DoxyPEP: antibiotics to prevent STIs

Cancers are diseases of cells in the body. Rates of some, but not all, cancers are higher in people living with HIV than other people.

In some cases, HIV can bypass the barrier that encases the brain and cerebrospinal fluid which can contribute to brain inflammation and neurocognitive symptoms. However, diagnosing this viral ‘escape’ into cerebrospinal fluid is challenging due to its anatomical inaccessibility. Swiss researchers found that the presence of the virus did not clearly correlate with symptoms.

Making the commonly prescribed antiretroviral regimen of tenofovir, lamivudine and dolutegravir available in the community as post-exposure prophylaxis after condomless sex, without a prescription, would reduce HIV acquisition by 31% over 20 years in African countries, according to a modelling study published in Lancet Global Health.

A very few people with HIV can control the virus without treatment; some of them can suppress the virus from the very beginning, while others achieve control with the help of initial antiretroviral therapy. This is the case of a man who has been effectively controlling the virus for 23 years after a short course of treatment. A team of Dutch researchers found that the virus is still present and intact in his cells and blood. They tried to explore the mechanisms by which he could maintain this control and described their findings in the journal AIDS.