ESRD rate almost fourfold higher in HIV population

(Healio)

The rate of end-stage renal disease was nearly four times greater in HIV-infected adults relative to the general population in the United States, according to new data presented at the 2013 International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Researchers said the data indicate “the need for greater surveillance, prevention, and treatment of comorbidities among HIV-infected adults.”

Keri N. Althoff, PhD, MPH, assistant professor in the department of epidemiology at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and colleagues identified participants from the North American AIDS Cohort Collaboration on Research and Design (NA-ACCORD) with at least two estimated glomerular filtration rates less than 30 mL/min/1.73 m³ measured more than 90 days apart or a diagnosis of renal disease from 2000 to 2009. The researchers validated end-stage renal disease (ESRD), defined as dialysis or renal transplant, through medical record review and used Poisson regression analyses to determine crude incidence rates (IR) and incident rate ratios (aIRRs) adjusted for age, sex, race, HIV transmission risk, antiretroviral treatment, clinical AIDS diagnosis, undetectable HIV viral load, and CD4 count. Age- and sex-standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) were estimated to compare the HIV-infected adults from the NA-ACCORD to the general population using ESRD rates from the US Renal Database System (USRDS).

Read the full article here.

New HIV Treatment Guidelines to Cut Millions of Deaths

(Medscape)

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — The World Health Organization has unveiled its much-anticipated new HIV treatment guidelines. Officials say the new approach will prevent 3 million deaths by 2025 and will stop 3.5 million new infections.

“The WHO estimates that these new guidelines will have an unprecedented impact,” director-general Margaret Chan, MD, told a packed room here at the 7th International AIDS Society (IAS) Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention.

An estimated 17 million people are eligible to take antiretroviral drugs, but under the new recommendations this number will increase to 26 million.

The approach reflects the growing body of evidence that treating patients earlier at higher CD4 cell counts, when immune systems are still largely intact, can greatly reduce mortality and prevent HIV transmission.

“Prior WHO guidelines had been for treatment at much later stages of disease,” IAS president-elect Chris Beyrer, MD, professor and associate director for public health, Johns Hopkins Center for Global Health, Baltimore, Maryland, toldMedscape Medical News. “These revisions are based on our new understanding that earlier treatment can have a huge impact on the clinical care of the patient,” he said. “It also turns out that it has a big impact on reducing tuberculosis morbidity and mortality, which is very important in the Asia-Pacific region and Africa.”

The other critical improvement with these new recommendations, said Dr. Beyrer, is the reduction in HIV transmission. “This is a very important announcement, really. WHO guidelines play a normative roll — they’re paid attention to by global ministers of health, and that really matters.”

The new guidelines recommend starting antiretroviral therapy in all patients with a CD4 cell count of 500 cells/mm² or less. Other people should be started on antiretrovirals right away — regardless of CD4 counts — such as HIV-positive serodiscordant couples, patients with hepatitis-B coinfection, women pregnant or breast-feeding, and children younger than 5 years of age.

Read the complete article here.

National HIV Testing Day Call to Action!

Tell your Senators TODAY to fully support programs vital to people living with HIV/AIDS in Fiscal Year 2014!

BACKGROUND:

– Members of the Senate Appropriations Committee plan to vote on the federal spending bill that supports Fiscal Year 2014’s domestic HIV/AIDS programs in early July.

– As a part of National HIV Testing Day today, June 27, we need to let Senators know that in addition to HIV testing, they should support full access to HIV prevention, care, treatment and research!

• Please help us to prevent further cuts by urging Congress to fully fund these programs now!

ACTION NEEDED:

– Today, June 27, National HIV Testing Day, please call your Senators and tell them to prevent harmful cuts and to fully fund HIV prevention, care, treatment and research programs!

• To call your Senators, dial the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121. To find out who your Senator is, click here.

MESSAGE:

– I am calling on National HIV Testing Day to ask my Senator tofully fund and prevent additional cuts to HIV prevention, care, treatment, and research programs.

