HIV :: Socioeconomic position associated with effectiveness of HIV drugs

Socioeconomic position is a determinant of antiretroviral treatment effectiveness during initial therapy for HIV-1 infection. The effect was found even among subjects with high rates of drug adherence, according to a study published in the Aug. 1 issue of the Journal of Psychosomatic Research.

HIV :: One-fourth of HIV patients believe their doctors stigmatize them

Physicians might want to be extra careful about how they treat HIV-infected patients –not just in the clinical sense but in the way they behave toward them. Even the perception that physicians are stigmatizing patients for carrying the virus that causes AIDS can discourage these individuals from seeking proper medical care, according to a new UCLA study.

HIV :: High-risk behaviors could lead to HIV epidemic in Afghanistan

In a report that is among the first to describe the prevalence of HIV and Hepatitis B and C viruses in Afghanistan, a researcher from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine voiced concerns that increasing injection drug use and accompanying high-risk behavior could lead to an HIV epidemic in Afghanistan.

HIV :: Methamphetamine study suggests increased risk for HIV transmission

New findings that one in 20 North Carolina men who have sex with men (MSM) reported using crystal methamphetamine during the previous month suggests increased risk for spreading HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, according to researchers from Wake Forest University School of Medicine and colleagues.