Better depression care could improve outcomes for HIV treatment programmes quoting : aidsmap

One of the challenges of addressing mental health is the dearth of mental health workers in many settings. Two years after beginning HIV treatment, 6.6% of women with depression symptoms and 3.7% of other women had died. Moreover around 15% of adults and 26% of adolescents living with HIV cite feeling depressed or overwhelmed as a barrier to HIV treatment adherence. Dr Collins noted that mental health disorders are now considered alongside non-communicable diseases in the third Sustainable Development Goal. Mental health treatment should be integrated into HIV services in resource-limited settings, she said.




Once they are able to understand how patients develop effective antibodies, other scientists can use this information to create a vaccine for HIV, Schätzle said. Researchers have discovered a group of antibodies that puts them on track towards developing a vaccine to treat HIV. By studying how different people respond to the actual virus and how they come up with their antibodies, we can use this to design a vaccine to induce antibodies artificially."In the next part of the study, researchers mixed and matched two HIV antibodies to create a hybrid antibody that can neutralize most strains of HIV. One of the antibodies came from memory B cells, or cells that can remember pathogens, and the other came from blood plasma. "We don't have good therapeutics against HIV, and we don't have a vaccine."The study began with the discovery of a patient infected with HIV who was able to produce unique antibodies.

New nano approach could cut dose of leading HIV treatment in half

Explore further: New nanomedicine approach aims to improve HIV drug therapiesMore information: The presentation is available online: www.croiwebcasts.org/console/player/33376?mediaType=slideVideo& Potential applicationsBenny Kottiri, USAID's Office of HIV/AIDS Research Division Chief, said: "The potential applications for HIV treatment are incredibly promising. EFV is the current WHO-recommended preferred regimen, with 70% of adult patients on first-line taking an EFV-based HIV treatment regimen in low- and middle-income countries. The results were from two trials which are the first to use orally dosed nanomedicine to enable HIV therapy optimisation. The trial is connected to the University's ongoing work as part of the multinational consortium OPTIMIZE, a global partnership working to accelerate access to simpler, safer and more affordable HIV treatment.



collected by :Lucy William
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