Journal of AIDS & Clinical Research

Therapeutic pressure by protease inhibitors (PIs) contributes to accumulation of mutations in the HIV type 1 (HIV-1) protease (PR) leading to development of drug resistance with subsequent therapy failure. Current PIs target the active site of PR in a competitive manner. Identification of molecules that exploit non-active site mechanisms of inhibition is essential to overcome resistance to current PIs. Potential non-active site HIV-1 protease (PR) inhibitors (PI) were identified by in silico screening of almost 140,000 molecules targeting the hinge region of PR...

Background: Routine monitoring of HIV-1 Viral Load (VL) is important in patients on Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) management. Access to HIV VL remains a challenge in resource-limited settings, especially in rural areas. Universal access to VL requires more simplified and less restrictive alternatives to current conventional VL methods. The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of the new rapid (2-hour turnaround time) Xpert HIV-1VL technique compared to Roche TaqMan and Abbott RT m2000 for HIV-1 RNA quantification in HIV- infected patients...

We present a retrospective analysis of trends in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) small molecule drug development over the last thirty-five years based on data captured by ChemDB, a United States (US) National Institutes of Health (NIH) database of chemical and biological HIV testing data. These data are analyzed alongside NIH funding levels, US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) drug approvals, and new target identifications to explore the influences of these factors on anti-HIV drug discovery research. The NIH's ChemDB database collects chemical and biological testing data describing published and patented pre-clinical compounds in development as potential HIV therapeutics...

In this short communication, we discuss some key behavioral economic (BE) biases that likely minimize HIV prevention efforts, explore why certain key populations such as men who have sex with men or transgender women-may be more likely to succumb to these biases, and suggest how incentives informed by BE can support these populations in their effort to remain HIV-negative. Based on our formative work in an ongoing study, we discuss two important insights regarding the use of incentives to inform future HIV prevention efforts...

Objective: Differentiated care refers collectively to flexible service models designed to meet the differing needs of HIV-infected persons in resource-scarce settings. Decentralization is one such service model. Retention is a key indicator for monitoring the success of HIV treatment and care programs. We used multiple measures to compare retention in a cohort of patients receiving HIV care at "hub" (central) and "spoke" (decentralized) sites in a large public HIV treatment program in north central Nigeria...

Objective: Researchers and public health professionals have increased their attention to GPS-based social and sexual networking applications (apps) tailored to gay, bisexual, other men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender women. These populations continue to be disproportionately affected by HIV in the United States, therefore these apps, in particular Grindr, have become an important sampling venue for the recruitment of HIV-related research participants. As such, it is essential to identify differences among app users to avoid potential sampling bias...

Despite advancements in our understanding of HIV-1 pathogenesis, critical virus components for immunity, vaccines trials, and drugs development, challenges remain in the fight against HIV-1. Of great importance is the inhibitory function of microbicidal cell penetrating peptides and bacterial toxins that interfere with production and neutralize infection of HIV-1 particles. We demonstrate that the neutralizing activity of a cationic 18 amino acids peptide, is similar to a broadly neutralizing human antibody, and inhibits production of two HIV-1 strains in human cell lines...

Background: Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) use has remained low among US women while significantly increasing among men who have sex with men. Besides lack of awareness, women face several social and structural barriers in gaining access to and using PrEP. Methods: Four focus group discussions with 20 HIV-negative women who live in the Washington DC metropolitan area. Results: The women expressed concerns about social and structural barriers to PrEP use...

Impoverished men have lower rates of facility-based HIV counseling and testing and higher unknown HIV-positive status than women. Economic theory suggests that individuals will obtain an HIV test if anticipated benefits are greater than anticipated costs. Yet, few studies have investigated the range of financial preferences of HIV self-testing (HIVST) among poor men who decline testing or do not test regularly. Twenty-three interviews were conducted to qualitatively assess perceived costs saved and costs incurred from use of HIVST kits in infrequently- or never-tested Tanzanian men...

OBJECTIVE: Decreasing the risk of HIV transmission from HIV-positive individuals is an important public health priority. We evaluated the effectiveness of a computer-based sexual risk reduction counseling intervention (CARE+) among HIV-positive persons enrolled in care. METHODS: HIV-positive eligible participants (N=1075) were enrolled from 11 care sites in the Bronx, NY and Washington, DC and randomized 1:1 to either a tablet-based self-administered CARE+ intervention or standard of care (SOC)...

