Category Archives: HIV care

HIV, HIV care, News and Information

UNAIDS Strongly Welcomes Bold New U.S. Funding Package for HIV

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From POZ Magazine online…

GENEVA — UNAIDS welcomes the signing into law of a bipartisan US$ 5.88 billion spending package that reinforces the continued commitment and leadership of the United States in the global response to HIV.

U.S. President Donald Trump signed the consolidated spending package into law on February 3, 2026 which allocates US$4.6 billion to bilateral HIV support through the America First Global Health Strategy, US$1.25 billion to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and US$ 45 million to UNAIDS. 

United Nations sign with H.I.V. ribbon symbol

“I thank President Trump and the U.S. Congress for their continued commitment to HIV and global health,” said Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS. “This U.S. investment will provide life-saving support for millions of people in partner countries and help to ensure that the global HIV response remains efficient, data-driven and delivers results.”

Read the full article.

HIV, HIV care, Research

Tiny doses of THC show big benefits for HIV treatment

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From Science Daily…

New research from Texas Biomedical Research Institute suggests that long-term use of very small amounts of THC may reduce inflammation and ease several harmful effects linked to HIV and antiretroviral therapy (ART).

T H C plant leaf inside a pill

THC, short for tetrahydrocannabinol, is the primary active compound found in cannabis. In this preclinical research, scientists used extremely low doses that did not cause noticeable nervous system effects such as euphoria or a “high.”

Researchers observed several potential benefits, including higher levels of serotonin and reductions in inflammation, cholesterol, and toxic secondary bile acids. One of the most striking findings was that levels of ART medications in the bloodstream were lower, even though viral suppression remained intact. Because ART drugs can strain the liver over time, this reduction may be especially meaningful. The study was conducted in animal models that closely reflect people living with HIV who are receiving ART, and the results were recently published in Science Advances.

Read the full article.

HIV, HIV care, Research

HIV and Your Brain

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From POZ online…

In the early years of the epidemic, neurological problems—dubbed neuro-AIDS—were a major concern. HIV can damage the brain directly, and several opportunistic infections can cause neurological symptoms. According to some estimates, as many as half of all people with AIDS developed debilitating brain problems.

Human Brain

Today, severe neurological manifestations of HIV are less common thanks to effective antiretroviral treatment. Nonetheless, people living with the virus may experience more subtle neurological and cognitive problems, collectively known as HIV-related neurocognitive disorder (HAND). Even when viral load is undetectable, HIV can cause chronic immune activation and inflammation that take a toll on the brain. What’s more, the aging HIV population is prone to the neurocognitive decline that comes with advancing age.

It is unclear how many people are affected by HAND. Studies have produced widely varying estimates, in part because they use different definitions of the condition. But we know that HIV-related neurocognitive problems are more common among people with uncontrolled virus and advanced immune suppression, as indicated by a low CD4 T-cell count.

Read the full article.

Commentary, Health Alerts, HIV care, Research

NIH Funding Cuts Disrupt Clinical Trials, Affecting 74,000 Participants

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From POZ online…

The Trump administration has terminated billions of dollars in grants to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), impacting over 74,000 people enrolled in medical studies and clinical trials, including cancer research, according to a report published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Doctor wearing face mask

The report shows that between the end of February and mid-August, 383 studies—testing treatments for cancer, heart disease, brain disease and more—have been affected by NIH cuts. What’s more, the cuts disproportionately impacted research into infectious diseases, including the flu, pneumonia and COVID-19.

During the study period, about 11,008 NIH-funded studies were disrupted at varying levels. Some participants may have signed up for trials that never started or were delayed in hopes of securing alternate funding. Others may never see the results of their trial published. Trials that were active and not recruiting, where participants may have been receiving interventions, had a total of 74,311 enrolled patients, according to CBS News.

Read the full article on POZ.com.

HIV, HIV care

HIV Drug Resistance

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From POZ Magazine online…

H.I.V. treatment pill broken

Drug resistance refers to the ability of viruses or bacteria to continue multiplying despite the presence of drugs that usually disable or kill them. In the case of HIV, drug resistance occurs when the virus develops mutations, or changes in its genetic code. These changes alter HIV proteins—including the reverse transcriptase, protease and integrase enzymes the virus uses to replicate—in ways that reduce susceptibility to drugs.

