. This could fix that | Bhekisisa

When you’re waiting to hear if your child has HIV, a second can feel like an eternity. Now, imagine waiting 55 days or more. For many women around the world, this is a reality. And it has life and death consequences for their children.

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