European AIDS Clinical Society Conference 2015

aidsmap news from EACS 2015

• Barcelona clinic study counts how many gay men might benefit from PrEP

  PrEP
  Gus Cairns | 18 November 2015

  A study from the Barcelona Checkpoint gay men’s HIV clinic, presented at the recent 15th European AIDS Conference has found a strong and consistent relationship between the annual HIV infection rate (incidence) in ...

• Women living with HIV in the UK continue to have poorer treatment outcomes

  Women
  Roger Pebody | 13 November 2015

  Women have triple the rate of poor treatment outcomes of gay men and the gap has not narrowed over the last decade, according to an analysis from one of London’s leading HIV ...

• Does low-level HIV viral load raise the risk of disease progression and co-morbidities?

  How HIV works
  Liz Highleyman | 09 November 2015

  People living with HIV who have a detectable but low viral load – in the range of 50 to 500 or 1000 copies/ml – may continue to have a higher risk of ...

• Hepatitis C incidence remains stable among gay men living with HIV in Europe, but varies across countries

  Hepatitis C transmission and prevention
  Liz Highleyman | 04 November 2015

  Researchers have seen no decline in new hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections among HIV-positive men who have sex with men in 16 European CASCADE cohorts, according to a poster presented at the recent 15th ...

• Priorities for HIV care: the perspectives of healthcare providers and patients

  HIV treatment
  Michael Carter | 02 November 2015

  Virological suppression and co-morbidities are the main focus of consultations between HIV healthcare providers (HCPs) and their patients, according to results of a study conducted by NAM and presented to the recent 15th ...

• Sofosbuvir/ledipasvir for 8 weeks cures most hard-to-treat hepatitis C patients in real-world study

  Hepatitis C treatment
  Liz Highleyman | 30 October 2015

  Most people with hepatitis C virus (HCV) in the GECCO German hepatitis C cohort who were treated with sofosbuvir/ledipasvir (Harvoni) for 8 weeks in a real-world clinical setting achieved sustained virological response, even those ...

• Successful hepatitis C treatment lowers risk of death for people with HIV and HCV co-infection

  Hepatitis and HIV
  Liz Highleyman | 28 October 2015

  Hepatitis C treatment that leads to sustained virological response (SVR) – generally regarded as a cure – was associated with a reduced risk of liver-related death and improved overall survival in an analysis ...

• HIV maturation inhibitor BMS-955176 shows good safety and efficacy in phase 2a trial

  New and experimental HIV treatments
  Liz Highleyman | 28 October 2015

  Bristol-Myers Squibb’s next-generation maturation inhibitor BMS-955176 demonstrated good antiviral activity against HIV subtypes B and C in a short proof-of-concept study and appeared to be safe and well-tolerated, according to findings presented last week ...

• START sub-studies show no differences in lung or neurocognitive function with early or later treatment

  Neurological and cognitive problems
  Liz Highleyman | 27 October 2015

  Participants who started antiretroviral therapy (ART) soon after HIV diagnosis in the large START trial showed no differences in lung function or neuropsychological performance when compared to people randomised to deferred ART, according ...

• START sub-study shows more bone loss with earlier HIV treatment

  Bone and joint problems
  Liz Highleyman | 27 October 2015

  Participants who started antiretroviral therapy (ART) soon after HIV diagnosis in the large START trial showed a greater decrease in bone density at the hip and spine compared to those who deferred treatment, ...

• London clinic survey shows impact of chemsex on condom and PEP use

  Chemsex and recreational drug use
  Keith Alcorn | 27 October 2015

  A survey of gay men in London using drugs during sex – chemsex – has shown high levels of unprotected sex and hepatitis C among both HIV-positive and HIV-negative men, high levels ...

• Risk of heart attack rises with length of HIV infection, regardless of age

  Cardiovascular disease
  Keith Alcorn | 27 October 2015

  Ten years after becoming infected with HIV, a person living with HIV has approximately twice the risk of heart attack compared to someone who has just acquired HIV, regardless of the age ...

• With EACS release, all international HIV treatment guidelines agree on when to start – for the first time since 2006

  Treatment guidelines
  Gus Cairns | 26 October 2015

  The new European AIDS Clinical Society (EACS) HIV clinical guidelines, released last week at the 15th European AIDS Conference, bring Europe into line with the rest of the world by recommending HIV treatment upon ...

• Tenofovir alafenamide single-tablet regimen shows good efficacy with improved kidney and bone safety

  New and experimental HIV treatments
  Liz Highleyman | 25 October 2015

  A single-tablet regimen containing the new tenofovir alafenamide (TAF) – to be marketed as Genvoya – suppressed HIV as well as a co-formulation containing the older tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF), according to a ...

• When will Europe get PrEP?

  PrEP
  Keith Alcorn | 23 October 2015

  Pressure is mounting at community level for access to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in Europe and is likely to continue to increase in the absence of decisions by funding authorities and regulators, leading ...

• Can dolutegravir dual therapy or monotherapy produce and maintain HIV suppression?

  Treatment simplification strategies
  Liz Highleyman | 23 October 2015

  The potent integrase inhibitor dolutegravir taken with a single well-tolerated NRTI was able to fully suppress viral load in people initiating antiretroviral treatment for the first time, while dolutegravir alone was able to ...

• The majority of migrants living with HIV in Europe may have acquired HIV in their new country

  Migrants, refugees and displaced people
  Gus Cairns | 23 October 2015

  A study presented at the 15th European AIDS Conference yesterday found evidence that the majority of migrants living with HIV in Europe, and who were diagnosed less than five years ago, probably acquired ...

• Benefits of early HIV treatment are clear, but issues raised by START and D:A:D remain unresolved

  HIV treatment
  Liz Highleyman | 23 October 2015

  The long-running controversy over when to start antiretroviral therapy (ART) has been definitively answered, but research is still needed to fully understand the implications of the large START and D:A:D studies, Professor Jens ...

• Newest MDR-TB drug prices could fall by up to 95% through generic production

  Drug-resistant TB
  Keith Alcorn | 22 October 2015

  The cost of newer drugs for the treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) could be cut by up to 95% if generic production of patented products could be achieved in the same way ...

• TB death rate four times higher in Eastern Europe due to lack of HIV treatment after TB diagnosis

  Tuberculosis and HIV
  Keith Alcorn | 22 October 2015

  People living with HIV in Eastern Europe who develop tuberculosis (TB) are four times more likely to die within a year when compared to similar patients in Western and Southern Europe or ...