Antiretroviral drugs could help memory
A research team has discovered an unexpected new use for one of the drugs designed to control HIV, known as antiretroviral.
It is the drug called maraviroc, which seems to have the ability to restore a type of memory that allows us to link an event,
Women with HIV are at increased risk of diabetes
Although HIV infection is controlled, a person living with the virus is more exposed to health risks than if they did not have it. For example, diseases related to age or unhealthy habits, such as hypertension or diabetes, occur more frequently in people with HIV
The closest place to eliminating HIV is in Australia
According to official reports, there is a case so far unique in the world in which a state will manage to eliminate HIV by 2025, that is, five years before the global goal, set for 2030.
This is New South Wales, a state located southeast of
The first homemade saliva test that detects HIV arrives in Spain
At the end of last April, a rapid HIV test that is done at home and only needs a saliva sample began to be sold in Spain. This is the first device of its kind that is freely marketed in that country.
With this product, distributed
41% of those who take drugs to prevent HIV quit within 6 months
According to a review of nearly 60 studies, 41% of people who take HIV prevention treatment (known as PrEP) stop within six months.
PrEP is a strategy that is given mainly to those who are at high risk of contracting the virus, for example gay men
HIV drugs increase risk of high blood pressure
People on HIV treatment are known to be more prone to certain health problems from these drugs, one of which is high blood pressure. These problems have been increasingly seen as antiretroviral treatments allow people with HIV to live much longer.
That is why a group
Hepatitis C also affects the brain, yet it is curable!
Despite directly attacking the liver, the hepatitis C virus (HCV) can also damage other organs, such as the brain, in addition to affect the quality of life and mental health of those who become infected with.
This virus is transmitted primarily through blood, for example, by
Genomic Sequencing Advocates Call for Bolstered Pandemic Response Infrastructure
The Genomic Sequencing Advocates Network (GSAN) recently issued an open letter to the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) of the World Health Assembly, in which they called for the inclusion of 10 specific points to improve genomic surveillance and international cooperation in the forthcoming accord governing
Men with HIV have less testosterone, study reveals
Un nivel bajo de testosterona, la hormona sexual masculina, sería más frecuente en hombres con VIH, aun cuando estén en tratamiento antirretroviral, que en hombres de características similares pero que no tienen VIH.
El déficit de esta hormona (es decir, un nivel insuficiente de ella) se
WHO and other organizations bring HIV drugs to Ukraine
More than a month after the Russian invasion, various international bodies and civil organizations seek to ensure that people with HIV in Ukraine do not interrupt their treatment due to the ravages of war.
According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), Ukraine has one
Medications to prevent HIV not to interfere with hormones
One of the therapies that prevents HIV, made up of the drugs tenofovir and emtricitabine, has no significant interaction with the hormonal therapy that trans people receive to reaffirm their gender.
Scientists at the University of California, San Diego, analyzed the first (and most widely used)
South Africa approves the first vaginal ring that prevents HIV
Sudáfrica, un país donde casi dos tercios de los nuevos casos de VIH se dan en mujeres, acaba de aprobar el uso de un anillo vaginal que protege contra el virus, como una de las estrategias de Profilaxis Previa a la Exposición, conocida como PrEP.
Hasta
Latin migrants, among those who practice chemsex the most in Barcelona
Un estudio realizado en hombres que tienen sexo con hombres (HSH) con VIH que se atienden en el hospital Clínic de Barcelona investigó las características principales de quienes practican el chemsex, esto es, el uso de drogas en las relaciones sexuales. Entre otras particularidades, se
Organization serving drug users remains open in Ukraine
Diez días después de la invasión rusa a Ucrania, acontecida el 24 de febrero pasado, el Centro de Recursos de Donbas, que forma parte de la Asociación Ucraniana de Personas con Adicción a las Drogas “Volna”, seguía en funcionamiento.
El Programa Conjunto de las Naciones Unidas
The most advanced treatment reduced the cases of hepatitis C by 50%
La amplia disponibilidad del tratamiento más moderno contra el virus de la hepatitis C ha permitido reducir a la mitad los nuevos casos de esta infección entre las personas con VIH, según reveló un estudio presentado en la más reciente Conferencia sobre Retrovirus e Infecciones
The same genetic factor favors severe COVID and protects against HIV
A recent study identified a genetic factor that predisposes a person to a severe case of COVID-19, but would also provide protection if the same person were exposed to HIV.
