January 24, 2012  | Many at Risk for Hep B in U.S. Aren’t Getting Vaccinated
Missed opportunities to vaccinate people at the highest risk for hepatitis B virus (HBV) explain why 80,000 people continue to be infected ever year in the United States, according to a new study published online ahead of print by the journal Infection. | |
| January 20, 2012 | Viread Approved for Children 2 and Up
Viread (tenofovir), Gilead Sciences’ nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitor, has been approved for children living with HIV, according to a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announcement. To facilitate correct pediatric use of the drug, the agency also approved a powder formulation for children between the ages of 2 and 5 and low-dose tablets to meet pediatric dosing needs. | |
| CDC: Fewer Americans Having Unsafe Sex
The number of Americans who practice behaviors that put them at risk for HIV has declined significantly, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and reported by HealthDay. | |
| First PrEP Study for MSM in Europe to Launch
The first HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) trial for men who have sex with men (MSM) in Europe is about to launch, according to a statement by ANRS (French National Agency for Research on AIDS and Viral Hepatitis). | |
| January 19, 2012 | Vitamin D May Protect Bone Health in Tenofovir Takers
Vitamin D supplementation may help prevent hormonal changes that can lead to bone loss among adolescents and young adults being treated for HIV with tenofovir—found in Viread, Truvada and Atripla—according to a National Institutes of Health (NIH) study published online ahead of print by Clinical Infectious Diseases. | |
| An Aspirin a Day to Keep HIV-Related Cervical Cancer Away?
Might an aspirin a day help keep cervical cancer away? Though there aren’t yet any studies indicating it will, researchers have uncovered a biological connection between HIV-associated inflammation and cervical cancer that may be curtailed by the affordable and widely available drug. | |
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| |  Paul Kawata
Ending the Epidemic: Look to the Beginning, Prepare for the End
A young reporter recently asked me "what was like in the olden days, before Protease Inhibitors and combination therapy?" I always find it difficult to truly express what happened. Sometimes I feel like a soldier who fought in some horrible war and I wonder if I will ever be able to recover from my experiences.
Many folks who fought and survived the early days of the epidemic will understand. We can't quite verbalize what that time was like, yet the epidemic continues to define our life and our relationships. Thirty years later our struggle continues. But now there is light at the end of the tunnel - maybe we can end the epidemic! Maybe we will live to see the end of this tragedy.  Peter Staley
How to Survive a Plague, ctd.
In December, 2008, a journalist named David France came over to my Brooklyn apartment and told me about his dream of making a documentary that honored the history he witnessed of AIDS treatment activism in the late 80's and early 90's. From the heady-optimism of ACT UP's Treatment & Data Committee, to the painful split of ACT UP & TAG (the Treatment Action Group) just as the plague years were at their worst in the U.S., and finally to the remarkable research breakthroughs that made the death rate decline by 70%.
Three years later, David's film is done, and will be premiering at Sundance in Park City, Utah this Sunday. I finally got to see it Tuesday afternoon at a screening with David Barr, Sam Avrett, Gregg Gonsalves, and Catherine Gund. David France and his entire crew, including Joy Tomchin, Howard Gertler, Dan Cogan, Woody, Tyler, and seemingly dozens of others, should be incredibly proud. HOW TO SURVIVE A PLAGUE honors this remarkable slice of history.
| I have to make a very important decision and not sure which way to go. I have been UD on Atripla for over 4yrs, but suffer from acute insomnia. I switched my dose to the morning but I still suffer every night from insomnia. I am not sure whether it is the atripla still causing my insomnia, or just that i have it regardless. Either way my dr has advised that it may be worth trying Eviplera (Complera), which has the sustiva component removed and therefore may not cause insomnia. I don't want to change or rock the boat as i am UD. I am concerned that if I do change and I don't like it, I won't be able to go back to Atripla and also may loose complera as a drug because of resistance if i come off it. —Delby's "Atripla versus Eviplera (Complera)" | |
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