News by Subject Medicine & Health

In a new study published in Nature Communications, researchers at Karolinska Institutet show that MAIT cells (mucosa-associated invariant T cells), part of the human immune system, respond with dynamic activity and reprogramming of gene expression during the initial phase of HIV infection. The study fills a knowledge gap, as previously there has been a lack of awareness of the function of MAIT cells during this particular phase.

In October 2019, the FDA approved a second medication for use as HIV preexposure prophylaxis, also known as PrEP, sparking controversy about which drug should be prescribed. Gilead Sciences, which manufactures both approved drugs, has argued that the new drug is safer and more effective than the old drug. But these claims are overstated, say a team of clinical and public health experts.

A new mechanism uncovered by a Norwegian research group could improve the chances of developing a cure for HIV by forcing the virus out of dormancy so that it can be killed.

A discovery by Florida State University College of Medicine researchers is expected to open the door for new and more potent treatment options for many of the more than 36 million people worldwide infected with the HIV virus and for others chronically ill with hepatitis B.

Offering HIV screening to new patients in general practice on a routine basis increases testing rates and improves detection and earlier diagnosis, research co-led by Queen Mary University of London and UCL suggests.

A single dose of an antibody-based treatment can prevent HIV transmission from mother to baby, new nonhuman primate research suggests for the first time. The findings are being published in the journal Nature Communications. This is the first time a single dose of broadly neutralizing antibodies given after viral exposure has been found to prevent infection in nonhuman primate newborns.

Results of a trial in newborns with HIV who started antiretroviral therapy within 14 days of birth showed that about 75 percent attained viral suppression on ART; but only 52 percent sustained suppression on ART. Success was similar in infants starting ART less than two days old (51%) and in infants starting therapy between 2 and 14 days after birth (54%). Very early ART on its own is unlikely to lead to remission.

A study led by researchers from SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University and Oregon Health & Science University, published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, showed that, despite successful antiretroviral therapy (ART), antigen specific memory to vaccinations that occurred before HIV infection did not recover, even after immune reconstitution. Additionally, a previously unrealized decline in preexisting antibody response was also observed.

A new study led by Yale University researchers finds that scaling up use of methadone and buprenorphine could greatly reduce HIV transmission rates and prevent deaths in Ukraine.