Category Archives: Research

HIV, Research

CDC Publishes New HIV Surveillance Reports

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From HIV.gov…

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published three new HIV surveillance reports:

All data are also available on NCHHSTP AtlasPlus. These data can assist HIV prevention partners in focusing prevention efforts, allocating resources, monitoring trends, and determining gaps and successes in HIV prevention.

H I V Surveillance Report

The new HIV incidence estimates show that national prevention efforts are continuing to move in the right direction overall, although substantial disparities exist. The estimated number of new HIV infections in 2022 (31,800) decreased 12% compared with 2018 (36,200), driven by a 30% decrease among young people aged 13–24 years. Increases in preexposure prophylaxis prescriptions, viral suppression and HIV testing likely contributed to the decline. Data also show significant declines geographically, with estimated new HIV infections decreasing 16% in the South in 2022 compared with 2018. In 2022, HIV incidence in Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE) (phase I) jurisdictions decreased 21% among persons aged ≥ 13 years, compared with the 2017 EHE baseline year. There were no increases in HIV incidence for any populations in 2022 compared with 2018.

Read the full article on HIV.gov.

Events, Research

Pitt AIDS study hits milestone birthday, turns to questions of aging with HIV

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From WESA…

This month marks 40 years since the Pitt Men’s Study started enrolling volunteers in what has become one of the longest-running U.S. studies of HIV and AIDS.

AIDS is the most severe stage of HIV, which interferes with the immune system’s ability to fight infection and disease. The first cases of AIDS in the U.S. were reported in 1981. The National Institutes of Health says that since then more than 700,000 thousand people have died in the U.S. from AIDS-related causes – including some 27,000 Pennsylvanians. Globally, more than 40 million people have died from the virus.

The community advisory board of the Pitt Men's Study sitting around a table, back in the 1980's
The Community Advisory Board of the Pitt Men’s Study meeting with with Dr. Anthony Silvestre and Dr. Charles Rinaldo, in the late 1980’s, at the University of Pittsburgh.

The Pitt Men’s Study focuses on gay men since this population is at higher risk of contracting HIV. Even though participants’ identities were kept confidential, scientists had to build trust within Pittsburgh’s gay community to find potential research volunteers. One of the more important resources were gay and lesbian bar owners.

Read the full article.

PrEP, Prevention, Research

Factors Associated with PrEP Stigma Among Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men Who Have Sex with Men (gbMSM): A Systematic Review

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New research on PubMed…

“Gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (gbMSM) are disproportionately affected by HIV. While pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is highly effective at preventing HIV acquisition, uptake of PrEP among gbMSM is low, which may in part be due to stigma associated with PrEP use.”

Find out more on PubMed.

two men in bed together

The CDC reports that PrEP is highly effective for preventing HIV when taken as prescribed. PrEP reduces the risk of getting HIV from sex by about 99%. To find out more about PrEP, you can also visit our Data to PrEP program page.

If  you’re looking for PrEP providers, visit the CDC’s PrEP online locator at https://preplocator.org/.

 

HIV, Research, Stigma

A Call to End Stigmatizing Language in HIV Research

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From positivelyaware.com…

A coalition of HIV activists and about 50 organizations are sending a letter to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID), calling on the agency to require the use of non-stigmatizing language in HIV research.

Addressed to NIAID director Jeanne Marrazzo, MD, MPH, who was named to the position last August by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the letter asks for changes in HIV-related language policy to be established across the organization, removing stigmatizing and dehumanizing terms such as HIV-infected, populations and subjects when referring to people living with HIV. As one of the 27 agencies within the NIH, NIAID conducts and provides federal funding for research on infectious diseases, including HIV. The proposal would apply to all NIAID-published documents, including grant applications, materials for clinical trials and NIAID-funded research papers.

“We are calling on you as the new NIAID Director to create a new era, fostering the use of appropriate and person-centered language for a new generation,” the letter said.

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Read the full article.

HIV care, Research

Twice-Yearly Sunlenca Works Well for Initial HIV Treatment

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From Poz Magazine online…

Sunlenca (lenacapavir), a long-acting injectable medication recently approved for treatment-experienced people with multidrug-resistant HIV, also works well for people starting antiretroviral therapy for the first time.

Results from the CALIBRATE trial showed that around 90% of study participants who used Sunlenca—either as daily pills or injections every six months—in combination with other antiretrovirals achieved an undetectable viral load.

needle going into a medicine bottle

Gilead Sciences’ Sunlenca (formerly GS-6207), the first approved HIV capsid inhibitor, disrupts the cone-shaped shell that surrounds the viral genetic material and essential enzymes. Laboratory studies showed that it interferes with multiple steps of the HIV life cycle. Because it works differently than existing antiretrovirals, it remains active against HIV that has developed resistance to other drugs. Sunlenca has a long half-life in the body, allowing it to be administered just once every six months.

