NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Jun 23 - In a double-blind randomized study, a single application of a high-concentration capsaicin skin patch (NGX-4010) produced a sustained reduction in pain over 3 months in patients with HIV-associated distal sensory polyneuropathy, the most common neurologic complication of HIV infection.

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NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Jun 23 - Patients coinfected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) and HIV who have high pretreatment LDL cholesterol levels are more likely to respond to HCV therapy than are similar patients with low LDL cholesterol levels, according to a report in the May 11th issue of AIDS.

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NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Aug 05 - The heterosexual infectivity of HIV-1 is commonly cited as a fixed value of approximately one transmission per 1000 sexual contacts. However, depending on the presence of several risk factors, the rate of transmission may be several hundred times higher, according to research presented Monday at the International AIDS Conference in Mexico City and published online on August 5 by The Lancet Infectious Diseases.

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MEXICO CITY (Reuters Health) Aug 05 - New policy guidelines for collaborative HIV and tuberculosis (TB) services for injecting and other drug users call for joint planning, preventing spread of TB and HIV infection, and overcoming the stigma and discrimination drug users face.

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NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Aug 05 - Patients treated with rifampicin-based therapy for tuberculosis who begin a nevirapine-based regimen for HIV infection are twice as likely to develop viral failure as similar patients who start an efavirenz-based regimen.

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NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Aug 05 - A clinical trial set up to study rapid HIV testing in the emergency department identified a high rate of false-positive test results associated with the OraQuick ADVANCE Rapid HIV-1/2 Antibody Test.

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MEXICO CITY (Reuters Health) Aug 06 - Treating all HIV-positive individuals with HAART (highly active antiretroviral therapy) could result in a nearly two-thirds reduction in annual incidence of new HIV infections and help curb the AIDS epidemic, researchers from Canada report.

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MEXICO CITY (Reuters Health) Aug 06 - A unified behavioral, biomedical and structural approach is needed to check the spread of the HIV epidemic, according to researchers speaking at the Lancet special symposium on HIV prevention, held during the International AIDS Conference here.

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MEXICO CITY (Reuters Health) Aug 06 - Research on AIDS vaccines needs a fresh step-by-step approach through a series of “interim milestones,” according to the AIDS Vaccine Blueprint 2008 document released by the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) at the International AIDS Conference in Mexico City.

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NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Aug 06 - HIV-infected women who use crack cocaine risk deterioration in immune status, development of AIDS-defining illnesses, and death from AIDS-related causes, even if they adhere to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) regimens, study findings indicate.

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