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Blog posts examine issues discussed at AIDS 2012

Laurie Garrett, senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations, published three new blog posts last week examining issues discussed at the XIX International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2012).

31 Jul 2012

'AIDS-free generation' possible with available tools for prevention, but not without political will

Noting that "the XIX International AIDS Conference [AIDS 2012] has just come to a close amid much talk of the beginning of the end of AIDS, turning the tide on HIV and even a potential cure," Julio Montaner, former president of the International AIDS Society (IAS) and director of the B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, writes in a Globe and Mail opinion piece, "It is now more certain than ever that we have the tools, medicines and expertise to stop this epidemic."

31 Jul 2012

Views on AIDS: More funding will be needed for new attack on HIV; The epidemic hits hard in the South

The international AIDS conference in Washington has already made two points clear. There is no prospect that scientists will any time soon find the ultimate solutions to the AIDS epidemic, namely a vaccine that would prevent infection with the AIDS virus or a "cure" for people already infected with the virus.

31 Jul 2012

Roundup: N.J. public may decide if judges should pay more for health care; Ore. Medicaid experiment to launch; Uncertainty around Va. abortion clinic rules

The New Jersey State Assembly is set to consider a measure that would allow voters to decide whether New Jersey judges should pay more for their pensions and health benefits. The state Supreme Court ruled last week that judges don't have to contribute more toward pensions and health care despite a new law requiring them to do so. The court said the law diminishes judges' salaries, which are protected by state law.

31 Jul 2012

HPV co-testing prospect for HIV-infected women

The risk for cervical precancer and cancer is similar in HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected women with normal cervical cytology and no evidence of oncogenic human papillomavirus infection, research shows.

30 Jul 2012

Hydroxychloroquine fails to modify HIV in patients not taking ART

The use of hydroxychloroquine does not reduce CD8 cell activation in HIV-infected patients not taking antiretroviral therapy, research shows.

30 Jul 2012

XIX International AIDS Conference concludes in Washington, D.C.

"The XIX International AIDS Conference [AIDS 2012] drew to a close Friday without the physical presence of President Obama but with a full cast of other high-profile U.S. politicians who expressed their commitment to ending the disease," CQ HealthBeat reports (Norman, 7/27).

30 Jul 2012

Some AIDS experts view health law coverage expansion with hope

Meanwhile, the Obama administration announced it would add new funds to increase access to HIV/AIDS care, but questions remain about whether it will be enough to address waiting lists for the drug assistance program. Also in the news, reports on treatment developments.

30 Jul 2012

First Edition: June 30, 2012

Today's headlines include recent reports about both the policies and politics related to the health law's implementation.

30 Jul 2012

EASL calls on the UN to take action to fight against viral hepatitis infection

Marking World Hepatitis Day, the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) calls on the different organizations which make up the United Nations systems to take action to fight against Viral Hepatitis (Hepatitis B and C), a potentially fatal infection of the liver which affects 500 million people.

30 Jul 2012

Study examines how heterosexual men with HIV seek health care and support services

Heterosexual men make up a small but growing number of people infected with HIV in Canada. Yet a new study has found that many of them feel existing HIV-related programs and services don't meet their needs and are geared primarily or exclusively toward gay men and heterosexual women who are living with the virus.

30 Jul 2012

Health systems must prepare for aging population living with HIV

"Many health systems are not ready to cope with the relatively new phenomenon" of people living with HIV (PLHIV) growing older, PlusNews reports. "Data on aging with HIV is largely restricted to the developed world and very little is known about older Africans living with virus, despite the high caseload in this region," the news service writes, adding, "A July 2012 supplement of the medical journal, AIDS, notes that an estimated three million people in sub-Saharan Africa aged 50 and older are HIV-positive -- 14 percent of all infected adults.

30 Jul 2012

Early ART treatment delays AIDS-related health events in HIV-infected individuals

Further analyses of the landmark NIH-funded treatment-as-prevention study (HPTN 052) have found that providing antiretroviral treatment to HIV-infected individuals earlier, when their immune systems are healthier, delays AIDS-related health events, such as chronic herpes simplex virus and tuberculosis, as well as death. Additionally, researchers found that earlier HIV treatment is also cost-effective because it increases survival, prevents costly opportunistic infections and averts transmission of the virus to uninfected individuals.

30 Jul 2012

Results from HIV incidence study in Swaziland

The results from a nationally representative HIV incidence study in Swaziland indicate that the national rate of new HIV infections is 2.38% among adults ages 18-49. This figure, comparable to the 2009 UNAIDS estimate of 2.66% for Swaziland adults ages 15-49, suggests that the HIV epidemic in Swaziland may have begun to stabilize in the past few years.

30 Jul 2012

PEPFAR, private partner launch 5-year 'Labs for Life' initiative

At the XIX International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2012) on Thursday, PEPFAR and Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD), "announced Labs for Life, a new collaboration to help strengthen health care and laboratory systems in the developing world along with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)," a State Department fact sheet states.

28 Jul 2012

Recent release: AIDS response should be 'instrument for social justice'

"It is outrageous that, in 2012, when we have everything we need to beat AIDS, we are still fighting prejudice, stigma, and exclusion," UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibe writes on the Human Rights and HIV/AIDS "Now More Than Ever" blog, adding, "It is my daily reminder that the AIDS response is not just about an epidemic; the AIDS response is, has been, and must be, an instrument to fight for social justice."

28 Jul 2012

NPR continues AIDS-related coverage on blog, programs

NPR continues its coverage of issues being discussed at the XIX International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2012) with several stories on its health blog and radio programs. On Thursday, "Tell Me More" host Michel Martin spoke with Teguest Guerma, the first woman director general of the African Medical and Research Fund (AMREF) about how African nations are responding to the HIV/AIDS epidemic and how they are working "to find the solutions ourselves, with the support of the international community," Guerma said, according to the program's transcript.

28 Jul 2012

Recent release: Examining mental health needs of people living with HIV

In this post in the AIDS.gov blog, Nils Daulaire, director of the Office of Global Affairs in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), examines the mental health needs of people living with HIV, writing, The burden of being HIV-positive, or caring for loved ones living with the disease, is not restricted to the physical toll. For many people, there are equally important mental health needs.

28 Jul 2012

Economist articles, blog examine research presented at AIDS 2012 conference

The Economist on Friday published two articles from Saturday's print edition regarding the XIX International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2012). One article states that "few areas of international affairs have seen more recent success than the fight against AIDS," and discusses advancements in HIV treatment research and availability.

28 Jul 2012

Research presented at AIDS 2012 conference renews hope of cure for AIDS

Two studies presented at the XIX International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2012) and one published Wednesday in the British journal Nature "have given researchers renewed hope that a cure for AIDS may be possible," the Washington Post reports.

28 Jul 2012