HIV infection prematurely ages the brain

HIV infection or the treatments used to control it are prematurely aging the brain, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the University of California-San Diego have found. Blood flow in the brains of HIV patients is reduced to levels normally seen in uninfected patients 15 to 20 years older.

Rate of metabolic syndrome doesn’t change among HIV-infected people

New HIV therapies have contributed to a decrease in AIDS deaths, but physicians suspected the more potent medications led to symptoms characteristic of metabolic syndrome. However, now researchers at the School of Medicine have found that the rate of metabolic syndrome in HIV-infected patients is virtually identical to that in uninfected people.

Metabolic syndrome as common in HIV-infected people as in general population

New HIV therapies have contributed to a decrease in AIDS deaths, but physicians suspected the more potent medications led to symptoms characteristic of metabolic syndrome. However, now researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that the rate of metabolic syndrome in HIV-infected patients is virtually identical to that in uninfected people. Furthermore, the type or duration of HIV therapy did not affect the rate of metabolic syndrome.

HIV protein enlisted to help kill cancer cells

This PET scan shows high levels of an anticancer agent in the tumor.Cancer cells keep growing because they don’t react to internal signals urging them to die. Now researchers at the School of Medicine have found an efficient way to get a messenger into cancer cells that forces them to respond to death signals. And they did it using one of the most sinister pathogens around — HIV.

HIV protein enlisted to help kill cancer cells

Researchers linked anticancer agents to a PET tracer to deliver treatment directly to tumors in mice (red and yellow shows highest amounts of tracer).Cancer cells keep growing because they don’t react to internal signals urging them to die. Now researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found an efficient way to get a messenger into cancer cells that forces them to respond to death signals. And they did it using one of the most sinister pathogens around — HIV.

Study eases concerns over mental side effects from potent AIDS drug

Sustiva is the brand name for efavirenz.The largest detailed, prospective clinical study of the mental side effects of a potent anti-AIDS drug, efavirenz, has revealed that the anxiety, dizziness, “funny feelings” and vivid dreams triggered by the drug fade away within a month, possibly clearing the way for more widespread use. Efavirenz is the first drug from its class that lasts long enough to be taken once a day, and that makes it a potentially valuable drug for AIDS treatment.

Study eases concerns over mental side effects from potent AIDS drug

Sustiva is the brand name for efavirenz.The largest detailed, prospective clinical study of the mental side effects of a potent anti-AIDS drug, efavirenz, has revealed that the anxiety, dizziness, “funny feelings” and vivid dreams triggered by the drug fade away within a month, possibly clearing the way for more widespread use. Efavirenz is the first drug from its class that lasts long enough to be taken once a day, and that makes it a potentially valuable drug for AIDS treatment, according to scientists at the AIDS Clinical Trials Unit (ACTU) at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

The way condom-use promoting messages are framed influences their effectiveness

“Let’s talk about condoms.” Whether or not that conversational topic is introduced in a budding romantic relationship may depend on what type of condom-promotion messages the partners have heard. The way messages promoting condom-use are framed influences the effectiveness of the messages, according to a recent study co-authored by Dee Lisa Cothran, Ph.D., who conducted extensive research on the topic as a psychology doctoral student in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis.

Sequenced parasite tells more about pathogen’s dirty work

Michael R. Brent and Tamara L. Doering examine data from the *C. neoformans* microarray.A team of collaborators, including two researchers from Washington University in St. Louis, has sequenced the genomes of two strains of the fungus Cryptococcus neoformans (C. neoformans), one which is virulent, the other harmless. This work provides researchers with clues on how the fungus does its dirty work and a host of genes to study for a better understanding of fungal pathogens in general. Estimates are that about 15 percent of people with HIV will suffer at least one life-threatening infection of C. neoformans. In Africa, that could be as much as 40 percent of HIV sufferers.

AIDS drug may reduce bone loss in young men with HIV

Ritonavir may slow bone loss in AIDS patients.In a collaborative study initiated by their clinical colleagues, scientists at the School of Medicine have shown that the AIDS drug ritonavir suppresses the creation and activity of cells that dismantle bone, potentially slowing bone loss and lowering the risk of osteoporosis in AIDS patients. The findings may encourage clinicians to consider permanently keeping ritonavir or a similar bone-sparing drug in the changing mixture of treatments for AIDS patients.