Read the full article.

Prevention, Research, STIs

Sexually transmitted infections higher among women with disabilities

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In a study entitled “Sexually Transmitted Infections in Women of Reproductive Age by Disability Type,” researchers analyzed data from the 2015 to 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health and found that the incidents of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) was more than twice as high for women of reproductive age who have cognitive disabilities, as compared to those without disabilities. The data analysis also showed that women with sensory disabilities also had higher rates of STIs.

A J P M logo

The report, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine (AJPM), also found “the odds of sexually transmitted infections varied by race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, and substance use.”

Find out more on the AJPM website.

HIV, Prevention, Research

Intervention Groups May Help Lower HIV Risk Among Gay, Bisexual Youth

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From the Pharmacy Times…

Research published in AIDS and Behavior show that parents in an intervention group with gay or bisexual sons can employ effective communication tactics, specifically about condoms and HIV, and other parenting behaviors to help keep their children healthy.

The study is the first to show evidence of positive effects in a randomized controlled trial with the parents of gay or bisexual sons, according to the authors. They added that these results are important because approximately 80% of all HIV infections among teens are from the gay and bisexual population. There were very few previous public health interventions seeking to lower the HIV risk among this group, according to the study.

“By focusing on the parents, this study shows we might be able to reduce HIV risk among gay and bisexual male youth,” said David Huebner, professor of Prevention and Community Health at the Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington University, in a press release. “Parents represent an untapped yet promising resource in preventing HIV infection and improving sexual health among this underserved population.”

Read the full article.

Health Alerts, Prevention, Research, STIs

Health Alert: If you’re sexually active, get a full screening for sexually transmitted infections

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The CDC is reporting the number of new sexually transmitted infections continues to go up, with the highest number of STIs in the U.S. ever.

The newly released CDC 2020 STD Surveillance Report found that at the end of 2020:

  • Reported cases of gonorrhea and primary & secondary (P&S) syphilis were up 10% and 7%, respectively, compared to 2019.
  • Syphilis among newborns (i.e., congenital syphilis) also increased, with reported cases up nearly 15% from 2019, and 235% from 2016. Early data indicate primary and secondary syphilis and congenital syphilis cases continued to increase in 2021 as well.

As a result, the CDC is recommending that anyone who is sexually active get a full screening for STIs. To find local testing clinics near you, go to https://gettested.cdc.gov/. Most clinics are free.

To find out how to prevent STIs, you can go to the CDC website at https://www.cdc.gov/std/prevention/default.htm.

HIV Activism, HIV Prevention and Care Project, Research

Dr. Anthony Silvestre led the way on Pitt Men’s Study and AIDS Task Force

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From the University Times…

Anthony “Tony” Silvestre, whose work with the LGBT community was far ahead of its time and made the pioneering Pitt Men’s Study possible, died Sept. 1, 2022 at 75.

Doctor Silvestre on the cover of Out Magazine
Dr. Silvestre on the cover of Pittsburgh’s Out Magazine in May 1984

[…] His international advocacy and public health work began at Penn State (1971-76), continued with several Philadelphia organizations (1976-83) and brought him to Pitt in early 1984 until his retirement in 2018.

In 1976, he was the founding chairman of the Pennsylvania Governor’s Council on Sexual Minorities, likely the first such state organization in the country. He was U.S. liaison to the World Health Organization (1990-93) and a subject matter expert on HIV for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2002.

Through the years, he served on many expert and advisory panels for the Pennsylvania Department of Health and the Allegheny County Department of Health on HIV, alcohol and substance use among gender and sexual minorities, community marginalization and health education and outreach.

But he is perhaps best known in Pittsburgh for his role in forming and running the Pittsburgh AIDS Task Force (now Allies for Health and Wellbeing) in its early years. In the process, he supported more than a dozen other state and community groups promoting LGBTQIA-related and HIV-related health messaging for at-risk communities.

In conjunction with his research and teaching in the Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, he founded the Pennsylvania Prevention Project (now the HIV Prevention and Care Project) there in 1993 to advance comprehensive HIV planning with impacted communities. He also helped create and direct the School of Public Health’s Center for LGBT Research, and was honored by Pitt with the Chancellor’s Distinguished Service Award.

He published more than 45 peer-reviewed articles, proceedings and book chapters, and created many state and federal professional reports and presentations as well, much of which can be found at Dickinson College.

Read the full article.