Fw: Treatment is Prevention: Big Breakthroughs at IAS 2011

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Conference Coverage: IAS 2011

6th IAS Conference on HIV Pathogensis, Treatment and Prevention (IAS 2011)

Rome, July 17-20, 2011

AIDSmeds and POZ are covering IAS 2011, the world’s largest open scientific conference on HIV/AIDS, currently under way in Rome. Lots of new developments, notably a slew of new reports from studies exploring HIV treatment as prevention. Check out the highlights below, as well as our complete coverage page being updated regularly.

News from IAS 2011

July 19, 2011

PrEP Cuts Sexual HIV Transmissions 62% to 78% in Men and Women

Viread (tenofovir) and Truvada (tenofovir plus emtricitabine), when used as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) “definitively†reduced the risk of contracting HIV, by 62 and 73 percent respectively, among mixed-status heterosexual couples.

HIV Integrase Inhibitor Dolutegravir Showing Well in First-Time Treatment Takers

ViiV Healthcare’s experimental integrase inhibitor dolutegravir, using the highest dose studied in the SPRING-1 clinical trial, was at least as effective as efavirenz (found in Sustiva and Atripla) in controlling HIV levels with fewer side effects over 48 weeks.

Early Treatment Reduces Serious Illnesses by 40% in HPTN 052

Starting antiretroviral therapy once a CD4 count falls below 550 was associated with a 40 percent reduction in the risk of serious illness, but not deaths, in HPTN 052, according to researchers summarizing the second set of major findings from the study.

Non-Nuke Lersivirine Promising in First-Time Treatment Takers

Lersivirine (UK-453061), ViiV Healthcare’s experimental NNRTI, achieves similar rates of viral load suppression compared with Sustiva (efavirenz), according to 48-week data from a Phase II study.

July 18, 2011

IAS Organizers: HIV Science Breakthroughs Only Half the Battle

Organizers of the 6th IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention kicked off this year’s gathering in Rome by applauding the significant breakthroughs in treatment and prevention science over the past two years, but warned that research discoveries only matter if they can effectively be rolled out evenly throughout the world.

Traditional Risk Factors Greatest Risk for Bone Fractures

Though there has been a significant increase in osteoporotic bone fracture rates in the years since combination antiretroviral (ARV) therapy became commonplace in countries like the United States, the drugs themselves do not appear to be chief culprits, according to new Veterans Administration data.

Survival Benefit Among HIV-Positive Liver, Kidney Transplant Recipients

Survival is “excellent†among people living with HIV undergoing kidney and liver transplants, according to a new analysis presented by researchers associated with the Solid Organ Transplantation in HIV Study.

Building a Global Strategy Towards an HIV Cure

Leading scientists and research stakeholders are calling for accelerated research toward a cure for HIV, according to an International AIDS Society statement.

HIV Treatment as Prevention: 96% Reduction of Sexual Transmission in HPTN 052 Study

A large clinical trial conducted by the international HIV Prevention Trials Network confirms that treating HIV-positive people with antiretroviral drugs reduces the risk of transmitting the virus to HIV-negative sexual partners by 96 percent, at least among heterosexual couples.

More Treatment News

July 15, 2011

HIV, Hep C Drug Development Pipeline is 'Robust,' Says Report

The HIV drug development pipeline is robust, with 12 novel agents and fixed-dose combinations (FDCs) in Phase II or III studies—and several promising compounds in Phase I clinical trials—according to an optimistic report produced by U.K.-based i-Base in collaboration with U.S.-based Treatment Action Group (TAG).

July 14, 2011

Do Studies Accurately Predict Treatment Effectiveness in the Real World?

Clinical trials of HIV treatments have historically yielded more favorable results than those seen in the real world, a phenomenon known as the “trial effect†that has now been proved by researchers at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill, according to an analysis published July 13 in the online journal PLoS One.

Heard in the Blogs

Kawata

Isn't It Ironic?

Wouldn't it be ironic if People with AIDS (PWAs) were the reason we stopped the epidemic?! After all of the blame, all of the discrimination, all of the judgment, there is something quite wonderful about the prospect of PWAs bringing an end to this devastating disease.

At the 6th International Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention, you can feel the excitement as people talk about HIV Prevention Trial Network study 052 or Treatment As Prevention (TAP). At a panel this afternoon, a researcher called it the "light at the end of the tunnel."

TAP is about lowering a community's viral load to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS. It's about getting PWAs to an undetectable viral load as a way to support their individual health and end this epidemic. It's not without challenges, but as one of the speakers said "we may be at the beginning of the end." However, it's going to take PWAs leading the way.

Regan Hofmann

Not Drinking the PrEP Kool-AIDS

PrEP could be a powerful form of harm reduction if made available to people most at risk for HIV, especially those who have no access to other forms of protection, like condoms and clean needles and injection equipment.

But if we cannot find the political and financial capital to get ARVs to the 27.3 million people living with HIV who desperately want and need them, how are we going to secure the political and financial capital to get ARVs to millions of HIV-negative sex workers, drug users and other disenfranchised people in exceptionally compromised positions?

Unfortunately, PrEP will probably remain in the domain of the haves, not in that of the have-nots. Treatment as prevention is not going to be a reality for disenfranchised HIV-negative people at risk. PrEP will be for rich, HIV-negative people in the United States and other developed nations, gay and straight, who would rather take a pill and weather its side effects than use a condom.

Heard in the Forums

I finally registered after browsing the site and forums for the last month and the topics and the advice that I've seen especially on these forums have kept me going. I now realize that it's not a death sentence and scientists are now closer to a cure be it therapeutic or functional than they have ever been. I also have a lot to learn and I look forward to reading the wealth of information here on this site and forum.

—Coolio_7's "Just tested postive and this forum has helped tremendously'"

The past couple of weeks I have noticed that I am having more and more trouble waking up in the mornings..I'm getting enough sleep at night, but still I wake up and I am just so tired, like I haven't slept at all. I hadn't had this issue before. If this is some sort of delayed side effect I hope it passes quickly because it's really affecting my mood everyday now.

—Ac75088's "So tired of being tired...'"

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