Posts tagged controlling HIV
Genetics May Account for Some HIV Drug Failures
9 years ago
When anti-HIV drugs fail to suppress the condition or prevent transmission, the situation is usually blamed on a patient who does not take the treatment as is needed for it to work correctly. Recent research, however, shows that some individuals, and even some parts of the body may be genetically predisposed to treatment failure.
Consider the drug Tenofovir. It is on the market under the brand name Viread, and the FDA approved this medication back in 2001 as an HIV treatment. Then in 2012 approval was given for use as an oral prophylactic, this time with the goal of preventing HIV transmission.
Unfortunately, some people, and also some parts of the body, have enzymes that take the active Tenofovir and return it to an inactive state that does not combat HIV. The research showed different enzymes to be at work in the vagina and rectum causing the treatment to have different results depending on where it was used on the body. But even when used in the same manner, results still varied.
That is because the location of the treatment was not the only determining factor. About one in 12 women who were part of the study suffered from a genetic variation that rendered the medication inert regardless of how it was used.
Learning this is a big step for researchers since it was previously just assumed that human error was involved when the drug didn’t work. Now the realization is that genetics may be involved. The next stage of research may reveal that genetic testing can determine in advance if Tenofovir is a viable treatment option or not for a particular individual.
The next step is a clinical trial. It is hoped that such continued research will determine how anti-HIV drugs function and what variants definitely affect how successful the treatment will be from person to person.
Research Shows Why HIV Progresses Faster in Some
9 years ago
A study was performed to determine why HIV is able to evade the efforts of current HIV treatments and persist in the body. This study will lead to improved HIV prevention. Let’s look at a breakdown of the HIV genetic code and what researchers found which may eventually lead to better treatments.
Researchers understand the way HIV spreads within the body. In order for HIV to enter a host cell, there is a sort of viral envelope. This envelope contains two glycoprotein molecules that have been named gp41 and gp120. The gp120 molecule has been further studied and broken down into sections that have been labelled with either a C or a V and the numbers 1 through 5.
In turn, this genetic code tells the virus to use the R5 receptor to enter a CD4 immune cell. This entry point is the focus of most HIV drugs. However, in about half of patients the virus will avoid using the R5 entry point and switch to the X4 receptor. This change results in a worsening of the disease and difficulty treating HIV with currently available medications.
Previous research made it seem that the gp120’s V3 region was the part that was solely responsible for this change and progression in how the disease spreads within the body. While the V3 region does clearly play a role, a minute genetic change in the gp120’s C2 region also comes into play. This genetic change, though slight, could prove to be an important discovery for researchers.
Now, it is up to researchers to figure out how to put this knowledge to use in combating HIV’s ability to progress despite treatment. It is hoped that the additional knowledge as to how the disease changes which receptor it focuses on will result in finding ways to predict progression and find a way to develop better means for HIV prevention and treatment.
HIV Outbreaks Spur Calls for Lifting Needle Exchange Ban
9 years ago
The drug scene in this country is changing and not for the better. Injection drug users are on the rise, just not where most expected. What was once contained and limited to larger, populated areas is now spreading to the most rural backdrops. Due to this surge, HIV outbreaks have been sprouting in what some would have considered, unlikely regions. Take for example a small agricultural county in Indiana.
This small county, bordering Kentucky, averaged just a few cases of HIV per year in the past. In the first half of this year, however, 169 new cases were reported – a drastic change. To add to that, 80% of those infected with HIV have been infected with Hepatitis C as well.
Experts long feared that this shift in demographic would bring about these tragic consequences. Drug abuse is now common among rural, predominantly white areas. Another alarming statistic shows that the number of male and female abusers are about equal. Along with injecting drugs comes the increased risk of spreading HIV. While proven methods in the past have effectively faced these challenges, one such method has a federal funding ban on it. Needle exchange programs worked well in the past to ensure that those who used needles would not pass them on to other users. A filled prescription for a needle could be refilled once the used needle was returned. It is a simple concept, but it worked and worked well.
The issue at hand is that there is currently a ban on federal funding for these programs. Without funding, the programs cease to run. Anyone with needle prescriptions can simply toss or pass along the used item. It is precisely these actions that have health officials worried that more HIV outbreaks in small communities will be making headlines. The call now is for a lift on this ban in hopes of stemming the changing tide.
As for the small Indiana community, the state governor has allowed funds to go into the needle exchange program for that county. The rest of the state will not be receiving the same benefits. The funding for each county is conditional: that is, based on need.
Vitamin D Helps with Resistance to HIV
9 years ago
When it comes to the poorest nations of the world, an inexpensive means of fighting the spread of HIV is vital. Researchers may have found just such an ally according to a recent study of how vitamin D affects the immune system response to HIV. What did they find?
The Test Subjects
The study was performed using 100 young individuals, half from the Cape area in Africa and the other half from the Xhosa indigenous tribe. Blood samples were taken from the healthy individuals during the sunny summer months when vitamin D levels are the highest and again during the winter when they are at a seasonal low due to less sun exposure. During the winter, both groups proved to be vitamin D deficient, and the women who were in the study suffered even more from the deficiency than men.
Exposure to HIV-1
Next, these blood samples were exposed to HIV-1. After giving the virus nine days to work, the samples were tested. The amazing result was that the vitamin D deficient winter samples were more prone to infection than the summer samples with normal vitamin D levels.
The deficient individuals were next given a six-week supply of vitamin D supplements to get their levels back to normal. Then their blood was taken and tested again. Infection rate was reduced back to what it had been for the summer samples. The results were clear – vitamin D was helping ward off the disease.
Implications
While there is no immunization for HIV, this study reveals that vitamin D can reduce the chances of infection. Since vitamin supplements are far less expensive than vaccinations, this is also a far more viable solution for reducing the risk of infection in developing countries. Also, additional health benefits associated with vitamin D would be achieved by combating deficiency. It’s a win-win for some of the underdeveloped countries that are the hardest hit by the spread of HIV.
Lack of HIV Prevention Threatens to Increase
9 years ago
by ADMIN
in HIV Management
UNAIDS has released a report showing that the next five years are critical in slowing the spread of HIV. Now that major advances in treatment have been made, HIV prevention seems to be less of a topic. The stark fact is that treatment alone will not stop the spread of HIV. To halt the continuing spread of this condition, prevention efforts need to be revamped, especially when it comes to high-risk groups.
Treatment Costs on the Rise
One of the amazing things about modern HIV treatment is that most people who are infected with the disease can expect to live to the average lifespan. This fact, however, also makes prevention a necessity. With HIV positive individuals living longer and the infection rate growing in many countries, costs of providing treatment are skyrocketing for governments around the world. In fact, in several African nations it has been calculated that more than one-third of government spending on health must target HIV, and that this translates into as much as 2% of the gross domestic product of some nations.
A Reachable yet Difficult Goal
UNAIDS sees the next five years as an opportunity to strike a major blow against HIV. With the funds to provide treatment globally and greater prevention encouragement for at-risk individuals, the organization is seeking to eliminate transmission from mother to child by 2030. The difficulty is encouraging the haves to share with the have-nots since many of the nations facing such crises simply do not have the funds to enact the needed programs.
First World Problem: Complacency
HIV prevention is not just an issue in Africa. In advanced nations such as in Europe and North America, evidence reveals that among homosexual men, infection rates have started to rise. This negative shift is blamed on complacency due to treatment methods and their accessibility in these nations. Rather than on treatment, the focus needs to be on prevention if infection rates in countries such as the US are going to decrease as they should.
