News briefs
Global Coalition on Women and AIDS
Actress Emma Thompson, and former Irish President Mary Robinson, launched the Global Coalition on Women and AIDS in January. The coalition seeks to increase awareness of the impact of HIV/AIDS on women and girls, to develop focused prevention efforts for them, and to address the violence and social inequality which contributes to women’s vulnerability to HIV. Women make up the majority of HIV/AIDS cases globally, and account for more than 60 percent of infections in Africa. “AIDS is the greatest threat to face the human race ever,” Thompson said.
Anger over ritonavir price hike
Abbott Laboratories, the company which makes ritonavir, has been widely criticised in the US after it increased the US wholesale price of the drug by 400 percent, from US$54 to US$265 per month. A group of about 200 doctors who treat HIV/AIDS patients announced a boycott of the company, saying they would move their patients to antiviral regimens without ritonavir if possible. As ritonavir is used mostly as a booster to other antivirals, and as Abbott did not increase the price of Kaletra, its other HIV drug, activists claim the company is giving Kaletra an unfair advantage. Abbott representatives said the price rise was “long overdue,” and pointed out that ritonavir remains the cheapest drug in its class in the US. —Kaiser Network
Medcalf honoured
Former NAPWA President Phillip Medcalf, who died in February 2003, has been awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the 2004 Australia Day honours list. Phillip’s partner, Paul Beckman, will accept the award on his behalf at an investiture ceremony later this year.
Harmless virus may protect against HIV
A common and apparently harmless virus, GBV-C, previously known as hepatitis G, has been shown to extend the lives of HIV-positive men who are coinfected with it. In a study published in the March 4 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine , researchers found that HIV-positive people who also had the GBV-C virus were three times less likely to die than those who did not, or those who had been infected with GBV-C and cleared the infection. The reason for the association is unknown, but GBV-C is believed to infect the same types of cells as HIV.
Girls more likely than boys to be infected in the womb
Baby girls are twice as likely as boys to be infected with HIV in their mothers’ wombs, according to a European study published in the January 23 edition of AIDS . The reason for the difference is unknown, but researchers speculate that genetic or immunological differences between the sexes could account both for this and for the tendency of positive women to have higher viral loads than men.
Hanson ‘upset’ over blood ban
Pauline Hanson says she was ‘astounded’ to discover that she is unable to donate blood after being in prison. The former One Nation leader was rejected under an Australian Red Cross policy prohibiting blood donations from ex-inmates for 12 months after their release, due to the perceived risk of HIV, hepatitis B and C.
Treatments briefs
Nevirapine warning
Boehringer Ingelheim, manufacturer of the antiretroviral drug nevirapine (Viramune), has issued a new warning on potentially serious liver toxicities among women taking the drug. Women with more than 250 T-cells, including pregnant women, should be aware of the potential for liver toxicities, the company says. In some cases, nevirapine-related liver toxicity has been fatal. The company recommends careful monitoring of liver enzymes during the first 18 weeks on the drug, and says patients who experience side effects such as loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, yellowing of the skin and eyes, or abdominal pain, should see their doctor immediately.
Survival on HAART equal to that of diabetics
A Danish study has found that people who start treatment before their CD4 count falls below 200, and stay on treatment, have similar long-term survival rates as HIV-negative people with another chronic medical condition, insulin-dependent diabetes. The researchers compared the medical records of 647 HIV+ people with a large database of HIV-negative Danes with other health conditions. The researchers found that HIV-positive people had very low death rates, especially if they started treatment early, reflecting the high uptake of antivirals in Denmark, where HIV treatment is provided free of charge.
T-1249 development halted
The two pharmaceutical companies who developed and produce the fusion inhibitor T-20, Roche and Trimeris, have announced that they have halted development on a second fusion inhibitor, T-1249. Although early studies had shown that T-1249 was more potent than T-20, could be dosed once daily and was active against T-20-resistant virus, the companies said they shelved the drug due to difficulties producing an acceptable formulation. Still to be licensed in Australia, sales of T-20 worldwide have been lower than expected.
Abacavir reaction can come late
A woman developed a hypersensitivity reaction to abacavir more than a year after starting the drug, the January 23 edition of AIDS reports. The 27-year-old woman, who had no previous allergic reaction to the drug, developed symptoms of hypersensitivity after taking a break from the drug. Because allergic reactions to abacavir can be fatal, the report recommends that people taking the drug be aware of the possibility of a reaction when restarting treatment after a break. —AIDSmap
Nutrient formula raises CD4s
A broad-spectrum micronutrient formula developed by a Californian HIV practitioner has been shown to increase CD4 counts by as much as 25 percent over 12 weeks. The double-blind, randomised study, presented at February’s Retrovirus Conference, is the first to show that vitamins, minerals and antioxidants can play a significant role in HIV treatment.
Marijuana helps neuropathy
A small open-label study in the US has suggested that smoked marijuana may be useful in relieving the pain of HIV-related peripheral neuropathy (PN). Sixteen HIV-positive people with PN smoked three hospital-dispensed marijuana cigarettes a day for one week and were asked to rate their level of pain on a scale from 0 to 100. The average score dropped from 47 to 20 over the course of the trial, a drop which the researchers said was significant and warranted further study. —NATAP
