Posts tagged HIV therapy
Silver Nanoparticle Vaginal Cream
10 years ago
by ADMIN
in HIV Therapy
Silver Nanoparticles Fight HIV
Researchers from Mexico that specialize in virology have discovered that silver nanoparticles have the ability to block the transmission of HIV-infected cells by working against the protein that facilitates the virus adhering to healthy cells. With this knowledge, specialists have created a silver nanoparticle vaginal cream that is designed to stop the transmission of HIV. Even though the mechanism of delivery is a cream intended for female use, it would in theory protect both sexual partners from the acquiring the virus. The cream starts working within 60 seconds of application and lasts for three days.
So far the silver nanoparticle vaginal cream has been tested in human tissue and there are plans to test it using mice and then move onto clinical trials. In the past, treatment for HIV has focused mainly on fighting the replication of the virus after it has hijacked the cell and its machinery. This new development, however, would prevent the virus from even entering the cell. The tests so far have proved that the cream is very effective in keeping the virus from adhering to the cell, but further testing is required to see what the possible side effects could be.
Irritation at times can make it easier for the virus to enter the tissue. Since topical applications can cause irritation, scientists added an anti-inflammatory agent to the cream. If this cream proves efficient and nontoxic in further trials, it could be used to protect people from other types of sexually transmitted diseases, such as the human papilloma virus (HPV), along with sexually transmitted bacterial infections.
The same team is also working on a kit to test HIV-positive blood for its reaction to antiretroviral drugs. These kits could help doctors prescribe the most effective treatment for each individual patient. In order to fully develop this kit, many more clinical trials are needed.
Infectious Disease Specialists A Benefit to HIV Inpatients
11 years ago
Hospitalized patients face certain challenges when dealing with existing medical issues. For patients with HIV, the challenges can be critical if not handled expertly. This is especially true when they are admitted for medical reasons other than HIV. Infection, surgery or other issues or complications can throw off their ART or antiretroviral treatment. What can be done?
It has been reviewed that when a hospitalized HIV patient is seen by an infectious disease physician, the results are generally better. The complex regimen of HIV therapies can be confusing for staff members not used to regularly handling such issues. For these reasons, errors are often made, such as a wrong dosage or prescribing other drugs with ART contraindications. Infectious disease doctors and pharmacists can provide the required level of care.
Recent studies are showing that a great percentage of HIV patients seen by an infectious disease specialist report less errors than those who didn’t. Also the number of errors that were corrected or caught in time was remarkably higher. Due to education and familiarity with HIV therapy, specialists in the field are better equipped when it comes to managing certain aspects of inpatient care. In the end, patients required fewer hours of medical attention and demonstrated overall improvement in health when compared with HIV patients not seen by an infectious disease specialist.
In the case of medication and ART, pharmacists and clinicians trained in infectious disease evaluated, altered and administered drugs as needed. They were accurately able to determine risk and benefit for changes that were made. This type of consideration resulted in better management of medical issues with as little interference as possible with HIV therapies. These studies clearly indicate that there are indeed great benefits for an HIV patient to be under the charge of an infectious disease physician when admitted for other reasons to the hospital.
