HIV

Federal regulators are looking to disqualify a prominent Chicago HIV doctor from future drug studies, said Chicago Breaking News. The regulators discovered that Dr. Daniel Berger’s clinic submitted bogus data in a drug trial.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said that Dr. Berger, “failed to protect the rights, safety and welfare” of patients in his care, quoted Chicago Breaking News.

Among other falsifications, there were forgeries of doctors’ and patients’ signatures. In one case, said Chicago Breaking News, one patient’s name was spelled differently from trial records and other medical records. Also, basic tests conducted to ensure patient safety were not performed, such as EKGs, and would have been immediately noticed if appropriately reviewed, according to Chicago Breaking News.

In excess of 200 tablets of the drug being tested were also found to be missing said the FDA, wrote Chicago Breaking News, citing records.

...read more

By Ed Flanagan, NBC News

JOHANNESBURG – With the World Cup kick-off just days away, HIV/AIDS prevention groups in South Africa have been ramping up their public protests against FIFA, the world body of soccer.

The activists claim that that the tournament’s organizers have hindered HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention campaigns by blocking condom and safe-sex information distribution at official game venues. ...read more

I know this is kind of late, I wanted to post this awhile ago but I couldnt edit it in time and than I had finals and it just got way messy and busy the last two weeks after Forum.. But I finally got this thing edited and I hope you all enjoy.

First, I just want to thank HIVRCF for allowing me to attend this conference.Hands down, this was the best learning experience that i've had at a conference in YEARS! The plethera of information coupled with the hundreds of years of experience from all of the HIV activists in the room= success! So, thank you HIVRCF!

My only criticism of the conference is that there was not enough information about HIV and young people. The rates of HIV infection in young people is on the rise. We need to be thinking about how we can intervene earlier and earlier in the lives of young people.

Next go round, I would love to see specific tracks dedicated to youth. Also, I would like more information/ space for people living with HIV to talk about their experiences, med, etc. I would also like to see longitudinal data on babies born with HIV and learn about their developmental trajectories.

Again, THANKS! I loved the Forum and would recommend it to EVERYONE I know!

Our last day at the Forum was bittersweet. Like I said in a prior blog "everything in life is a double-edged sword." Johnathan and I are very thankful for being given the opportunity to attend and participate in this year's forum. We learned so much and met some amazing people. We are truly impressed with how much, time, effort, and passion was put into this event. We hope to see you all in 2011!!!! xoxo Jesse & Johnathan

I can’t find any mention of research on HIV+ children or on preventing mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) in the program of the HIV Research Catalyst Forum.  But I did hear many women talk about how ARVs saved their children’s lives. They are calling for more clinical trials for HIV+ children, research on pediatric and adolescent HIV/AIDS, and studies on the long-term effects of ARVs taken during pregnancy on children who are HIV-negative.

Perhaps the greatest victory yet for HIV prevention has been the success in blocking mother to child transmission. Without intervention, there is a 15-30% chance that an HIV+ woman will pass the virus to her baby during pregnancy and delivery, and an additional 5-20% that her newborn will be infected from breast-feeding. But transmission can be reduced to less than 2% if an HIV+ woman takes ARVS during and after pregnancy, a short course of ARV treatment is given to the baby, and transmission  from breastfeeding is prevented by ARVs or by substituting formula.

Despite the tremendous success of PMTCT, old questions persist and new questions have arisen.  In many cases, research has been done but the findings aren’t easily accessible to the parents who need to know; in other cases, more research is needed.  read more »

Well, at least a little.  David Munar from AIDS Foundation of Chicago provided a great introduction to epidemiology - the scientific study of disease distribution and factors that cause disease to spread in communities - in this morning's Prevention Symposium.  David referenced the astounding and deeply disturbing disparities experienced by some populations, especially Black women and Black men who have sex with men.  He reminded us of the importance of real-time data:  while the CDC projected in 2006 an incidence rate (annual number of people infected by HIV) of 56,000; given a constant 5% transmission rate, that number would be closer to 64,000 this year- 2010- and will approach 75,000 by 2015.  And the Act Against AIDS "9 1/2 minutes" campaign (you know, the one that turns HIV-positive people red) is already old news.  In 2010, the epidemic would be more accurately characterized by an "Every 8 minutes" campaign, according to David.  Good thing we're all red, and so easy to find.
 read more »

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Today, I had a fantastic time in the session entitled Engaging Prevention Research Advocacy to Address Social Drivers of the Epidemic in the United States. Of course I went to this affinity group because all too often people focus exclusively on behavioral interventions without examining the other issues that fuel the epidemic in this country particularly for communities of color.

My group was introduced to an activity called Open Space Technology. Open Space Technology was fashioned after the exchanges witnessed at African market places. The concept of bartering provides valuable examples of the power that individuals have over seemingly fixed pricing with pricing only being one example. One can also consider the exchanges with patients and health institutions as another example--with the idea behind bartering empowering people to engage with institutions to receive a good based on what they deem appropriate.

