AIDS Alert Archives – February 1, 2007
February 1, 2007
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Increasing numbers of older Americans are coping with HIV infection and stigma
As people infected in their 30s and 40s have survived due to antiretroviral therapy, and as older Americans continue to have active sex lives past age 50, the number of older Americans infected with HIV has swelled in recent years. -
Older HIV patients deal with the double stigma of having the disease and being old
When Charles A. Emlet, PhD, MSW, ACSW, an associate professor at the University of Washington, Tacoma, first began working in the area of HIV 20 years ago, he saw some older patients, but they typically did not live for more than a couple of years after they were diagnosed. -
Genotype testing for all HIV patients, study suggests
A recent study suggests the need for clinicians to provide genotype testing on all new HIV patients. Different geographical locations may have different patterns of resistance, so it's important for clinicians to know which types of resistance are most common in their region and to obtain genotype tests looking for those resistance patterns, says Jessica R. Grubb, MD, an instructor of medicine at Washington University in St. Louis, MO. -
FDA Notifications: Investigational drugs to be more readily available?
In an effort to enable more patients who lack satisfactory alternatives to have access to unapproved medicines, while balancing the need to safeguard the individual patient and ensure the continued integrity of the scientific process that brings safe and effective drugs to the market, on Dec. 11, 2006, the FDA proposed significant regulatory changes to make investigational drugs more widely and easily available to seriously ill patients, including those with HIV/AIDS, who have no other treatment options. -
TMC125 (Etravirine), a Second Generation Non-Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitor
This article originally appeared in the January 2007 issue of Infectious Disease Alert. It was edited by Stan Deresinski, MD, FACP, and peer reviewed by Connie Price, MD. Dr. Deresinski is Clinical Professor of Medicine, Stanford University; Associate Chief of Infectious Diseases, Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, and Dr. Price is Assistant Professor, University of Colorado School of Medicine. -
Antiretroviral for Acute HIV Infection — Not Ready for Prime Time
The optimal time to initiate Antiretroviral Therapy (ARV) in chronically-infected asymptomatic patients is now felt to be when the CD4+ lymphocyte count falls to approximately 350 cells/uL,1 based on the probability of developing an AIDS-defining illness within a relatively short period of time, as shown in a meta-analysis of cohort studies. -
Darunavir (TMC114) Approved by the FDA
Darunavir (known during development as TMC114 and given the proprietary name, PREZISTA-TM) was approved by FDA on June 23, 2006, for use in combination with other antiretroviral agents for the treatment of HIV infection in adults.