On June 23, 2004, President Bush spoke on AIDS in Philadelphia, at the same African American church where he also spoke on July 4, 2003. A transcript of this year's talk is at http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/06/20040623-4.html--along with
On April 7 the U.S. guidelines for antiretroviral treatment were updated to reflect new information on drug interactions and toxicities, and to include a new table on expanded access to antiretrovirals not yet approved (currently the only one availabl
This issue of AIDS Treatment News brings together some of the most important information on the effect of modern HIV treatment on improved survival. Some cautions: (1) Almost all doctors today agree that not everyone infected with HIV needs to
A sharp decline in AIDS deaths in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia began in 1996, coinciding with the widespread adoption of what has become known as "highly active antiretroviral therapy" (sometimes abbreviated "HAART"). These combina
Our last issue, AIDS Treatment News #350, explains the evidence that HIV/AIDS treatment has improved survival; we published it to help counter organized misinformation campaigns which say that antiretroviral treatments are poisons which are only harmf
The Summer 2000 edition of the Critical Path AIDS Project newsletter is dedicated to leading activist and Critical Path founder Kiyoshi Kuromiya. In addition, this issue has a section on prisoners with HIV and resources for their health, updates on he
A recent Washington Post article describes the remarkable success of Brazil's AIDS programs, both prevention and treatment: "Infection rates have returned to 1995 levels. Over the past five years, the number of AIDS-related deaths has plummete
Deadlines start now for the 8th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, which. will be held February 4-8, 2001 in Chicago. This important scientific conference is always held in a location too small to accommodate all who want to go a
Until recently it was unusual for patients to find out what leading medical specialists and other experts were saying about treatment for their conditions. But today experts summarize important AIDS-related conferences on the Web, often within days of
Many scientists, physicians, and other experts believe that immune-based therapies will be the next great area of advance in HIV/AIDS treatment--with huge implications for HIV vaccines, as well as new treatments or vaccines for cancer and many other d
In an important study reported this month, in which almost 28,000 healthy U.S. women were followed for eight years, the level of C-reactive protein, a marker of inflammation, was a better predictor than LDL cholesterol of first heart attack or related disease (1). And there was almost no correlation between the two markers (both blood tests)--meaning that these tests are finding different at-risk populations, and using both together would be a better predictor than using either alone. Smaller studies have already reported that high C-reactive protein was associated with heart attacks, strokes, and artery disease; the new study confirmed those findings with better data.
C-reactive protein is easy to measure, but this test is not yet generally used in clinical practice. Also, it has not been proven that interventions to reduce the inflammation will lower the risk of disease, although this appears likely. The authors conducted an earlier study (2) and recommend a larger trial of statins for this purpose.
These studies did not involve HIV. However, standard guidelines for lowering heart risk are often used in HIV treatment. And inflammation might be a greater problem in persons with HIV disease than in the general population.
The HIV community should follow this developing research (as well as other experimental tests for measuring heart risk, such as homocysteine levels). Some HIV-specific research would be easy to do--for example, testing whether certain populations have a higher level of C-reactive protein would require only one blood sample and laboratory test from each member of a cohort. Perhaps AIDS medicine could be a leader in bringing the new information into clinical practice.
References
(1.) Ridker PM, Rifai N, Rose L, Buring JE, and Cook NR. Comparison of C-reactive protein and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels in the prediction of first cardiovascular events. New England Journal of Medicine. November 14, 2002; volume 347, number 20, pages 1557-1565.
(2.) Ridker PM, Rifai N, Clearfield M, and others. Measurement of C-reactive protein for the targeting of statin therapy in the primary prevention of acute coronary events. The New England Journal of Medicine. June 28, 2001; volume 344, pages 1959-1965.
COPYRIGHT 2002 John S. JamesCOPYRIGHT 2002 Gale Group