Swedish researcher Hugo Zeberg, who published his work in the PNAS scientific journal, found that a
First woman free of HIV after a stem cell transplant
Una mujer de la ciudad de Nueva York, Estados Unidos, permanece libre de VIH luego de 14 meses sin tomar terapia antirretroviral, lo que la convierte en la tercera persona de la historia, y primera mujer, en eliminar la infección después de un trasplante de
A world without aids is not possible if women lack of sustainable future
On March 8th, 2022, the International Women’s Day, AHF countries’ in Latin American and Caribbean, joins international actions to improve the economic condition of women after the Covid-19 pandemic
Luc Montagnier, HIV co-discoverer, died far away from science
Luc Montagnier, uno de los científicos que descubrió el VIH en 1983, murió el 8 de febrero pasado, a los 89 años de edad. El equipo de Montagnier y su colega, Francoise Barré-Sinoussi, logró aislar el virus y además observó su comportamiento, lo cual abrió
A new, more transmissible and harmful HIV variant is identified
El Programa Conjunto de las Naciones Unidas sobre el VIH/sida (ONUSIDA) se refirió a una reciente investigación holandesa que identifica una nueva variante del VIH, más transmisible y más dañina que las conocidas hasta ahora, y reafirmó que es necesario llegar a la mayor cantidad
Men who pay for sex are more likely to get HIV
Después de veinte años de analizar el comportamiento de los hombres respecto al trabajo sexual en 35 países de África, un equipo de investigación canadiense concluyó que uno de cada diez varones ha pagado por sexo y que quienes lo han hecho son 50% más
Why Doesn’t a Condom Emoji Exist today?
About half of the people in the world today are active on social media and the number is only growing. While this was the tendency already, the COVID19 pandemic is pushing us to communicate to others constantly in a dynamic and fast way.
Strategy to kill cells with latent HIV is improved
Un equipo científico mejoró la estrategia para hacer visibles a las células donde se esconde el VIH y matarlas, logrando así eliminar por completo el virus en cuatro de diez ratones de laboratorio.
El principal obstáculo para curar la infección por VIH es que éste puede
Blood shortage in the US, where blood donations from gay men are not accepted
La Cruz Roja de Estados Unidos, que suministra el 40% de la sangre en todo el país, anunció que se encuentra en medio de una crisis de sangre, el cual está en su nivel más bajo desde hace diez años, informó el diario Independent en
Elderly people with HIV would be more sedentary than those without it
As antiretroviral treatments have lengthened the lives of people with HIV, more research has been needed to better understand what it is like to grow old with this virus, even if it is kept under control with medication.
In this line of research, a study carried
Community care programs provide better results regarding HIV
Desde el inicio de la pandemia de VIH, en la década de los ochenta, se han tratado de encontrar las estrategias más efectivas para que las personas que lo necesitan no abandonen su tratamiento.
Se ha observado que la atención brindada en hospitales implica grandes inconvenientes
France approves gay men to donate blood
El ministro de Salud de Francia, Olivier Véran, anunció a través de su cuenta de Twitter que a partir de marzo, el país galo eliminará las limitaciones para que hombres homosexuales puedan donar sangre.
En muchos países del mundo, las donaciones de sangre, que en algún
Doctors Urge Global Equity in COVID-19 Treatments and Vaccines
It is the call of a global collective of nurses, doctors, emergency medical technicians, medical students and other health professionals.
AIDS Healthcare Foundation joins thousands of medical professionals globally in signing an open letter calling on President Joe Biden to use the full power of the
Desmond Tutu, the archbishop who fought against AIDS
El 26 de diciembre pasado, Sudáfrica perdió a Desmond Tutu, un decidido luchador contra el apartheid, el mundo perdió a un Premio Nobel de la Paz y el activismo contra el VIH/sida perdió a una de sus figuras legendarias.
Todo eso y más era el arzobispo
An atlas of cells where HIV hides is presented
Una de las razones por las que no se ha podido desarrollar una cura para el VIH es que, aunque con el tratamiento antirretroviral logre disminuir al mínimo la cantidad de virus en la sangre, una cantidad de ellos se esconde el VIH y permanece
Latin American countries will have to report HIV discrimination
Mientras se encontraban reunidos en el Segundo Foro Latinoamericano y del Caribe para el Continuo de Atención del VIH, en 2015, más de 150 representantes de diversos sectores comprometidos con la respuesta al VIH de la región adoptaron un Llamado a la acción con diversas
Practical Questions And Answers About Covid-19 Testing
I have cold or flu symptoms, now what?
Reminder: Some of the most common Covid-19 symptoms are body aches, headache, sore throat, stuffy/ runny nose, cough, diarrhea, which do not need to be present all at the same time and are also common among other respiratory
US Approves First Injectable Treatment to Prevent HIV
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first injectable treatment that prevents HIV which is also provided bimonthly.
Another such treatment, known as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), has been available for several years now, but it consists of a pill that must be taken
Russia will request foreign residents get quarterly HIV tests
El 29 de diciembre pasado entró en vigor una nueva serie de requisitos que deberán cumplir las personas extranjeras que residan en territorio ruso, entre ellas someterse a pruebas de detección del VIH cada tres meses.
