AIDS 2012: HIV+ Men Prone to Bone Fractures at Earlier Age

HIV positive men in the long-running MACS cohort appeared to sustain osteoporosis-related bone fractures at an earlier age than HIV negative men, researchers reported at the recent XIX International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2012) in Washington, DC. A related study found several factors that predict greater risk of fractures, including use of protease inhibitors and proton pump inhibitors.

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HIV+ People Should Be Able to Receive Organs from HIV+ Donors, Experts Say

Legislators should lift a federal ban that prevents people with HIV from receiving organs donated by other HIV positive people, experts urged at a Congressional briefing on June 27, 2012.

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Compounds in Chocolate and Green Tea May Protect against HIV-related Cognitive Impairment

A set of compounds related to epicatechin, a flavonoid found in cocoa and green tea leaves that easily crosses the blood-brain barrier, can protect against brain cell injury and death caused by HIV proteins in the laboratory, researchers reported in the August 11, 2012, online edition of Journal of NeuroVirology.

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CDC Immunization Committee Recommends 2 Pneumococcal Vaccines for Immunocompromised Adults

People with compromised immune systems, including those with advanced HIV disease, should receive a combination of 2 different vaccines to prevent pneumococcal disease, the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommended at its meeting last week in Atlanta.

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Coverage of the XIX International AIDS Conference

HIVandHepatitis.com coverage of the XIX International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2012), July 22-27 in Washington, DC.

Conference highlights include experimental antiretroviral drugs, treatment as prevention and PrEP, scaling up HIV treatment and prevention in resource-limited countries, human rights and concerns of heavily impacted populations, AIDS policy and advocacy, HIV/HBV and HIV/HCV coinfection, and the search for a cure for HIV.

Full listing by topic

HIVandHepatitis.com AIDS 2012 conference section

7/27/12

Visceral Fat Reduction in HIV+ People on Tesamorelin Improves Metabolic Profile

The synthetic growth hormone-releasing factor tesamorelin (Egrifta) reduces internal abdominal fat in people with HIV, which in turn leads to improvements in lipid and glucose levels, researchers reported in the June 2012 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases.

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Reduced Neurotropic Factor May Explain Cognitive Impairment in HIV+ People

HIV's gp120 envelope protein appears to interfere with production of a natural compound that promotes connections between neurons in the brain, researchers reported in the July 11, 2012, Journal of Neuroscience. The investigators suggested that this may contribute to neurocognitive problems in people with HIV, and possibly other types of cognitive decline such as senile dementia.

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HIV/HCV Coinfected People Have Higher Risk of Hip Fractures

HIV positive people who also have hepatitis C virus (HCV) are more prone to hip fractures than people with HIV alone, HCV alone, or neither virus, according to research published in the May 22, 2012, advance online edition of Hepatology.

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