The latest edition of Treatment Review is available online, and in print. In addition, several Spanish language publications are now also available. All Network resources are available by fax, e-mail, and at www.atdn.org. There is no subscription fee to receive Information Bulletin, Treatment Review, The Simple Facts S
This issue of Information Bulletin was written by Lei Chou and Ken Fornataro. Special Thanks go to The Network s Community Advisory Board, staff and Board of Directors for providing useful comments and suggestions. Please consult with a qualified health care provider before making any decisions that might affect your h
Many people with HIV are co-infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV). There are approved treatments that offer the hope for some of these people that they can keep HCV under control - or even get rid of it. A new form of HCV treatment called pegylated interferon, which is usually taken with another drug called ribavir
Research has shown that preventative medicine can dramatically reduce the costs of medical care in this nation. As patients and providers take proactive steps to stave-off declines in patients overall health, the need for more aggressive and expensive acute care, such as hospitalizations, is reduced. The results benefi
The AIDS Treatment Data Network (The Network) has a new Internet address. It s http://www.atdn.org. Although we are in the middle of adding and redesigning materials, we are continually adding new materials. The entire databases for The Access Project are available at the site, as well as news about HIV and Hepatitis,
If you have both HIV and Hepatitis B, there is some very good news. Tenofovir ( Viread ), the new HIV drug approved last year by the FDA as a once a day pill to treat HIV, has been shown to be an effective treatment for HBV. Researchers went back and looked at the original studies that lead to the approva
The liver was the major organ of this year s conference. The University of Pittsburgh, an internationally recognized leader in liver research, and one of the first to perform liver transplants in HIV+ individuals, released a press release regarding one of their studies. Many Network clients participated in this study t
Loss of fat in the arms, legs and in the face, and increased fat in the belly, breasts, neck and back are common problems for people on HAART. This is called Lipodystrophy. These problems are often coupled with metabolic disorders, such as high cholesterol and triglyceride levels, diabetes, all of which can potentially
Given the limited number of drugs currently available to treat HIV infection, clinicians and researchers have been trying to find out which drugs work best as a first treatment combination. Current US treatment guidelines recommend using two NRTIs ( Zerit ,
More information about Structured Treatment Interruptions (STI) was presented at the conference. There are several different ways researchers are looking at how best to use this treatment strategy. They are trying out different lengths of time. One is to stop treatment for as long as possible until, or if, the virus be
What about those people who started treatment according to earlier guidelines? This is a thorny question many medical providers are struggling to answer. A small study took it up in Argentina . 28 people who started their HAART with CD4 counts above 350 and viral load below 60,000, with at least 6 months on HAART and c
Until recently, the generally accepted way to treat HIV was aggressively, as soon as the HIV was diagnosed. This approach to treating HIV was called Hit Early, Hit Hard , and it was based on the belief that you could get rid of HIV from the body with two or three years of intense therapy. Unless treatment is started wi
The big HIV treatment news this year is the drug T-20. This drug is in a brand new class of drugs called fusion inhibitors. The drug stops HIV from fusing with a cell and infecting it, preventing the virus from taking over the cell and setting up an HIV factory. This drug blocks HIV at a different point of infection th
The fourteenth International AIDS Conference took place in early July in Barcelona, Spain . An oppressive haze of depressing reports about the tens of millions of people worldwide with AIDS with no hope of obtaining any anti-HIV treatments persisted throughout the conference. In one small study in the
This issue of Information Bulletin was written by Lei Chou and Ken Fornataro. As noted, some information was taken directly from press releases, FDA announcements, or website articles. Please consult with a qualified health care provider before making any decisions that might affect your health. We don t endorse, promo
September 11th brought the end of a very long period of prosperity in the United States . The economy is faltering and the ongoing war has brought changes of all kinds. Even small changes can have major consequences for people who have very little to begin with. Loss of employment or health insurance has had devastatin
Serono, the drug company that makes the anti-AIDS wasting Serostim , has once again announced that counterfeit Serostim is on the market. Because the drug was neither manufactured or distributed by Serono, they have no idea if the drug is either safe or effective. Serono believes that the fake drug is being distributed
A warning concerning the drug Zerit has been issued by the Food and Drug Administration about lactic acidosis and a kind of neuromuscular weakness. The current recommendation, based on the set of symptoms described in the letter, is to stop using the drug. It can take a long time before this condition can be reversed,
Every anti-HIV drug can produce side effects. Although it is considered to be rare, a greater number of cases of a condition called Lactic Acidosis are being reported. The most commonly reported type of Lactic acidosis is coupled with severe hepatomegaly with steatosis (an enlarged fatty liver). Pancreatitis is also co
This article was taken from www.HIVandHepatitis.com and was written by Brian Boyle. For other articles and information about a wide range of topics visit www.HIVandHepatitis.com on a regular basis. Procrit (Erythropoietin Alfa) Effectively Improves Anemia Induced by HCV Treatment Studies have now clearly established th
PEG-Intron is now available as an approved drug, it is expected that some doctors will prescribe the combination of PEG-Intron and Rebetol for people who are co-infected. In order to get a prescription for PEG-Intron patients must enroll in the Schering sponsored Access Assurance program and receive an ID number and ca
Pegasys in Co-infected Patients - The second pegylated interferon alfa-2a (Pegasys) plus ribavirin is still in clinical trials. Half way into the 48-week study involving 133 HIV/HCV co-infected participants, the results are promising. When compared with conventional interferon alfa-2a (Roferon A) plus ribavirin, after
Efavirenz is a potent non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) that is taken once per day. The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) just approved a single 600 mg tablet that can be taken once per day. Previously, efavirenz was taken as 3 200 mg tablets once per day.
