AIDS Reader

November 02, 2008

Change is in the air. By the time this column is published, the nation will know who will next occupy the White House; many appointees of the departing administration will most likely have already moved on to new positions; and potential appointees will be polishing their résumés and pressing the wrinkles out of their good interview suit.

November 02, 2008

New research suggests that AIDS among humans occurred at least 3 decades earlier than previously thought. Rapid urbanization in west-central Africa “was the turning point that allowed the pandemic to start,” said Michael Worobey, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Arizona, Tucson, and the study’s lead author (Avasthi A. National Geographic News. October 1, 2008).

November 02, 2008

One fun thing to do at an International AIDS Conference-aside from the social aspects and the presentations, protests, and theatre found in the Global Village-is to match your wisdom and art in the selection of antiretroviral drug regimens to that of a large audience of HIV-treating physicians and expert panel members. In this sense, the 17th International AIDS Conference, held this year in Mexico City, did not disappoint.

October 02, 2008

That opening tells more about the book than the author may have intended. The decision to read and review this book was triggered by reading a short announcement of its publication, noting that the wife of one of the most prominent evangelical Christian preachers active in the United States today had come to recognize the challenges of HIV and AIDS and to speak out about the issues. This seemed like a “conversion experience” worthy of exploration.

October 02, 2008

This month’s Managing Managed Care reviews just a few of the many presentations from the International AIDS Conference that have some relevance to patient care today. One of the highlights was a discussion of the current status of HIV eradication.

October 02, 2008

As the 2008 election draws closer, the questions of candidates and campaign issues occupy more and more space in print media, minutes on radio and television, and bandwidth in the ubiquitous blogs and spam messages that have become the modern equivalent of brochures hung on the doorknob.

October 02, 2008

A 14-year-old boy of African origin with HIV infection presented to the emergency department complaining of sore, swollen eyes and a sore throat. His antiretroviral treatment at that time consisted of lopinavir/ ritonavir and abacavir/lamivudine fixed-dose combination.

October 02, 2008

An assessment of rapid HIV testing offered in emer­-gency department (ED) settings found the OraQuick ADVANCE Rapid HIV-1/2 Antibody Test produced a high rate of false-positives (Reuters. August 5, 2008).

October 02, 2008

A 42-year-old white woman with AIDS presented to the emergency department (ED) with a 5-day history of persistent, high-grade fever (temperature of 38.3°C to 40.0°C [101°F to 104°F]); generalized weakness; malaise; and mild headache. The previous night she noted the onset of nausea, emesis, and loss of appetite.

October 02, 2008

The skin is the most common organ to manifest immune reconstitution syndrome (IRS).1-3 While many viral dermatoses are described in the context of antiretroviral-induced immune recovery (eg, herpesvirus infections, molluscum, genital condylomata, verruca vulgaris),4,5 the case report by Iarikov and colleagues6 is the first report of verruca plana in this setting.