Low CD4 cell count a risk for brain impairment

People who had a low CD4 cell count in the past remain at greater risk for HIV-related neurocognitive impairment even after they start antiretroviral therapy and their immune status improves, participants heard in a late-breaker presentation at the Eighteenth International AIDS Conference last week in Vienna.

Study supports starting treatment above 350

Starting antiretroviral therapy with a CD4 cell count between 350 and 500 cells/mm3 reduces the likelihood of HIV disease progression and death relative to initiation below 350 cells/mm3, according to findings from the large CASCADE study presented on Thursday at the Eighteenth International AIDS Conference in Vienna. Starting treatment with more than 500 cells/mm3 did not appear to confer additional benefit, but this analysis did not take into account non-AIDS-related conditions.

HIV Cure “Found”! Really?

By Joshua M. Dziba
Executive Director, HAZ
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A recent news headline on the online Zimbabwean news site, NewZimbabwe.com proclaimed that an “HIV cure (had been) ‘found’”.  We felt that a clarification to this report is necessary, so as to avoid giving false hope to the millions of those who are infected with the HIV [...]

HealthBeat

HEALTHbeat is a radio-program that provides information for good health and well-being by covering all aspects of staying healthy, including issues of nutrition, exercise, mental health, addiction, parenting, managing chronic illnesses, alternative or traditional forms of medicine, and of course HIV and AIDS. The program looks at ways of getting healthy and staying well [...]

Perspective: Zimbabwe observes a reduction in HIV prevalence, but why?

by Theo Smart:
This article was originally posted on the AIDSMAP web site, on July 5th 2006.
In 2005, a substantial reduction in national HIV prevalence during the previous year was observed in Zimbabwe. This has been heralded by some as evidence that HIV prevention efforts, particularly strategies based upon Abstinence, Be Faithful and use Condoms (ABC), [...]