Posts tagged controlling HIV

Promising Results in HIV Trials

8 years ago
by ADMIN in

The scientific community has relentlessly been in pursuit of an effective vaccine against HIV infection. With a competent vaccine in the arsenal, researchers could buy time to find a cure. Not only that, prevention is one way to curb its spread and help contain the disease. New information on the virus is discovered on a regular basis. Putting the facts together to formulate a line of defense has taken patience and time. However, it seems there is a reason to hope that a new vaccine won’t stay a fantasy forever.

Vaccine Proves Effective in HIV Trials

A research group in China completed pre-clinical HIV trials for a vaccine meant to prevent infection that women get from men. Not only did the vaccine prove effective, it performed better than expected. In an effort to confirm these findings, a group in the U.S. repeated the HIV trials, and added some rigorous testing. The results were the same, much to the delight of the scientists.

The vaccine in question was designed to protect women from seminal being transmitted to mucous membranes. In the studies, vaginal tissues were exposed to high viral loads – up to 70,000 times more than what is found in human semen. The vaccine was successful in warding off infection. Repeat exposure was tested as well. These also were fought off with the help of the vaccine. When they increased the viral amounts to 100,000 times the normal range, the immune system was overloaded and succumbed to the viral infection.

Experts are looking into how that might affect the vaccine — and ways to make it more potent. Another positive point that pleased the researchers was that certain environmental factors were inherently different between the two studies, yet the results yielded the same outcomes. The group is confident that with this confirming study, clinical HIV trials can proceed with little worry.

When and if that does happen, it could open doors for further vaccine testing and marketing. One other goal that has been in line with producing vaccines is designing them to be ingested instead of injected. The aim is to reach people in developing countries where resources may be limited.

HIV Health Care Improvement

8 years ago
by ADMIN in

Many agencies, clinics, and other facilities support health care programs to help care for patients who are HIV positive. Certain agencies look after treatment and track progress, while others care for emotional and mental needs of those in this circumstance. Even religious organizations play a role in some of the existing programs that are reaching out to help those with HIV. Two recent studies looked closer at the work being done to support these patients, and they found ways to make these programs even more cost-effective and efficient.

Improving Health Care Programs

Community support for those with HIV is important. Such support can be shown in a variety of ways. On the physical side of things, access to treatment, information for prevention, and testing, are crucial to stemming the outbreak. Many with HIV look to programs that offer both counseling and social support. Research continues to show that when all these areas are being addressed, patients fair better.

So, how can these programs and institutions improve?

  • Optimizing effectiveness when agencies remove a sense of competitiveness with others in the area that are also treating or helping those with HIV infections.
  • Developing networks would help encourage patients to seek out all avenues of help within an area, instead of focusing on just one.
  • Focusing more efforts on HIV prevention is an area of particular interest for experts.
  • Giving more attention to education on this matter can have lasting effects on the overall war against the disease.
  • Making information more readily available means reaching more people.

To be successful, health care programs need to be accessible to those they are reaching out to serve. Some suggestions on improving in this area include having web-based meetings as an option to those who may not be able to attend in person.

Implementing a few of these simple suggestions could touch more lives, improve quality of life, and help reduce the spread of infection. By cooperating, networking, increasing the availability of pertinent information, and increasing how many can participate in the health care programs – the number of those who could benefit will increase. The effectiveness of such programs and institutions is undeniable. Imagine the effects if these were streamlined and if they put the aforementioned suggestions into practice.

HIV and HCV Co-Infection Creates Treatment Concerns

8 years ago
by ADMIN in

It is not uncommon for a person infected with HIV to also have a co-infection with the hepatitis C virus (HCV). Treatments for each infection are usually necessary. Ongoing research hopes to bring to light how to best treat each condition and keep the disease from progressing. Two recent studies presented conclusions that differed when it came to the effectiveness of certain treatments aimed at HCV.

Reports on Treating Co-Infection

The first report showed that when a person has both infections, HIV can slow the elimination or control of the hepatitis C infection. Those with only the HCV could be successfully treated, or at least lower the amount of the virus in the body after only a few months. When examining those with a co-infection of HIV, the results were different. In these patients, the HCV held on for a long period of time. This leads some to conclude that when both viruses are present, a new approach to treatment may be in order.