•  
• Supporting access to HIV testing means supporting access to the full continuum of HIV programs needed, including HIV prevention, care, treatment, and research.
• Early identification through HIV testing, and reliable access to effective HIV care and treatment helps people with HIV live healthy and productive lives and is cost efficient. Investing in HIV prevention today translates into fewer new infections and less spending on care and treatment in the future.
• In my state, such programs already have been cut and are greatly needed, because (insert local details or
  tell personal story).

To find HIV testing locations and services near you, click here.

If you have questions, please contact Donna Crews, Director of Government Affairs at AIDS United, at dcrews@aidsunited.org or (202) 595-4165. Thank you!

HIV/AIDS and Substance Use Among the Homeless and Unstably Housed (R01) RFA-DA-14-009

To improve understanding of the intersection of HIV/AIDS and drug abuse, this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is part of a multipronged 2014 expansion of HIV and AIDS-related research within the context of drug and alcohol abuse among understudied populations and in understudied settings that show promise for the development of effective prevention and treatment efforts. In addition to this funding opportunity, others included in the 2014 expansion address substance use, HIV, and Black/African American women and young Men who have Sex with Men (MSM) (RFA-DA-14-010); the integration of substance abuse and HIV prevention and treatment within HIV/AIDS service delivery settings (RFA-DA-14-011); exploratory research on comorbid HIV, chronic pain, and substance use among older adults (RFA-DA-14-012), and Seek, Test, Treat, and Retain Data Harmonization Coordinating Center (RFA-DA-14-007). This FOA invites research grant applications focused on homeless or unstably housed persons to elucidate the interconnections among substance use, HIV/AIDS and other co-morbidities. The FOA encourages studies on the development, implementation, evaluation, and dissemination of effective HIV-prevention interventions, research related to the epidemiology of HIV infection and substance use, and health services studies to improve the quality of substance use prevention and treatment services for the homeless and unstably housed populations.

Read the full RFA here.

WHO to Announce Earlier Treatment Initiation Guidelines for HIV Positive Individuals

(AIDS Healthcare Foundation)  Vancouver, Canada (April 23, 2013) — AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) today applauded the news that theWorld Health Organization (WHO) is set to raise its treatment initiation guidelines for HIV-positive individuals from a CD4 count of less than 350 to less than 500, allowing people to start treatment earlier.

Ahead of the official announcement of new treatment initiation guidelines which will be released in June at the IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, WHO’s Treatment and Care coordinator Dr. Meg Doherty offered a preview of the guidelines this morning at Treatment as Prevention workshop in Vancouver, Canada.

According to Doherty, earlier treatment initiation will make 26 million people eligible to receive lifesaving antiretroviral medicine, an increase of 76% from the current 14.8 million.

Read the full article here.

The Three Zeros of Eliminating HIV/AIDS: Global Science and Policy

The UNAIDS “three zeros” strategy urges that we take a global approach in our efforts toward zero new HIV infections, zero AIDS-related deaths and zero discrimination, and provides a clear vision for future HIV / AIDS research and policy. This one-day symposium will present view points from a range of key opinion leaders discussing their approach to improve communication and collaboration on a global scale. Updates from research leaders will tackle capacity-building for HIV prevention, care, and treatment: controlling the spread of HIV, including reducing mother to child transmission, PEPFAR and other international programs, addressing public health concerns, reducing transmission via international human trafficking, treatment as prevention, microbicides, and local and international vaccine trial updates. A case study will cover current approaches to tackling HIV in inner-city communities, and a panel of international advocacy experts will tackle the path towards zero discrimination.

Friday, May 17, 2013
8:00AM-4:30PM
New York Academy of Sciences

Speakers include CFAR member and Faculty Development Awardee, Michele Decker, ScD, MPH.

For more information and registration, click here.

Today! Challenges in HIV/AIDS Prevention and Treatment Among Gay Men in China

Today! Hepatitis C: Progress and Promise for Global Eradication

Wednesday: Town Hall Meeting – Hepatitis C: Progress and Promise for Global Eradication

Seminar: Challenges in HIV/AIDS Prevention and Treatment Among Gay Men in China