January 18, 2012

The Top AIDS Beacon Articles Of 2011

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By The AIDS Beacon Staff
Published: Jan 18, 2012 11:27 am

The year 2011 was filled with important HIV- and AIDS-related news. New drugs were approved, researchers talked in earnest about progress toward a cure, and we marked the 30th anniversary of the first reports of AIDS in the United States.

As a service to its readers, The AIDS Beacon has compiled a list of the news articles and topics that AIDS Beacon readers found most interesting during 2011.

#1: New Drugs For Hepatitis C – Two new drugs for the treatment of hepatitis C, Incivek (telaprevir) and Victrelis (boceprevir), were approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in May. The drugs, which mark a shift in the treatment paradigm for hepatitis C, sparked a flurry of interest from Beacon readers. Articles on the drugs’ efficacy and side effects and the drugs’ potential for people who are co-infected with hepatitis C and HIV were top articles on The AIDS Beacon this year.

#2: Progress Toward A Cure For HIV – For the first time in years, researchers began to seriously discuss the possibility of a cure for HIV. The shift came about as a result of the first known person cured of HIV, Timothy Brown, also know as “The Berlin Patient.” Brown served as a proof of concept that a cure is possible; now researchers are trying to figure out how to apply the lessons learned about HIV over the past 30 years to finding a cure for the general population. Beacon readers were particularly interested in a series on the research scientists are pursuing toward a cure and what the future of HIV treatment might look like.

#3: FDA Approves New Anti-HIV Drug Edurant For Treatment-Naïve People With HIV – The FDA announced in May that it had approved the new antiretroviral Edurant (rilpivirine), a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor, for use in people with HIV who have not previously been treated.

#4: Estimated Life Expectancy For HIV-Positive Men Is Greatest When HIV Is Diagnosed EarlyResults from a British study of HIV-positive men who have sex with men estimated a life expectancy of 75 years if HIV is diagnosed early, compared with 82 years for individuals without HIV. If HIV is diagnosed late, the researchers estimated life expectancy at 71.5 years.

#5: HIV Experts Recommend Shifting HIV Care To Primary Care Doctors Dr. Mitchell Katz, a physician with extensive experience in treating patients with HIV and AIDS, argued in an editorial that HIV/AIDS care should shift from HIV specialists to primary care physicians now that, in his opinion, HIV is essentially a chronic, treatable disease. The Institute of Medicine also warned of serious and growing shortages in the HIV healthcare system and recommended shifting more HIV care to primary care doctors.

#6: 30 Years Of HIV: A Lot Of Progress, But Still A Long Way To Go – June 5, 2011, marked the 30th anniversary of the first reports of AIDS in the U.S. Physicians, policy makers, and the HIV-positive community paused to reflect on the progress that has been made in combating the disease, as well as the long road still ahead toward eradicating the virus. The anniversary also provided a time to remember the lives that have been lost to AIDS, both in the U.S. and around the world.

#7: FDA Approves Gilead’s Complera, AKA Btripla, For Use In Previously Untreated People With HIVIn August,the FDA approved Complera (rilpivirine/emtricitabine/tenofovir), informally known as “Btripla,” for use in people with HIV who have not previously been treated with antiretrovirals.

#8: Edurant And Complera Are Classified As Alternative, Not Preferred, HIV Regimens – The Department of Health and Human Services updated antiretroviral treatment guidelines to state that Edurant, which is also a component of Complera, is considered an alternative, but not preferred, antiretroviral for people starting HIV treatment for the first time. Sustiva (efavirenz), which is in the same antiretroviral class as Edurant, is still considered the preferred treatment.

#9: HAART May Affect Chemotherapy Treatment In HIV-Positive Cancer Patients – A review of studies on chemotherapy treatment for HIV-positive cancer patients found that antiretrovirals can exacerbate side effects from chemotherapy drugs and may cause drug-drug interactions that can affect dosages and efficacies.

#10: HIV And Antiretroviral Therapy May Affect FertilityResults of a review indicated that people with HIV may be at an increased risk for infertility, due to both the virus itself and the use of antiretrovirals. The authors of the review also found that assisted reproduction options can help people with fertility problems and can be a safe choice for couples in which one partner is HIV positive and the other is HIV negative, although the risk of HIV transmission cannot be eliminated completely.

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