California State Assembly
California State Senate
City of LA AIDS Coordinator
LA County Board of Supervisors
LA County Commission on HIV
LA County OAPP
State Office of AIDS
California State Senate
City of LA AIDS Coordinator
LA County Board of Supervisors
LA County Commission on HIV
LA County OAPP
State Office of AIDS
| Welcome to the HIV/AIDS Community Journal! The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for those impacted by the HIV epidemic and has published this journal to provide you with the latest information on HIV/AIDS. |
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HIV prevention efforts have focused on individual behavior, ignoring the fact that
individuals from different communities can engage in the same activities but be at
much different levels of risk for HIV. We are united in demanding leadership in the
fight against HIV/AIDS and justice in prevention policies.
READ MORE HERE
55% of people with AIDS, 44% of people with HIV, and 90% of children with
HIV/AIDS rely on Medicaid for their health care and treatment.
State revenues are declining across the country, forcing many states to consider
Medicaid cuts. These cuts hurt people with HIV/AIDS who could lose access to
Medicaid or have their services reduced. One option to help states is to temporarily
increase the federal share of Medicaid costs linked to requirements to prevent
states from reducing eligibility or services.
READ MORE HERE
Make sure all public officials know what it takes to end HIV/AIDS – because they
have been educated by people living with HIV/AIDS and HIV/AIDS activists and
advocates in their own communities.
READ MORE HERE
individuals from different communities can engage in the same activities but be at
much different levels of risk for HIV. We are united in demanding leadership in the
fight against HIV/AIDS and justice in prevention policies.
READ MORE HERE
55% of people with AIDS, 44% of people with HIV, and 90% of children with
HIV/AIDS rely on Medicaid for their health care and treatment.
State revenues are declining across the country, forcing many states to consider
Medicaid cuts. These cuts hurt people with HIV/AIDS who could lose access to
Medicaid or have their services reduced. One option to help states is to temporarily
increase the federal share of Medicaid costs linked to requirements to prevent
states from reducing eligibility or services.
READ MORE HERE
Make sure all public officials know what it takes to end HIV/AIDS – because they
have been educated by people living with HIV/AIDS and HIV/AIDS activists and
advocates in their own communities.
READ MORE HERE
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Government
Additional Resources
ACT NOW AGAINST METH
AIDS VOTE.ORG
AIDS WATCH
CHAMP
HARM REDUCTION COALITION
NATIONAL AIDS STRATEGY
NAPWA
PREVENTION JUSTICE MOBILIZATION
SHAC
AIDS VOTE.ORG
AIDS WATCH
CHAMP
HARM REDUCTION COALITION
NATIONAL AIDS STRATEGY
NAPWA
PREVENTION JUSTICE MOBILIZATION
SHAC
Stopping AIDS through Unity & Action
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Urge representatives to support increased Medicaid funding!
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Demand Universal Access to end the HIV epidemic now!
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End the HIV Travel Ban Now!
You can help support the effort to end the discrimination against people with
HIV/AIDS by signing on to urge the Bush Administration to eliminate the
discriminatory entry ban on non-U.S. citizens living with HIV and AIDS.
FOLLOW THIS LINK NOW
HIV/AIDS by signing on to urge the Bush Administration to eliminate the
discriminatory entry ban on non-U.S. citizens living with HIV and AIDS.
FOLLOW THIS LINK NOW
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| The importance of knowing if you have HIV is getting early medical treatment, learning all you can about HIV disease and protecting yourself and others. Because there are many new drugs and treatments available, people are living longer and healthier lives with HIV/AIDS. CLICK HERE TO FIND A TESTING LOCATION NOW! |
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| HIV/AIDS NEWS |
SMART Study Backs Continuing HAART Even When CD4 Count Is Above 350
Maintaining a CD4+ cell count over 350 cells results in a lower risk of AIDS-related
complications or death among HIV-infected patients, according to the results from an
analysis of the SMART study that was published in the April 15 issue of the Journal of
Infectious Diseases. The analysis showed that, over a mean 16 months of follow-up,
patients who were taking HAART and had a CD4+ cell count above 350 were less than
half as likely to experience an opportunistic infection or die than patients who were not
taking HAART and had a CD4+ cell count above 350. The researchers attributed the
difference to the presence of a higher HIV viral load among the patients who
discontinued therapy.
complications or death among HIV-infected patients, according to the results from an
analysis of the SMART study that was published in the April 15 issue of the Journal of
Infectious Diseases. The analysis showed that, over a mean 16 months of follow-up,
patients who were taking HAART and had a CD4+ cell count above 350 were less than
half as likely to experience an opportunistic infection or die than patients who were not
taking HAART and had a CD4+ cell count above 350. The researchers attributed the
difference to the presence of a higher HIV viral load among the patients who
discontinued therapy.
Study Affirms Value of Initiating HIV Treatment Before CD4 Drops Below 350
In a separate analysis of SMART data published in the same issue of the Journal of
Infectious Diseases, findings from other recent studies regarding the benefits of early
HAART initiation were reaffirmed. Among a subset of SMART trial participants who were
either antiretroviral naive or had not received therapy in the preceding six months, those
who initiated HAART with a CD4+ cell count greater than 350 were found to be
significantly less likely to develop an opportunistic infection, develop a serious
non-AIDS-defining event or die than patients who initiated HAART when their CD4+ cell
count dropped below 250.
Infectious Diseases, findings from other recent studies regarding the benefits of early
HAART initiation were reaffirmed. Among a subset of SMART trial participants who were
either antiretroviral naive or had not received therapy in the preceding six months, those
who initiated HAART with a CD4+ cell count greater than 350 were found to be
significantly less likely to develop an opportunistic infection, develop a serious
non-AIDS-defining event or die than patients who initiated HAART when their CD4+ cell
count dropped below 250.
HIV May Reproduce Much Faster Than Previously Thought, Researchers Say
A single, HIV-infected immune cell may produce more than 50,000 copies of HIV during its
life span, according to a new U.S. study. "Previous estimates, which just looked at a cell at
a single point in time, suggested that 100 to 200 viruses might be made in each infected
cell. That estimate was later raised to 1,000 to 2,000," said Alan Perelson, Ph.D., of Los
Alamos National Laboratories, a leading investigator in the study. "But when we looked at
a cell over its life span, we found each cell was making approximately 50,000 viruses --
and it looks like that's the minimum." The findings, although conducted in SIV-infected
rhesus macaques, have potential implications for our understanding of HIV pathogenesis
and disease progression.
life span, according to a new U.S. study. "Previous estimates, which just looked at a cell at
a single point in time, suggested that 100 to 200 viruses might be made in each infected
cell. That estimate was later raised to 1,000 to 2,000," said Alan Perelson, Ph.D., of Los
Alamos National Laboratories, a leading investigator in the study. "But when we looked at
a cell over its life span, we found each cell was making approximately 50,000 viruses --
and it looks like that's the minimum." The findings, although conducted in SIV-infected
rhesus macaques, have potential implications for our understanding of HIV pathogenesis
and disease progression.
Majority of Patients Will Be Able to Use Intelence
Intelence (etravirine) is likely to work well in the vast majority of people who’ve had treatment
failures from Sustiva (efavirenz) and Viramune (nevirapine), according to a research letter
published in the May 11 issue of AIDS.
Intelence is an antiretroviral (ARV) treatment from the class of drugs known as non-
nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs). It was recently approved for use in
people who have resistance to multiple other ARV treatments. Intelence causes HIV to
evolve a fairly different pattern of drug-resistance mutations than the other approved
NNRTIs, and is likely to work even after people have developed resistance to these older
options. There are, however, specific mutations common to all of the NNRTIs, and some
people with resistance from previous NNRTI use do not respond to Intelence.
In order to determine what proportion of their NNRTI-experienced clinic patients would likely
respond to Intelence, a group of scientists from the St. Stephens Centre at the Chelsea and
Westminster Hospital in London examined the genotypic resistance test results from 743
study subjects.
The authors found that 90 percent of the 352 patients who had been on a regimen
containing Sustiva would likely respond well to a regimen containing Intelence. Of 391
people who’d been on a regimen containing Viramune, 88 percent would likely respond to
Intelence.
failures from Sustiva (efavirenz) and Viramune (nevirapine), according to a research letter
published in the May 11 issue of AIDS.
Intelence is an antiretroviral (ARV) treatment from the class of drugs known as non-
nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs). It was recently approved for use in
people who have resistance to multiple other ARV treatments. Intelence causes HIV to
evolve a fairly different pattern of drug-resistance mutations than the other approved
NNRTIs, and is likely to work even after people have developed resistance to these older
options. There are, however, specific mutations common to all of the NNRTIs, and some
people with resistance from previous NNRTI use do not respond to Intelence.
In order to determine what proportion of their NNRTI-experienced clinic patients would likely
respond to Intelence, a group of scientists from the St. Stephens Centre at the Chelsea and
Westminster Hospital in London examined the genotypic resistance test results from 743
study subjects.
The authors found that 90 percent of the 352 patients who had been on a regimen
containing Sustiva would likely respond well to a regimen containing Intelence. Of 391
people who’d been on a regimen containing Viramune, 88 percent would likely respond to
Intelence.
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| HIV/AIDS COMMUNITY JOURNAL |
The Friends of AIDS Foundation