#croi 2019

[pozmagazine]

HIV Transmission Rate Plunges in Gay & Bi Men in the U.K.

The diagnosis rate fell by 50 percent in just two years among gay and bi men who attended sexual clinics at least twice in one year.

An analysis of diagnosis trends in a subset of men who have sex with men (MSM) who attend sexual health clinics in the United Kingdom revealed a fast-declining HIV transmission rate in recent years, aidsmap reports.

Presenting their findings at 2019 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Seattle, researchers analyzed HIV diagnosis data among MSM who attended the same U.K. sexual health clinic at least twice during the same year. This amounted to about one third of the group of MSM attending such clinics in any given year. Consequently, the findings about this group may not be generalizable to the overall MSM population in the United Kingdom.

[pozmagazine]

A 2nd Man’s HIV Is in Long-Term Remission, but Is He Cured?

Timothy Brown may have company after a man’s virus went into remission following an HIV-resistant stem cell transplant to treat his cancer.

Timothy Ray Brown, aka “the Berlin Patient,” may now have company as researchers report that a second HIV-positive man has no signs of the virus following successful treatment for life-threatening cancer with a stem cell transplant of immune cells that are naturally resistant to the virus. At this time, researchers have categorized this second man, a British individual dubbed “the London Patient,” as in a state of viral remission.

If scientists are to officially categorize him as cured, the British man will need more follow-up to ensure that his virus does not rebound—thus far, he has gone 18 months without antiretroviral (ARV) treatment with no such resurgence of HIV.

[pozmagazine]

Among Those With HIV, Additional Health Problems Occur in Six Clusters

Researchers analyzed data on people living with HIV in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the Netherlands.

The additional health problems, known as comorbidities, that people with HIV experience fall into six clusters, according to an analysis of two groups of Western European individuals that skewed older, aidsmap reports.

Presenting their findings at the 2019 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) in Seattle, researchers analyzed data from two cohort studies to parse patterns behind the existence of comorbidities among HIV-positive individuals.

[pozmagazine]

Urine Test Detects if Someone Took PrEP the Day Prior

This cheap test could be a good way to assess adherence, unless those who adhere poorly fudge the result by taking a dose before a visit.

Researchers have developed a cheap and reliable urine test to assess adherence to the daily Truvada (tenofovir disoproxil fumarate/emtricitabine) as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) regimen, aidsmap reports. However, because the test determines drug levels based only on the last 24 hours of Truvada usage, researchers are concerned that those who adhere poorly may fudge the test result by taking a dose the day before a scheduled clinic visit.

Presenting their findings at the 2019 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) in Seattle, researchers developed a $2 urine test that assesses the presence of antibodies to the tenofovir component of Truvada. This is a point-of-care test, meaning it can be conducted and produce results on-site.

[pozmagazine]

A 3rd Man Received HIV-Resistant Stem Cell Transplant, Is in Viral Remission

“The Düsseldorf Patient” has been off HIV meds only since November 2018, so it is much too early to determine whether he has been cured.

Following closely behind the now-famous case of “the London Patient,” a German man is in a state of viral remission after receiving an HIV-resistant bone marrow transplant to treat his leukemia. At this point, he has been off antiretroviral (ARV) treatment for four months with no rebound of viral replication in his body. He must spend more time in this state of viral remission before researchers can determine whether he has been cured of the virus.

To date, one person has been cured of HIV, Timothy Ray Brown, aka “the Berlin Patient,” who over a decade ago received two bone marrow transplants from a donor whose immune system was resistant to HIV. Brown has been off ARV treatment without his virus rebounding for such a long time that researchers have pronounced him cured.

[pozmagazine]

People Who Obtain PrEP Without a Prescription May Not Use It Correctly

Informal PrEP users were more likely to take it intermittently and skip recommended medical tests.

People who obtain PrEP online, from friends or through other channels outside the medical system are less likely to follow recommendations for correct use and may therefore be at greater risk for HIV infection or medical problems, according to a poster presented at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) last month in Seattle.

Although these results are from a survey conducted in Germany, they may have implications for people in the United States who seek to obtain PrEP anonymously or more cheaply through informal channels.

[pozmagazine]

HIV-Positive Women With Breast Cancer May Have a Higher Risk of Death

A study in Botswana showed that women with HIV had shorter survival than HIV-negative women with breast cancer.

HIV-positive women with breast cancer appear to have decreased survival compared with HIV-negative women, according to a presentation at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI 2019) taking place this week in Seattle.

Although HIV was associated with an almost twofold reduction in survival, both HIV-positive and HIV-negative women had high five-year mortality, in most cases attributable to cancer, said Katrin Sadigh, MD, of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

[pozmagazine]

Reactions to the News of Another Person Possibly Cured of HIV

Perhaps amfAR sums it up best: “We’re certainly hopeful.”

As news of the so-called London Patient spread across the globe, AIDS organizations, community leaders and regular folks living with HIV took to social media to share their thoughts about the possibility of a second person having been cured of his HIV. (For background on the case, read “A 2nd Man’s HIV Is in Long-Term Remission, but Is He Cured?”)

What did people have to say? Let’s give the first word to the first man cured of HIV, Timothy Ray Brown, aka “the Berlin Patient.”