Además, será necesario que registren sus huellas digitales y se
World AIDS Fund will finance treatments in Venezuela
El Fondo Mundial de Lucha contra el Sida, la Tuberculosis y la Malaria anunció que destinará 12 millones de dólares para la atención del VIH y la tuberculosis en Venezuela. El país sudamericano fue considerado debido a las deficiencias del sistema público de salud y
HIV medications could treat brain tumors
Research from the University of Plymouth, UK, found that some drugs created to control HIV could counteract certain common forms of brain tumors.
So far, there are very few treatments for these tumors, which often return even after a person has surgery and radiation therapy, reported
Harm reduction is more realistic than to quit smoking for people with HIV
In general, quitting tobacco is a goal to improve the health of any person, but when looking specifically at people living with HIV, ending this habit becomes even more important. Through various studies it has been observed that, on the one hand, tobacco has more
Very few studies are carried out on women with HIV
Despite the fact that 53% of people with HIV around the world are women and girls, this population is seldom the protagonist of research to better understand the infection and its relationship with other diseases (comorbidities).
Dr. Sonia Raffe, in her work presented at the 18th
Because of unwanted results, research on new HIV medication is suspended
Scientific teams that were experimenting with islatavir, a unique type of medication because of its mechanism of action, and which had been seen as very promising at the beginning of 2021, had to stop their research due to undesired effects detected amongst participants.
Islatavir has a
Technologies to prevent pregnancies, HIV and infections, all at the same time
Having a unique technology that is capable of preventing an unwanted pregnancy, HIV infection and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), would bring many benefits, not just health related for people, but economic and logistical for countries as well, the Unitaid organization pointed out in a
Advances in HIV vaccine that uses messenger RNA
An HIV vaccine project that uses messenger RNA, one of the technologies used for COVID-19 vaccines, yielded promising results in its research phase in animals, according to an article published in early December in the journal Nature.
Messenger RNA (mRNA) is a substance created in the
Omicron: the price to pay for inequality
The new SARS-CoV-2 variant, the virus that causes COVID-19, called omicron, has the world on edge, it is no surprise that it caught nations off guard due to the poor decisions that have been made about the pandemic.
Dr. Ayoade Olatunbosun-Alakija, spokeswoman for the African Alliance
Living with HIV should not be a crime
Despite the fact that 40 years have passed since the first cases of AIDS were identified, the syndrome caused by HIV, the myths, prejudices and misinformation surrounding this condition seem to have no end.
This social stigma has also been translated into laws which arose, presumably,
Latin America must undergo profound changes to stop HIV
Latin America and the Caribbean is the region with the most inequalities in the world, meaning the objective established by the Global Strategy against HIV 2021-2026 requires quite a lot of work in these nations, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), recognized.
The Joint United Nations
Flossie Wong-Staal: the woman who deciphered HIV
Ever since its rise on the world stage, aids became an intriguing mystery for the medical community. It took three years to know that the syndrome, highly lethal and which set a completely atypical scenario in young people, was caused by a virus, HIV.
But it
Ómicron forced cooperation
"The Ebola epidemic in West Africa that began in 2013 exposed weaknesses in the national and international institutions responsible for protecting people from the far-reaching human, social, economic and political consequences of infectious disease outbreaks." That's what experts in health systems from various countries wrote,
Achievements and challenges 40 years after HIV
December 1st, World AIDS Day, is the last great date to be commemorated in 2021, the year that marked the 40th anniversary of the appearance of the first AIDS cases in the world. In the midst of a new pandemic, that of COVID-19, it is
WHO commits to a new agreement to face pandemics
Following pressure from dozens of civil society organizations worldwide, including AHF through its VaccinateOurWorld.org campaign, the country members of the World Health Assembly (WHA) agreed to start negotiating a new global agreement on how to prepare and respond to future pandemics. This December 1, the
Less than 10% of people with hepatitis C receive proper treatment
It is estimated that less than 25% of hepatitis C virus infections have been diagnosed in the world, and that less than 10% of people with this virus receive the newest and most effective treatment.
A recently presented study detailed that the prevalence of hepatitis C
Gender – based violence can lead women to HIV
40 years after the onset of HIV, it is known that the infection not only has to do with the aspect of health, but also with the social dynamics. There are factors which expose some people to transmission more than others, and violence against women
COVID vaccines, unkept promises
According to the most recent report from The People’s Vaccine alliance, developing countries have suffered the consequences of unkept promises both from wealthy countries’ governments and pharmaceutical companies, which have not delivered millions of doses of vaccines against COVID-19 which had been agreed, in addition
40 years later, the city of Kingston makes World AIDS Day official
For the first time ever since the appearance of HIV 40 years ago, the city of Kingston, capital of Jamaica, approved for World AIDS Day to become an official commemoration.
This caribbean country has the third highest prevalence of HIV in all of Latin America and
Health teams: YES we can do something about sexual violence
In this year alone, from January to September, 2,500 people - mostly cis or trans women, but not only - reported having suffered sexual violence as the main reason for going for an HIV test AIDS Healtcare Foundation (AHF) or its allies in Latin America