Search

Background: Antiretroviral triple therapy has considerably reduced morbidity and mortality in people living with HIV and is the standard-of-care treatment. However, it is lifelong and linked to long-term side effects and adherence problems. Methods: Here, we report long-term virological and immunological outcome in 12 virally suppressed people on short-cycle therapy with bictegravir/emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide administered five days a week (Monday to Friday). Results: All patients, after a long term follow-up, were virally suppressed Conclusions: In the wait for new long-acting antiretroviral drugs and new antiretroviral formulations, short-cycle therapy has proven to be a safe and effective alternative to the standard daily antiretroviral regimen for individuals living with HIV who are virologically suppressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The availability of long-acting cabotegravir and rilpivirine injection combination requires some changes in service delivery of outpatient HIV clinics; it is therefore important for clinicians to know the potential number of people living with HIV (PLWH) who are interested in a long-acting antiretroviral treatment. We aimed to determine in an outpatient clinic the number of PLWH, on dolutegravir/rilpivirine, accepting a switch to an injectable long-acting antiretroviral treatment, and the reasons underlying this choice. In our single-center study, in this subset of HIV-infected patients, the main cause for refusal of a long-acting injectable regimen was the need for the administration to be done in hospital, as required in Italy, suggesting that current regulations about this aspect must be changed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

HIV reactivation from latency after treatment interruption occurs on average every 5-8 days-implications for HIV remission. Short-cycle ART, whereby virally suppressed people living with HIV (PLWH) switch to 4- or 5-days-on and 3- or 2-days-off maintenance treatment, has been shown to be a safe and effective alternative to standard daily treatment in a randomized clinical trial[1] and other small, not randomized, studies.[2],[3] Pharmacokinetic analyses showed low or undetectable plasma drug levels in the "off" period in some participants, without virological failure.[[2], [4]] PLWH on daily ART with suppressed plasma HIV RNA are advised that they can have unprotected sexual intercourse without transmitting the virus.[5] Recently, the ANRS 170 Quatour study group published results on semen HIV RNA amount in 78 participants[6] of the 4 days/week maintenance strategy study.[1] Their results supported that short-cycle therapy is effective in controlling genital HIV shedding. Pharmacological data of a successful 4-days-a-week regimen in HIV antiretroviral therapy (ANRS 162-4D trial). [Extracted from the article]

Mycoplasma hominis and Ureaplasma urealyticum are frequently isolated from the cervical and vaginal tracts of HIV-negative asymptomatic women. Published data lack indisputable conclusions and doubts still exist as to whether these mycoplasmas are pathogens or mere co-factors associated with genital infections. We therefore conducted a surveillance study to investigate the prevalence of genital mycoplasmas in HIV-1 positive women (110 patients), attending the outpatient Infectious Diseases Clinic of our tertiary referral Hospital, by speculum examination, PAP test, endocervical and vaginal swabs obtained by gynaecologists. Ureaplasma urealyticum was isolated from the cervix of 45 women (41%). Mycoplasma hominis was recovered from 12 women (11%), in four of whom it was isolated at the same time from the vagina. PAP test results ruled out subclinical cervicitis in all women. Bacterial vaginosis, assessed by Amsel criteria and the Nugent score, was absent in all women. Our data show that the mycoplasmas in question are found in the lower genital tract of asymptomatic HIV-1-positive women at a frequency similar to that reported in the HIV-negative female population, and make a role for these microorganisms unlikely in the aetiology of cervico-vaginal infections also in this particular patient population.