Dapivirine Vaginal Ring, Oral PrEP Safe for HIV Prevention in Pregnancy
DENVER — The monthly dapivirine ring to reduce risk of HIV in women showed similar safety outcomes as oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) when used throughout the second and third trimesters of pregnancy, according to a phase IIIb open-label trial in sub-Saharan Africa. Premature births occurred in 4% of those with the ring, compared with 6% […]
Once-Weekly ART Showed Similar Efficacy for HIV as Daily ART
DENVER — A once-weekly oral antiretroviral therapy (ART) regimen of the investigational drug islatravir, a nucleoside reverse transcriptase translocation inhibitor, with lenacapavir (Sunlenca) showed similar efficacy to daily oral ART in people with HIV, a phase II randomized study showed. The virologic suppression rate was 94.2% in both the patients who received the weekly regimen […]
Semaglutide Cuts Liver Disease Severity in People With HIV
DENVER — Semaglutide (Ozempic) reduced the amount of liver fat by nearly a third in people with HIV and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), the open-label phase IIb SLIM LIVER study showed. In the single-arm trial, the absolute change in intrahepatic triglyceride (IHTG) content across all participants was -4.2% (95% CI -5.4 to -3.1, […]
‘Vampire Facials’ at Spa Linked to HIV Infections
DENVER — Five cases of HIV infection associated with cosmetic platelet-rich plasma (PRP) microneedling, known as a “vampire facial,” were linked to one spa in New Mexico, according to a report from CDC investigators. From 2018 to 2023, four former clients of the spa and one sexual partner of a client were diagnosed with HIV, […]
Interventions Can Reduce CVD Risk Factors in HIV Patients, Studies Show
DENVER — Efforts aimed at lowering blood pressure (BP) and cholesterol in people with HIV can succeed, two randomized trials presented here demonstrated. In the first, prehypertensive Haitians on stable antiretroviral therapy (ART) who received early treatment with a calcium channel blocker experienced significantly greater reductions in systolic and diastolic BP compared with those who […]
Semaglutide Reduced Inflammatory Biomarkers in HIV Patients With Lipohypertrophy
DENVER — People with HIV who received semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy) had reduced levels of several inflammatory biomarkers associated with cardiovascular disease, a randomized controlled trial showed. After 32 weeks, interleukin (IL)-6 levels decreased by 18.8%, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) levels decreased by 39.9%, and soluble CD163 levels decreased by 12.3% with the GLP-1 receptor agonist, […]
Steep Decline in Chlamydia, Syphilis Rates ‘Seals the Case’ for DoxyPEP
DENVER — Chlamydia and early syphilis cases among at-risk individuals were halved after the introduction of doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis (doxyPEP), real-world data from San Francisco showed. Over a 13-month period following the rollout of doxyPEP to high-risk men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender women, monthly chlamydia cases decreased by 50% (95% CI […]
Long-Acting Injectable Comparable to Oral ART for HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa
DENVER — Long-acting cabotegravir/rilpivirine (Cabenuva) injectable therapy resulted in similarly high levels of viral suppression to oral antiretroviral therapy (ART) in African patients with HIV, a phase IIIb randomized, open-label trial showed. At 48 weeks, 96.9% of participants receiving cabotegravir/rilpivirine had a viral load of less than 50 copies/mL compared with 97.3% of those receiving […]
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Promising for Crohn’s Fistulas
DENVER — Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) can help heal bowel fistulas in patients with advanced Crohn’s disease, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis. Overall, use of HBOT was associated with a 87% clinical response rate for all fistula subtypes, with more than half of the patients achieving clinical remission, or closure of the fistula […]
Wearable Tech Shows Promise for Predicting IBD Flares
DENVER — A smart watch app may help physicians and patients pinpoint and predict inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) flares, researchers reported. When a person with IBD has a normal gut environment, a bell curve is produced by the watch application, explained Robert Hirten, MD, of the Icahn School of Medicine/Susan and Leonard Feinstein Inflammatory Bowel […]