April 2004

Contents

Editorial

• Volume 5 number 3 April 2004

Treatment alerts

• Risk factors for severe, life-threatening and fatal hepatotoxicity with nevirapine

Conference reports

• 11th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI)

• Drug levels can persist for more than two weeks after stopping efavirenz

• Race affects absorption and clearance of efavirenz

• Triple PI interactions: atazanavir increases saquinavir levels in ritonavir-boosted once-daily combination

• Triple PI interactions: fosamprenavir and Kaletra interaction is difficult to overcome

• Ribavirin (RBV) does not alter intracellular levels of AZT, 3TC or d4T

• COLATE study shows no clinical benefit from continuing 3TC to maintain M184V mutation

• Studies of new pipeline drugs

• Little benefit seen for treatment during acute infection

• Summary of resistance studies at Retrovirus

• Update on peripheral neuropathy in HIV-infection

• Smoking marijuana provides analgesic effect on HIV neuropathy

• Two D:A:D updates: cardiovascular risk from HAART, and predictors of hypertension and changes in blood pressure

• Low-dose rHGH maintains reductions in abdominal fat for 60 weeks

• Rosiglitazone shows no benefit for lipoatrophy

• Hypertension related to HAART in HIV-positive women

• Testosterone therapy for women with low androgen levels or body weight

• Nevirapine, pregnancy and adverse events

• Prior nevirapine exposure for pregnant women can contribute to treatment failure

• Conflicting findings with HAART use in pregnancy and prematurity

• Antiretrovirals, mode of delivery and transmission risk

• Tenofovir studies in children

• Increase of non-AIDS defining cancers in HOPS cohort

• HIV/HCV coinfection: superiority of pegylated interferon plus ribavirin, but lower response rate compared to mono-infected patients, especially for genotype-1

• Epoetin-alfa improves interferon/ribavirin-associated anaemia

Antiretrovirals

• Treatment with generics: tolerability, safety and resistance

• Gilead discontinues DAPD development

Treatment access

• International community meeting on drug pricing

• Global Fund halts $92 million grant for Ukraine after problems

• Global Fund says it needs $5 billion during 2004-2005

• South African minister of health in line to chair Global Fund

• Thai ddI patent case serves as example to other developing countries, Lancet viewpoint piece says

• UK gives £3 million to WHO’s ‘3 by 5’ treatment goal

Hepatitis coinfection

• International panel issues new guidelines for the care of HIV-HCV coinfected patients

• NICE approves pegylated interferon plus ribavirin in UK

Other news

• New HIV cases in England and Wales increase by 20% in past year

• Micronutrient supplements may enhance survival; research has implications for poor countries

• Durex withdraws N-9 condoms

On the web

• Medical resources

PDFs

• Volume 5 Number 3 April 2004 PDF