New research suggests that individuals with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) have central auditory processing deficits. To review the evidence for HIV affecting parts of the central nervous system involved in central auditory processing, we performed a systematic review of the literature. The objective was to determine whether existing studies show evidence for damage to structures associated with central auditory pathways in HIV. We searched PubMed for papers that used structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), diffusion tensor imaging, magnetic resonance spectroscopy or functional MRI in individuals infected with HIV...

This study examines the impact of ethnicity and multiple types of HIV-related stigma on adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) among 2,146 people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in Guangxi, China who had initiated ART. The results of multiple binary logistic regressions indicate that those who had experienced enacted stigma tended to report lower adherence, while better adherence was associated with older age, being women and having a job. Ethnicity had a moderator effect on the association between internalized stigma and adherence since better adherence was associated with lower internalized stigma among participants in ethnic minority groups other than Zhuang...

BACKGROUND: African American/Black and Hispanic persons living with HIV (AABH-PLWH) are under-represented in AIDS clinical trials (ACTs) in the United States. Barriers AABH-PLWH experience to ACTs are multi-faceted, including distrust of medical research, low levels of knowledge, unsupportive social norms, lack of referral, and challenges navigating ACT systems. In past research we found a multi-component peer-driven intervention was efficacious in boosting rates of screening for/enrollment into ACTs...

OBJECTIVE: The spectrum of neuropsychiatric illness (NI) associated with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and/or the Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) is far reaching and significantly impacts the clinical presentation and outcome of infected persons; however, the etiological and pathophysiological background remains partially understood. The present work was aimed to investigate the potential significance of formin binding protein 1 (FNBP-1)-dependent pathways in NI-pathogenesis by elaborating on previous microarray-based research in HIV and/or HCV-infected patients receiving interferon-α (IFN-α) immunotherapy via a rigorous data mining procedure...

OBJECTIVE: Research has established that human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) causes hearing loss. Studies have yet to evaluate the impact on quality of life (QOL). This project evaluates the effect of hearing loss on QOL by HIV status. METHODS: The study participants were from the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS) and the Women's Interagency HIV study (WIHS). A total of 248 men and 127 women participated. Pure-tone air conduction thresholds were collected for each ear at frequencies from 250 through 8000 Hz...

PURPOSE: Race and HIV are intertwined in complex ways. African Americans, particularly those residing in the southern United States, are at great risk for contracting and subsequently transmitting HIV. Research on the extent to which members of this population understand the risks associated with engaging in specific behaviors is limited. This paper examines HIV knowledge among at-risk adult African American men and women and the factors associated with levels of HIV knowledge. METHODS: Based on a conceptual model derived from Social Disorganization Theory and Syndemics Theory, interviews were conducted between 2009 and 2011...

OBJECTIVE: Uncontrolled HIV infection progresses to the depletion of systemic and mucosal CD4 and AIDS. Early HIV infection may be associated with increases in the concentration of MIP-3α in the blood and gut fluids. MIP-3α/CCL20 is the only chemokine known to interact with CCR6 receptors which are expressed on immature dendritic cells and both effector and memory CD8(+) and CD4(+) T cells. The role and prognostic value of blood levels of MIP-3α in HIV-infected individuals has yet to be described...

OBJECTIVE: The southeastern United States has the fastest-growing Hispanic/Latino population in the country and carries a disproportionate HIV burden. Among Hispanics/Latinos, men, and men who have sex with men (MSM) in particular, are at elevated risk of HIV infection; however, very few efficacious behavioral HIV prevention interventions are available for use with this vulnerable population. To address this shortage of prevention resources, our community-based participatory research (CBPR) partnership developed and is currently evaluating the efficacy of the HOLA en Grupos intervention to increase condom use and HIV testing among Hispanic/Latino MSM...

BACKGROUND: The clinical consequences of the magnitude and the duration of detectable viremia in HIV-infected children have not been well characterized. We examined the predictors and immunologic consequences over time of frequent episodes of detectable viremia in HIV-infected children followed at Yale-New Haven Hospital. METHODS: We analyzed the CD4+ T-cell and HIV viral load over a 19-year period (1996 to 2013) of 104 HIV-infected children enrolled in the Yale Prospective Longitudinal Pediatric HIV Cohort...

A significant proportion of HIV-positive adults in sub-Saharan Africa are in serodiscordant relationships. Identification of such serodiscordant couples through couple HIV testing and counseling (HTC) is thought to promote safe sexual behavior and reduce the probability of within couple seroconversion. However, it is possible HTC benefits are not sustained over time and therefore repeated HTC may be more effective at preventing seroconversion than one time HTC. We tested this theory in Zomba, Malawi by randomly assigning 170 serodiscordant couples to receive repeated HTC and 167 serodiscordant couples to receive one time HTC upon study enrollment (control group)...