New Rochelle, NY, February 17, 2016--A cure for HIV/AIDS is the ultimate goal of rapidly advancing research involving diverse and innovative approaches. A comprehensive collection of articles describing the broad scope and current status of this global effort is published in a special issue of AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The second annual Special Issue on HIV Cure Research is available free on the AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses website.
A new study by Gregory Del Prete and coauthors from Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research (Frederick, MD) and Gilead Sciences (Foster City, CA) determined whether the addition of the protease inhibitor darunavir (DRV) to a three-drug combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) regimen--comprised of emtricitabine (FTC), tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF), and dolutegravir (DTG)--would benefit control of virus replication during early treatment of monkeys infected with simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV). The researchers report their findings in the article "Comparative Evaluation of Coformulated Injectable Combination Antiretroviral Therapy Regimens in Simian Immunodeficiency Virus-Infected Rhesus Macaques."
José Alberto Ávila-Funes and coauthors from Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán and Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (Mexico City), and University Victor Segalen Bordeaux 2 (France) studied the growing elderly population affected by HIV and describe their findings in the article "Correlates of Prevalent Disability Among HIV-Infected Elderly Patients."
Marcella Flores and Rowena Johnston, The Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR, New York), discuss how a cure can be defined and achieved for the nearly 37 million people living with HIV in the article "Curing HIV: Moving Forward Faster." Controlling the virus rather than fully suppressing it might be a more realistic goal of therapy, suggest the authors, proposing that multiple avenues of research continue to be pursued.
In the article "Younger Age Predicts Failure to Achieve Viral Suppression and Virologic Rebound Among HIV-1-Infected Persons in Serodiscordant Partnerships," Andrew Mujugira et al., University of Washington (Seattle), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Atlanta), University of Manitoba (Winnipeg, Canada), and Kenya Medical Research Institute (Nairobi), examine the impact that delaying initiation of antiretroviral therapy by younger patients may have on failure to achieve viral suppression and virologic rebound after initiating ART.
"The second annual HIV Cure Research issue brings together current opinions and recent advances in research to highlight this high priority area of HIV research, inform the field and public, and stimulate debate and discussion to bring us a step closer to the goal of developing a cure for HIV infection," says Thomas Hope, PhD, Editor-in-Chief of AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses and Professor of Cell and Molecular Biology at Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine (Chicago, IL).
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Research reported by Del Prete et al. was supported by the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health Award Number HHSN261200800001E. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
About the Journal
AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses, published monthly online with open access options and in print, presents papers, reviews, and case studies documenting the latest developments and research advances in the molecular biology of HIV and SIV and innovative approaches to HIV vaccine and therapeutic drug research, including the development of antiretroviral agents and immune-restorative therapies. Content also explores the molecular and cellular basis of HIV pathogenesis and HIV/HTLV epidemiology. The Journal features rapid publication of emerging sequence information, reports on clinical trials of emerging HIV therapies, and images in HIV research. Tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses website.
About the Publisher
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including AIDS Patient Care and STDs, Viral Immunology, and Journal of Interferon and Cytokine Research. Its biotechnology trade magazine, GEN (Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News), was the first in its field and is today the industry's most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm's 80 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers website.
Journal
AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses