Last year, Positive Life NSW ran a survey asking about collecting HIV meds from community pharmacies . They are now surveying people to find out how things are going so far. It is a quick survey so here is an opportunity to describe how these changes have been for you.

The survey can be completed at www.surveymonkey.com/r/KZSSLT8

Don’t forget that in NSW your HIV meds are now free as the NSW Government is covering the amount you usually pay. See more at the Positive Life The Choice is Yours website.

Please fill in the survey now at www.hivfutures.org.au

HIV Futures 8 is a survey about the health and wellbeing of PLHIV. The study is keen to hear from PLHIV all over Australia – men, women and trans people, heterosexual, gay and bisexual people.

HIV Futures is an important project. It provides information to help governments, clinical services and community groups plan programs and policy.

You can fill in the survey online at: www.hivfutures.org.au
The survey will be online from July 2015 until 14th March 2016.

For more information, or to request a copy of the survey booklet to fill in rather than doing it online, contact us:
Ph: (freecall) 1800 064 398 or
Email: hivfutures@latrobe.edu.au

The Kirby Institute in Australia was one of the bodies co-ordinating the study. If you would like to read more about this important study you can read about it on the Kirby Institute website.

ART use and non-use: an anonymous online survey

Experienced researchers from the Centre for Social Research in Health (CSRH), UNSW, Australia would like to invite people living with HIV (PLHIV) to participate an online survey. The survey is anonymous and will take about 30-45 minutes to self-complete.

If you are aged 18 years or above, living with HIV in Australia, we would like your help! Participation is voluntary. If you wish to take part in the survey, please click the following link artuse.csrh.org , which will direct you to the study webpage.

Funded by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council, we want to have a better understanding of ART use and non-use among PLHIV. We will explore people’s experiences with ART and measure a number of clinical, personal, social and structural factors of ART use and non-use.

This study has obtained ethics approval from UNSW (HC14183) and ACON (2014/18). The National Association of People with HIV Australia (NAPWHA) and Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations (AFAO) are our key research collaborators.

The investigators wanted to see if  ART had any effect on HIV in vaginal secretions, particularly during menstruation.

20 women taking Ritonavir, Atazanavir and Truvada were studied. They all had an undetectable viral load and had been on ART for a around of 14 months. Blood and vaginal samples were collected twice a week for three weeks and tested for levels of ART. High levels of ART were found, including during the women’s menstrual cycle.

“Our study provides evidence that high mucosal antiretroviral concentrations generally suppress local viral replication throughout the menstrual cycle in women on ART,” conclude the authors.

“Given the direct relationship between cervicovaginal HIV-1 RNA levels and female-to-male sexual transmission, our findings lend support for ART as a tool for the prevention of sexual transmission of HIV.”

The interim findings show that after 2 years there are no cases of HIV transmission between couples where the positive partner has a viral load under 200 copies/ml. This was the case regardless of the type of sex (eg anal or vaginal sex).

When asked what the study tells us about the chance of someone with an undetectable viral load  transmitting HIV, presenter Alison Rodger said: “Our best estimate is it’s zero.”

This study is important because it tackles a big question that emerged from the HPTN 052 study: Does HIV risk change depending on the kind of sex people have? Whereas HPTN052 focussed mainly on heterosexual couples, the Partner Study includes both gay and heterosexual couples.

More information is available on the AIDSMap website: http://aidsmap.com/No-one-with-an-undetectable-viral-load-gay-or-heterosexual-transmits-HIV-in-first-two-years-of-PARTNER-study/page/2832748

Does this make a difference to the way you feel about having a poz-neg (serodiscordant) relationship?   Tell us what you think

The chip is designed to work in a battery-powered handheld device that would “deliver simple HIV diagnostics to patients anywhere in the world, regardless of geography or socioeconomic status,” the researchers say in the paper.

It takes a single drop of blood and returns a positive or negative result for HIV or syphilis, in about 15 minutes. And the results are presented, similar to a pregnancy test, so that anyone can understand what’s going on.

Not only is the device small, but dependable. The rare false positive (the test saying you have the virus when you don’t) is in line with standard lab tests of 4-6 percent of tests.

For more information, see the www.ece.illinois.edu/mediacenter/article.asp?id=6023

Professor Francois Raffi of Centre Hospitalier Universitaire in Nantes presented Antiretroviral therapy — new strategies or new drugs? in the closing lecture of the conference. He spoke about a range of new medications and strategies that are currently being trialled to treat HIV.

HIV medications are being improved all the time. The current drugs are all very effective in reducing the viral load in the blood, though some drugs still come with unwanted side effects. The new research that is taking place focuses on reducing side effects and making it easier to take your medications by combining different drugs into one pill. Research also investigates new drugs because it is also important to have a range of drugs available in case HIV develops a resistance to some medications.

Professor Raffi identified that key research currently taking place in HIV treatments:

A different form of tenofovir is being researched which has less impact on the kidneys and bone density.

• Some new, more potent antiretroviral medications are currently being developed.
• Some drugs that are particularly effective against drug resistant forms of the HIV virus are currently being tested.
• There is a move towards more single pill combinations, meaning taking medications should become easier.

Treatments have not changed significantly since the 1990’s, when the best standard of care: the ‘three drug regime’ was introduced. This is because nothing that has been researched so far is more effective than this approach.

Professor Raffi stressed that new drug development needs to focus on the ability to reduce immune system activation and inflammation, as well as getting to hard to reach areas, such as the brain and lymphatic tissue.

He also identified that the most important direction for the future is ensuring all those who need HIV treatment have access to it.

More information on HIV treatments can be found on the ACON website: http://www.acon.org.au/

The original article is available on the AIDS http://www.aidsmap.com/page/2782641/

Another breakthrough has also been reported. Typical modern treatments for HIV infection include taking a daily pill. But what would you think about a monthly injection? Early stage clinical trials by two drug companies have shown such an injection to be safe and effective at keeping drug levels high in the body long after the injection. One recent survey showed that 84% of people would rather have a monthly injection.

For more information http://www.hivplusmag.com/case-studies/research-breakthroughs/2013/07/30/ditch-your-hiv-pills-and-get-monthly-shot-instead

What do you think?