GlaxoSmithKline announced that the company has received four reports of suspect bottles containing 60 tablets of Combivir ® (lamivudine plus zidovudine) that actually contained another medicine, Ziagen ® (
Caution on the use of Diabetes drug - Despite label warnings, many patients who should not take the diabetes drug metformin (Glucophage) are given the drug while in the hospital. Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania found that more than one quarter of 204 patients who received metformin over 6 mo
Treating HIV and HBV at the same time- Recent studies have started to clarify this question. At the 9th Retrovirus conference in February, A leading researcher Dr. Marion Peters recommended that HIV and HBV should be treated at the same time. She has observed that HBV does not kill liver cells by itself. The damage to
Early Access Program for adefovir - Gilead Sciences opened an Expanded Access program to provide the anti-HBV drug adefovir dipivoxil at no charge to people with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV). You must be 16 years or older with chronic Epivir-HBV resistant HBV and at risk for disease progression. You must have receiv
Zrivada (atazanavir) Early Access Program - A new Protease Inhibitor not yet approved by the FDA is going to become available free to patients in an Early Access Program, sponsored by the maker, Bristol Myers Squibb. On-going clinical trials have shown Zrivada to be effective in people who have protease inhibitor resis
This issue of Information Bulletin was written by Lei Chou and Ken Fornataro. Please consult with a qualified health care provider before making any decisions that might affect your health. We don t endorse, promote, or recommend any specific drug or treatment combination for any condition. This Information Bulletin wa
September 11th brought the end of a very long period of prosperity in the United States . The economy is faltering and the ongoing war has brought changes of all kinds. Even small changes can have major consequences for people who have very little to begin with. Loss of employment or health insurance has had devastatin
If you would like more information about HCV and HIV co-infection, and HCV treatment options, you can contact The Network at (800) 734-7104 or (212) 260-8868. A lot of new information regarding co-infection and the hepatitis C virus is becoming available. For example, a recent study showed that people who are HCV co-in
Liver disease is now the leading cause of death among people with HIV, regardless of CD4 count. There are several reasons why liver disease has become a major issue for people with HIV, including chronic infection with hepatitis B or hepatitis C , as well as drug toxicity. Being co-infected with HIV and HCV is differe
The results of a 10 person study led by Dr. Mark Dybul and NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci were recently released. NIAID calls this approach Structured Interrupted Therapy (SIT). This report was written from a press release distributed by NIAID. Upon study entry, patients were receiving daily combinations of three or f
A new drug has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration ( FDA ) for the treatment of HIV infected individuals. The name of the drug is tenofovir, also known as Viread . Tenofovir is the first nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitor to be approved by the FDA for the treatment of HIV.
As this issue of Information Bulletin is being sent out a major scientific conference is taking place that is expected to produce a great deal about treating and managing HIV and Hepatitis. We will report on this conference in the next issue. To be on our e-mailing list send an e-mail to network@atdn.org. All Network C
Join others for information and discussion about: HIV Reinfection/Superinfection - Myth or Reality? Is undetectable safe? Do STDs make HIV worse? More... on Wednesday March 13th, 2002 from 6:30-8:00 - Info and Discussion. Food and drinks will be provided from 8:00 to 9:00. The forum takes place at Cronin Auditorium, 10
Information Bulletin is back to a regular schedule. Our offices in New York s downtown were far enough away from Ground Zero not to have been physically damaged, but close enough to have had our communications systems deranged. Grief, confusion, anger and sadness accompany the constant memory of the thousands of people
This information is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.