NAPWA

Pregnancy does not increase the risk of nevirapine (Viramune) associated side-effects, according to the results of a systematic review and meta-analysis published in the online edition of AIDS. Investigators found that incidence of liver and skin toxicities – the major side-effects of the drug  – were high, but no higher than the rate observed in the

A team of Australian researchers has found that tenofovir and, to a lesser extent, other drugs from the nucleoside/nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI) class, impairs an enzyme that slows down or stops ageing processes in immune cells in the test tube. They also found that, in people living with HIV, a marker of cell age called

Liver stiffness is a strong predictor of hepatic complications and all-cause mortality in people co-infected with HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV), Spanish investigators report in the online edition of AIDS. Liver stiffness was assessed using an ultrasound-based technique called transient elastometry (FibroScan). This can assess liver stiffness, an accurate proxy for fibrosis without

Efavirenz is a safer option than nevirapine for adults and children starting antiretroviral therapy, according to the results of a meta-analysis published in the online edition of AIDS. Treatment discontinuations were twice as likely among people treated with nevirapine (Viramune) than those taking efavirenz. Nevirapine was also associated with a higher frequency of liver toxicities,

Co-infection with hepatitis B or C is associated with reduced bone mineral density (BMD) in women living with HIV, French investigators report in the online edition of the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes. The investigators compared bone mineral density between people with HIV infection alone and people with chronic viral hepatitis co-infection. “The