Join AIDSinfo in Observing National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

March 10 is National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NWGHAAD). This observance day is organized annually to highlight the impact of HIV/AIDS on women and girls.

According to the latest surveillance data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in the 53 areas with confidential name-based reporting, females accounted for 23% of reported cases of HIV infection in 2007. From 2004 through 2007, the estimated number of newly diagnosed HIV/AIDS cases increased by approximately 8% among females.

The theme of this year’s NWGHAAD is “Every 35 minutes a woman tests positive for HIV in the United States. It's time to get tested.”  AIDSinfo is pleased to present a NWGHAAD Specialty Page to encourage participation in the 2010 Awareness Day. The page includes information about NWGHAAD as well as HIV/AIDS-related information and resources specific to women and girls.

More information is available:

• NIAID: Official statement
• AIDSinfo: NWGHAAD specialty page  [En Español]

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Study Suggests Overall Treatment Outcomes Similar in Once-Daily versus Twice-Daily Combination Antiretroviral Therapy Despite Adherence Differences

“Dosing frequency is an important determinant of regimen effectiveness. ...To compare efficacy of once-daily (QD) versus twice-daily (BID) antiretroviral therapy, we randomized human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive, treatment-naive patients to lopinavir-ritonavir (LPV/r) administered at a dosage of 400 mg of lopinavir and 100 mg of ritonavir BID … or 800 mg of lopinavir and 200 mg of ritonavir QD …, plus either emtricitabine 200 mg QD and extended-release stavudine at a dosage of 100 mg QD or tenofovir at a dosage of 300 mg QD. Randomization was stratified by screening HIV RNA level <100,000 copies/mL versus 100,000 copies/mL. The primary efficacy end point was sustained virologic response (SVR; defined as reaching and maintaining an HIV RNA level <200 copies/mL) through week 48. ...Subjects were 78% male, 33% Hispanic, and 34% black. A total of 82% of subjects completed the study, and 71% continued to receive the initially assigned dosage schedule. The probability of SVR did not differ significantly for the BID versus QD comparison, with an absolute proportional difference of 0.03 (95% confidence interval [CI], -0.07 to 0.12). The comparison depended on the screening RNA stratum…; in the higher RNA stratum, the probability of SVR was significantly better in the BID arm than in the QD arm: 0.89 (95% CI, 0.79-0.94) versus 0.76 (95% CI, 0.64-0.84), a difference of 0.13 (95% CI, 0.01-0.25). Lopinavir trough plasma concentrations were higher with BID dosing. Adherence to prescribed doses of LPV/r was 90.6% in the QD arm versus 79.9% in the BID arm …. Although subjects assigned to QD regimens had better adherence, overall treatment outcomes were similar in the QD and BID arms. Subjects with HIV RNA levels 100,000 copies/mL had better SVR with BID regimens at 48 weeks, which suggests a possible advantage in this setting for more frequent dosing.”

More information is available:

• PubMed: Study abstract
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Study summary
• AIDSinfo: Treatment adherence fact sheet

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Study Suggests Elvitegravir Produces Rapid Virologic Suppression in Treatment-Experienced People on Active Background Therapy

“This phase 2, randomized, active-controlled, 48-week study assessed the noninferiority of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) integrase inhibitor elvitegravir to comparator ritonavir-boosted protease inhibitor (CPI/r) in treatment-experienced subjects. … Subjects had HIV RNA levels 1000 copies/mL and 1 protease resistance mutation. Subjects received nucleoside or nucleotide reverse-transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) with or without T-20 and either CPI/r or once-daily elvitegravir at a dose of 20 mg, 50 mg, or 125 mg (blinded to dose) with ritonavir. After week 8, the independent data monitoring committee stopped the elvitegravir 20 mg arm and allowed subjects in the elvitegravir 50 mg and 125 mg arms to add protease inhibitors. The primary end point was the time-weighted average change from baseline in HIV RNA level through week 24 (DAVG(24)). … A total of 278 subjects with a median of 11 protease and 3 thymidine analog mutations were randomized and treated. One-half of subjects received NRTIs without expected antiviral activity. Compared with the DAVG(24) for the CPI/r arm (-1.19 log(10) copies/mL), the elvitegravir 50 mg arm was noninferior (-1.44 log(10) copies/mL), and the elvitegravir 125 mg arm was superior (-1.66 log(10) copies/mL; …). Efficacy was impacted by activity of background agents. There was no relationship between elvitegravir dosage and adverse events. … Elvitegravir was well-tolerated and produced rapid virologic suppression that was durable with active background therapy.”

More information is available:

• PubMed: Study abstract
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Study summary

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