Inadequately treated HIV replicates rapidly and can quickly develop mutations that confer drug resistance. Sometimes resistance mutations can make an entire class of drugs ineffective. Certain antiretroviral classes have a higher barrier to resistance, meaning they are less likely to stop working. For example, some meds require more mutations to compromise their effectiveness, and others bind to the virus in such a way that they can keep working even as the virus mutates. As a class, non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) have a lower barrier to resistance, while protease inhibitors and integrase inhibitors have a higher barrier to resistance.

Read the full article.

HIV, HIV Activism, HIV care, News and Information

HIV, Queer Identity and the Politics of Health Care

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From Poz.com…

There’s so much chaos and confusion in our government today, and the queer community is once again being otherized and demonized. Marking the queer community as evil makes it much easier to dismiss our self-evident rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

HIV protest march

Moreover, proposed cuts to Medicaid will leave millions of Americans without health insurance. According to a recent study by the Williams Institute at the School of Law at the University of California, Los Angeles, LGBTQ adults are almost twice as likely to be on Medicaid due to disproportionately higher rates of disability and poverty among queer people. These proposed cuts will hurt our community, rendering LGBTQ folks more vulnerable to health problems and preventable diseases, among them HIV. This puts a lot of pressure on HIV service providers to step up and take care of people that the government won’t.

POZ speaks with David Munar, president and CEO of Equitas Health, one of the largest LGBTQ and HIV service providers in the country, and Mardrequs Harris, deputy director for the Southern AIDS Coalition, for their perspective and insight.

Read the interview.

HIV, HIV care, Research

Treatment: Highly Resistant HIV

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From Poz.com…

An experimental regimen containing lenacapavir and a monoclonal antibody was able to control HIV replication in a person with multidrug-resistant virus, according to researchers from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Standard antiretroviral regimens are usually effective, but they don’t always work against highly resistant virus. This case study involved a 58-year-old man with Kaposi sarcoma (KS), an indicator of advanced immune suppression.

colorful pills with the initials H I V

He had used several regimens over three decades and developed resistance to all available antiretrovirals and most HIV antibodies. Over 70 weeks, he was treated with the HIV capsid inhibitor lenacapavir (Sunlenca), two other antiretrovirals (tenofovir and emtricitabine), the mono-clonal antibody semzuvolimab (UB-421), antibiotics (trimethoprim/ sulfamethoxazole and azithromycin) and chemotherapy and immunotherapy for KS. Within two weeks, his viral load rapidly declined, becoming undetectable after a year of treatment. What’s more, his CD4 T-cell count rose, indicating immune system recovery.

Read the full article.

HIV care, News and Information

PA Navigate helps address non-medical needs of individuals in their communities

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PA Navigate is a statewide network that connects people in Pennsylvania with the health and social care services they need. It’s designed to help Pennsylvanians access community resources more easily.

PA Navigate logo

PA Navigate is managed by several state-certified Health Information Organizations:

These organizations work together through the Pennsylvania Patient & Provider Network (P3N). The project is supported by funding from the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS).

By joining PA Navigate, healthcare providers and payers become part of a network that shares important information about social needs, referrals, and the status of those referrals, making it easier to address the non-medical needs of individuals in their communities.

To find additional resources, you can go to our HIV Care page and at our PA State resource website, StopHIV.com.

HIV, HIV care, Research

The Needs of Older People With HIV Are Going Unmet

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From POZ.com…

The needs of older people living with HIV are going unmet, and the United States is unlikely to reach five goals for improving quality of life for those ages 50 and older by 2025, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) analysis published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

two elderly men embraced

Thanks to effective treatment, people with HIV in the United States are living longer, and more than half are now ages 50 and older. Like the general population, HIV-positive people are more prone to comorbidities as they age, and they may face challenges such as cognitive decline, reduced mobility and financial instability. Needs may also change as people transition to Medicare.

The U.S. National HIV/AIDS Strategy has set goals for improving the quality of life of people with HIV by 2025, with indicators for self-rated health, unmet need for mental health services, unemployment, hunger or food insecurity and unstable housing or homelessness. These indicators were adopted in late 2022, leaving less than two years to implement changes.

Linda Beer, PhD, of the CDC’s Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, and colleagues assessed progress toward these goals specifically for older individuals living with HIV. They analyzed data collected through the CDC’s Medical Monitoring Project, an annual survey of a sample of U.S. adults diagnosed with HIV. Data were obtained from interviews and medical records, and progress was evaluated both overall and by age group. Nearly 13,500 people ages 50 and older participated between 2017 and 2022.

Read the full article.