Starbucks, Bono and Red join forces to fight AIDS in Africa
Breaks from HIV regimens could lead to death
Earlier treatment of HIV decreases risk of death, study finds
Prezista granted traditional approval and for use in treatment-naïve
Mississippi State AIDS Director fails to apply for CDC funding for prevention with MSM
Treatment Action Group launches new website
Starbucks, Bono and Red join forces to fight AIDS in Africa
Your favorite coffee hangout can now also be a place where you can help people living with AIDS in Africa. Starbucks announced it has joined with Bono in a new partnership with Red, an organization that raises funds to eliminate AIDS in Africa.
The Seattle-based coffee company will contribute 5 cents from the sale of each holiday drink from Nov. 27 to Jan. 2 to Red's global fund. The multiyear partnership will include other Red choices for customers throughout the year.
A Starbucks spokesperson stated that if all its U.S. and Canadian customers bought a holiday drink each week, the resulting donation to Red would provide medicine to 15,000 people living with AIDS in Africa for a year
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Breaks from HIV regimens could lead to death
Findings from an international study reveal that HIV-positive people who take breaks from the drug regimens are more likely to have higher levels of proteins associated with inflammation, which could result in a potentially deadly immune system response.
The study, led by James Neaton of the University of Minnesota, was designed to determine the benefits of structured treatment interruptions (STIs) in HIV-positive people taking antiretroviral drugs. Previous research has indicated that STIs could be a safe and cost-effective approach to antiretroviral therapy, possibly limiting the long-term side effects of using these drugs.
The study was stopped in 2006, however, when it was noticed that participants who took STIs were more likely to die prematurely compared with participants who continued on their regimens without stopping.
Blood samples from the patients who died prematurely showed higher levels of three blood proteins that are linked to inflammation. Researchers are hopeful that gaining an understanding of the benefits of treating these elevated levels may lead to the development of drugs to address this life-threatening inflammation.
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Earlier treatment of HIV decreases risk of death, study finds
A recent study found that HIV-positive people who started on antiretroviral therapy earlier than currently recommended decreased their risk of death by more than 70 percent.
Led by Dr. Mari Kitahata of the University of Washington in Seattle, researchers from the U.S. and Canada compared records of more than 8,000 healthy HIV-positive patients from a database of a global network of HIV clinics. All of the patients had T-cell counts from 351-500 and had never taken antiretroviral therapy prior to the study period, which was 1996 to 2006.
During this time, however, 30 percent of the patients started on therapy while the rest waited until their T-cell counts fell below 350 as recommended by current HIV treatment guidelines. The patients who waited were 71 percent more likely to die, for various reasons, during the study period.
These findings have significant implications for revisions to current HIV-treatment guidelines.
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Prezista granted traditional approval and for use in treatment-naïve
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently granted traditional approval for the use of Prezista (darunavir), the newest available drug from a class the class of antiretrovirals known as protease inhibitors.
Accelerated approval of the use of Prezista 600 mg, boosted with 100 mg of Norvir (ritonavir), in treatment-experienced HIV-positive people was granted by the FDA in 2006. In addition to traditional approval of this particular dosing, a dosing of darunavir 800 mg with 100 mg ritonavir was also approved for use in treatment-naïve individuals. Both doses should be taken with food because of the ritonavir, however, there are no food restrictions for darunavir.
In addition, the pregnancy category for the drug was changed from B to C, which means that it should only be used in pregnancy if the benefits of its use justify the potential risks.
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Mississippi State AIDS Director fails to apply for CDC funding for prevention with MSM
HIV prevention and treatment advocates in Mississippi are outraged that the Director of the HIV/AIDS division of the State Health Department, Craig Thomson, knew about yet failed to apply for a recent grant issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for HIV prevention for men who have sex with men (MSM).
When asked about his decision to not apply for the additional Request for Proposal (RFP) issued by the CDC to states for setting up an HIV prevention program targeting MSM, Thompson replied, “It wasn’t applicable to us…this grant didn’t offer anything in particular we believed we could deal with.”
According to the CDC, 29 percent of new infections that occurred in Mississippi in 2007 were among MSM. It should be noted, however, that this figure is an estimate because the state does not specifically track infections among MSM.
“Denying to apply for the HIV funding just shows how the Mississippi health department does not see MSM as a high priority,” said Valencia Robinson, field organizer of AIDS Action in Mississippi.
Robinson and other advocates are concerned that such actions are becoming a pattern within the health department, as two years ago Mississippi returned a significant amount of funding from HOPWA that it could not spend.
“I have no respect for Thompson and no faith that he can get the job done,” said Mark Colomb, executive director of an organization that focuses on black men in the Jackson area.
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Treatment Action Group launches new website
Treatment Action Group (TAG) announced the launch of its completely redesigned website at www.treatmentactiongroup.org. The new site offers simplified navigation, improved search, and context-sensitive access to a wide range of scientific and policy information about HIV, hepatitis, and tuberculosis.
Features include the latest issue of TAG's newsletter, TAGline, TAG's latest policy reports and publications, TAG's influential HIV science blog, and more.
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Special 20th Anniversary Issue in
January/February
Positively Aware celebrates its 20th anniversary, going back to its origin as TPA News, with a special issue in January/February 2009. The annual drug guide will be published in March/April instead. If you have any reminiscences or updates about your experiences at TPAN or with Positively Aware that you’d like to share, especially from the early days, please submit them to publications@tpan.com, to our mailing address, or in our online forum by November 24. |
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