However, another recent study came up with different conclusions. This second study suggests that specific types of treatment can eliminate the need to worry about interference from the second infection. In the research done here, those with a co-infection of HIV and HCV were successfully treated for HCV. The specific pharmaceuticals used seemed as effective for those who had HIV as those who did not. The numbers for those with co-infections were similar to those with just the one. Different drugs were used in this study than in the other, so that may explain some of the discrepancies.

In conclusion, more information is needed. Current treatments for HCV do work; they may simply need some tweaking when HIV is present. When treating patients with both conditions, physicians do well to closely track progress and evaluate the effectiveness of such treatments. Adapting to a patient’s needs could go a long way in helping to eliminate the infection. In the meantime, researchers are working to resolve the issues brought to light. The results of the two studies do highlight the importance of finding answers in an effort to help more people.

Clinical Trials Begin on Potential Drug for HIV Prevention

8 years ago
by ADMIN in

The race to find a potential drug for HIV started decades ago. Today, however, it seems that the pace has increased. Ongoing research digs up more and more information on the mechanics of the virus, potential weaknesses and, of course, varying antibodies.

Antibody VRC01 as a Potential Drug for HIV

Sorting through the growing amounts of data that studies are yielding is an ongoing process. Scientists have been able to pick out some leads that seem to hold the most promise. One of those is the antibody VRC01. There has been a lot of buzz around this particular antibody as it has potential to block the most-common HIV strands.

Testing has proven this antibody to be effective in nearly 90% of the viral strains of HIV known around the world. Its large scope makes it ideal for testing as a potential drug for HIV. Current prevention plans require volunteer patients to take oral doses on a daily basis in order for them to be effective. The goal with the studies being conducted is to develop treatments that last longer. It is hoped that this approach would prompt more people to be proactive related to prevention than those who currently do so.

The trials underway are multinational. Participants will receive injections every couple of weeks and be tested for HIV every four weeks. The study will be ongoing for the next several years. Those volunteering will be divided into groups. One group will be given a placebo while the others will receive various doses of the VRC01 antibody, based on their group. However, all volunteers will continue to receive information on prevention, including daily preventative drug therapies. Because different countries are involved, each volunteer will be directed to facilities that will be able to dispense the proper medication.

For countries where HIV infections are on the rise, this study will be of great benefit as volunteers will be educated and instructed about where to receive important services. This information will hopefully spread and have a positive effect on the situations that persist. The outcome of the trial is still several years off, but it holds promise of a potential drug for HIV, and more effective way to ward off infection.

Attempts to Decrease Mother-to-Infant Transfer of HIV in Underdeveloped Countries

8 years ago
by ADMIN in

HIV prevention ranks high on the priority list, especially among African nations that are seeing the highest rates of transmission. Challenges to implementing ways of preventing the transfer of HIV continue to crop up. One such challenge is in regards to HIV-positive women transferring the virus to their babies. Fortunately, for many communities, access to antiretroviral therapy means a measure of control over the spreading and transferring of HIV. It is in areas that are poor, isolated, and have limited medical resources where women are more likely to pass on the infection to their children.

Nigeria has continued to remain at the top of the list when it comes to death rates from HIV and also in the number of new infections each year. The nation is second only to South Africa for the number of HIV-positive children. To make matters worse, only 20% of those with HIV have access to antiretroviral treatments. Poverty certainly plays a part, and those in rural communities are even more limited in their access to certain types of medical care. One institute decided to implement an idea to help combat this growing problem.

Promoting Education, Screening, and Treatment to Prevent the Transfer of HIV

The idea was to efficiently provide medical testing, treatment, and education to those in rural communities. Women were given a package of services, and their husbands were also encouraged to get involved. Those in the villages who are responsible for providing healthcare were also instructed in how to provide a range of services. These included midwives, as their services are regularly sought after by those in the community. Cultural norms in certain areas include seeking medical attention and advice from individuals other than physicians.

The results of such efforts are promising. There was a decrease of nearly 75% in new infections for areas where this simple and cost-effective plan was put into practice. Results like this give hope that halting the spread of HIV can be achieved, even in regions where resources are limited. Such programs like this may be able to save many lives and have an influence on the transfer of HIV in developing lands.

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