Abacavir should be avoided by people who are in the high cardiovascular risk group.

Latest results presented by investigators at the CROI meeting in February in Boston suggested that treatment with abacavir (also found in the combination pills Kivexa and Trizivir) and ddI (didanosine, Videx) may significantly increase the risk of myocardial infarction, or heart attack.

A major HIV/AIDS medical conference in Sydney has generated lots of news on the treatments front, reports Paul Kidd.

HIV-related news in brief from the December 2006 edition of Positive Living.

Nucleoside analogues are the backbone of successful anti-HIV treatments. This article examines some of the issues involved in selecting the best nucleoside backbone.

Kivexa, a new single-pill combination of the antiviral drugs abacavir (Ziagen) and lamivudine (3TC) became available for S100 prescription from 1 December.

A new antiretroviral medication, FTC (emtricitabine, Emtriva) was listed on the PBS and became available for S100 prescription from 1 April.

Peripheral neuropathy (PN) is a debilitating treatment side effect and one of the common reasons for people stopping their anti-HIV medication. People’s experience of this form of neuropathy varies from a mild ‘pins and needles’ sensation or numbness in the hands and feet to very severe pain – “it’s like I’m trying to walk with broken glass in my feet”.

With major medical conferences in the United States and Scotland, November was a busy month for HIV medicine. PAUL KIDD reviews some key findings.

Pancreatitis is in the news. With opposition leader Mark Latham struck down by this painful condition, we look at the role of the pancreas and at HIV-related pancreatitis.