Pharmacology News

DENVER — The International Antiviral Society-USA (IAS-USA) has updated its HIV treatment guidelines to endorse the off-label use of long-acting injectable ART in patients with HIV viremia.

The results of the second annual national primary care scorecard suggest the field is facing major problems — poor funding and a diminishing workforce, among them — but increased attention on the issues may offer hope, according to experts.

Results from an ongoing trial showed that long-acting injectable ART for HIV is effective for people who struggle to consistently take a daily course of medication, the NIH and ViiV Healthcare announced.

In recent years, cases of sexually transmitted infections such as chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis have been rising in the U.S., affecting all populations and prompting additional prevention efforts.

People with HIV continue to have a higher risk of invasive meningococcal disease compared with people without HIV regardless of the 2016 recommendation that people with HIV receive routine vaccination for invasive meningococcal disease.

Low-value care can result in significant harm and costs to patients, although interventions involving patient and clinician education could help reduce these services, an expert said.

A postmortem study of men with HIV who were being treated with ART revealed that cannabis use is associated with reduced sizes and inflammatory cytokine expression of subtype C HIV-1 reservoirs.

Rates of cause-specific mortality among people with HIV on ART declined between 1996 and 2020, with the largest reductions being in rates of AIDS-related mortality, researchers found.

Medication reconciliation is the process of creating the most accurate list possible of all medications a patient is taking and comparing that list against the physician’s orders at each transition of care.

The dual incretin agonist tirzepatide reduced 24-hour ambulatory BP for adults with obesity-related hypertension, with the effects potentially independent of weight loss, according to data from a planned substudy of the SURMOUNT-1 trial.