Some core principles governing Open Space Technology are:

1. People have power, value, and agency and therefore have the right to set their own agendas, topics, standards, etc.  
2. That people should only stay in a group only as long as they are feeling like they are contributing/gaining knowledge. Once you are done, move on. 
3. It is okay for people not to contribute or be "butterflies" on the wall.

In short, we were polled and asked to think about the various issues that we wanted to talk about related to HIV. We than assembled the topic and once all topics were placed on the board, people had the option to choose which discussion they wanted to participate in. In our case, conversations ranged from talking about oppression at large to more specific issues like advocating for the decriminalization of behaviors of HIV positive persons.  read more »

Here is day two of the HIV Research Catalyst Forum. It was a busy day, but I came out of it with multiple contacts, a lot of information, and some new awesome friends. I hope you all enjoy.

Hello everyone, just wanted to say what a great time I've been having at the Forum. I hope everyone who is attending is finding the information they need to take back to their home states!

I've had several questions regarding next week's AIDS Watch.  So, here's the link to NAPWA's page that discusses AIDS Watch http://www.napwa.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5&Itemid=10.

I've also got additional information that I can email you if you need it, so let me know.  You can talk to me at the Forum or you can email me at im1drny@hotmail.com.

Also, let me know what your state is doing to implement health reform!  I'll talk about that later.

Kisses,

Michael Foy Mitchell

Hey Everyone!

I must say that I have been completely floored (both positive and negative) by the goingson at the HIV Research Catalyst Forum. The amount of information that has been provided has literally changed my way of thinking and understanding of the field of HIV.

I attended the Prevention Symposium 1: Confronting the social drivers of HIV incidence in the U.S. and man was I conceptually challenged. I was challenged within that setting to really look closely at the various modes of HIV prevention. As I mentioned in my previous post, I was look for more new ways of thinking about HIV and I found it. I was amazed by the level of integrative approaches that activist and researchers are taking to try to address the high rates of HIV infection.

The gist of the symposium was that there needs to be more strategies employed to address that high rates of HIV infection among communities of color. Understanding the casual pathways that lead to HIV transmission can provide a variety of new and creative opportunities to intervene. For example, if a project can provide housing and job opportunities for homeless HIV positive persons and link them to care, then getting treatment decreases viral load and therefore risk of transmission. This type of creativity really elucidates the social, cultural, and structural issues that directly or indirectly impact a person's access to HIV information and services.

The housing project was just one example of how people are thinking differently about trying to address the high rates of HIV infection. This thrills my heart soooooo much-- that at least some scholars, researchers, and activist are starting to think more critically about complex and intersecting factors that impact people of color and their access.

So, round one goes to HIV Research Catalyst Forum for meeting my expectations me 0!

The conference could go on for another week - I wouldn't mind. And not because of the wonderful hotel and the great people, but because there is so much information.

I attended the 9:00 a.m. Treatment Symposium where David Evans began speaking about current treatment challenges. He wondered why people are surprised that HAART adherence remains an issue today. Certainly, someone taking one pill (or a few pills, sometimes) for the rest of their life is easy! Isn't it? Unfortunately, some health care professionals are baffled by non-adherence.

Nelson Vergel from PoWeRUSA discussed the issue of body image and how HAART is associated with metabolic disorders such as lipoatrophy, fat accumulation, and hyper-lactatemia. And thanks for the tip! "Never use the word 'cosmetic' when advocating for reconstructive surgery."

These topics are relevant to me as a future behavioral health professional. Psychologists or therapists who work in a medical setting can foster self-efficacy beliefs of individuals who are faced with the challenge of high percentage regimen adherence. They can also help patients with body issues and self-esteem, keeping in mind pressures of gay popular culture to appear a certain way.

At this morning's symposium, someone mentioned the issue of underreporting side effects from HAART. Patients, especially long-term survivors, sometimes compare side effects experienced today with side effects experienced 10-20 years ago. In the current health setting, face-to-face time with physicians is extremely limited. It often takes time and prodding to get to the bottom of a patient's true experience with their HAART regimen.

The point is that pharmaceutical companies market their drugs to physicians and inquire into patient well-being in terms of side effects.  Physicians sometimes (and the speaker believes this is more often than not) report that their patients are so grateful for the newest regimens that they report "all is fine." Because psychologists see patients more frequently, it is an excellent opportunity to lay this misinformation to rest. Psychologists should speak with primary care physicians about HAART side effects reported by clients, of course with patient consent, which is often the case in a multidisciplinary setting. Health psychologists need to speak up on behalf of their patients when pharmaceutical companies inquire into HAART side effects. This will offer support for the need to continue with funded research into new treatment options.

So much I've learned in just one day. Thanks HIVRCF.