Viral Load

Regeneron’s antibody cocktail reduced viral load in patients with COVID-19, according to preliminary findings from a small study published recently in The New England Journal of Medicine.

Hologic announced that it received an additional FDA approval for its HIV-1 viral load monitoring assay.

Between 2014 and 2018, HIV diagnoses among men who have sex with men (MSM) decreased 2.3% per year overall in the United States, and MSM also experienced improvements in linkage to care and viral suppression, study findings in MMWR showed.

An intervention that included sessions with community health workers improved viral load and reduced alcohol use among youth with HIV, according to a study published in JAMA Network Open.

Researchers reported the first case of long-term HIV remission without the need for a bone marrow transplant.

When to begin ART once HIV diagnosis is confirmed has been an area of research and debate for many years. The standard of care in the United States is to start ART when patients are agreeable to begin therapy, regardless of CD4 count. Often, though, there are barriers that may delay the start of HIV treatment. Lack of insurance coverage, active injection drug use, patient and provider attitudes toward treatment and opportunistic infection testing are all obstacles to beginning treatment, as well as numerous other factors. In many cases, HIV testing is done in settings other than where treatment is offered. This can delay ART by weeks or even months, depending on when the patient can be linked to HIV care. There are now clinics offering rapid ART initiation on the same day of HIV diagnosis to circumvent a delay in starting therapy due to a failure of patients to engage in care after their initial HIV diagnosis. Unfortunately, current HIV treatment guidelines are inconsistent when it comes to rapid initiation of ART. Both WHO and the International Antiviral Society (IAS)-USA treatment recommendations support immediate ART once HIV is diagnosed, including same-day ART initiation. However, HHS states that despite the potential benefits, ART initiation on the day of diagnosis remains investigational regarding its efficacy.

SAN ANTONIO — In this exclusive video from the National Liver Conference 2019, Robert S. Brown, MD, from the Weill Cornell Medical Center, examines “who to treat” among patients with hepatitis B based on a panel discussion from the meeting.

Findings from two phase 3 trials published in The New England Journal of Medicine demonstrated that dolutegravir-based treatment for HIV is noninferior to efavirenz-based regimens, although dolutegravir was associated with excessive weight gain in both studies.

ATLANTA — Positive results presented here support the continued development of PRO 140 — CytoDyn’s investigational humanized monoclonal antibody for the treatment of patients with HIV who are failing their current ART regimens.

The role of ART in treating and preventing HIV was the focus of several presentations at ASM Microbe 2016. The use of these regimens among older patients and individuals with renal impairment was highlighted, as well as the ways in which the Strategic Timing of Antiretroviral Treatment trial has impacted initiation of therapy for all patients with HIV.