Despite the focus in recent decades on fighting the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Sub-Saharan Africa, a new study reveals that little is known about one of the area’s most vulnerable populations: children living in households with HIV-infected adults.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Sub-Saharan Africa has long been known to have the highest rates of HIV/AIDS in the world. But a new study published in PLOS One reveals that despite the focus on the region, few estimates exist of one of its most vulnerable populations: children living in households with HIV-infected adults.(more…)
Doctors can improve treatment programs using this knowledge
COLUMBIA, Mo. – The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) can contain dozens of different mutations, called polymorphisms. In a recent study an international team of researchers, including University of Missouri scientists, found that one of those mutations, called 172K, made certain forms of the virus more susceptible to treatment. Soon, doctors will be able to use this knowledge to improve the drug regimen they prescribe to HIV-infected individuals.
“The 172K polymorphism makes certain forms of HIV less resistant to drugs,” said Stefan Sarafianos, corresponding author of the study and a researcher at MU’s Bond Life Sciences Center. “172K doesn’t affect the virus’ normal activities. In some varieties of HIV that have developed resistance to drugs, when the 172K mutation is present, resistance to two classes of anti-HIV drugs is suppressed. We estimate up to 3 percent of HIV strains carry the 172K polymorphism.” (more…)
ANN ARBOR, Mich.— Vitamin A and beta-carotene supplements are unsafe for HIV-positive women who breastfeed because they may boost the excretion of HIV in breast milk—thereby increasing the chances of transmitting the infection to the child, a pair of new studies suggest.
