https://medicalxpress.com/hiv-aids-news/ en-us Latest health news and information about HIV & AIDS Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist medications have gained widespread attention for effectively treating obesity, lowering blood sugar and decreasing the risk of cardiovascular disease. Some researchers have proposed that these drugs may also influence the biology of aging, but direct evidence in humans has remained limited. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-popular-glp-drug-biological-aging.html Wed, 03 Jun 2026 06:44:06 EDT news699687771 For many people living with HIV, today's treatments can suppress the virus and dramatically improve health. But even when HIV is controlled, damage to the gut caused by the disease can persist, fueling chronic inflammation linked to serious health problems. A new Tulane University study published in JCI Insight helps explain why. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-broccoli-compounds-hiv-linked-gut.html Mon, 25 May 2026 14:20:01 EDT news698933282 Scientists are tweaking a powerful cancer therapy in hopes it could fight HIV instead, by supercharging patients' own immune cells. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-small-hints-revving-immune-cells.html Tue, 12 May 2026 14:39:34 EDT news697815508 Broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) are among the most promising new treatments for HIV, offering the potential to forego traditional daily doses of antiretroviral drugs. In one recent clinical study of bNAbs identified and developed into therapies at Rockefeller University, participants who received a single dose of two bNAbs maintained a nearly undetectable viral load for up to 20 weeks, and a third did so for about a year. These outcomes suggest a potential future of treatment-free, long-term control of the virus. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-hiv-reveals-mutations-antibody-therapies.html Tue, 12 May 2026 04:00:23 EDT news697777155 Researchers from Queen Mary University of London have uncovered a previously unknown mechanism by which HIV-1 can infect resting immune cells. The discovery challenges a decades-old assumption in HIV biology, and opens new avenues for understanding how the virus persists in the body, despite treatment. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-hiv-hijacks-cellular-gateway-infect.html Wed, 06 May 2026 14:40:01 EDT news697288801 The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Merck's Idvynso (doravirine/islatravir), a new, once-daily, two-drug single tablet for the treatment of HIV-1 infection in adults to replace the current antiretroviral regimen in those who are virologically suppressed (HIV-1 RNA https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-fda-daily-idvynso-tablet-hiv.html Fri, 01 May 2026 22:00:02 EDT news696840037 Researchers at Karolinska Institutet, in collaboration with colleagues at The Scripps Research Institute and Emory University, have developed a new vaccine strategy that has generated antibodies capable of neutralizing highly divergent HIV variants. The study, published in the journal Nature, provides new insights into how the immune system can be guided towards a particularly protected part of the virus. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-hiv-vaccine-immune-viral-variants.html Wed, 29 Apr 2026 11:00:08 EDT news696671222 People living with HIV face a greater risk of developing lung diseases at a much younger age, even if they have never smoked. FIU researchers have now uncovered a previously unknown mechanism that helps explain how HIV causes emphysema and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-hiv-disrupts-lung-clock-copd.html Sat, 25 Apr 2026 13:00:04 EDT news695910310 When it comes to HIV medication, many patients think they'd prefer an occasional injection over a daily pill, but uptake remains an issue, according to a Rutgers Health-led survey. When researchers surveyed 801 people living with HIV in Boston, Chapel Hill, N.C., and San Diego, 68% of respondents said they would prefer an antiretroviral shot every two months to a daily pill. Yet according to a study in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, only 2.8% of the patients actually received such shots, even though they've been available for four years. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-hiv-shots-appeal-uptake.html Thu, 23 Apr 2026 15:00:10 EDT news696169083 Some people living with HIV develop antibodies capable of neutralizing many different strains of the virus. New research links this to immune responses that occur early in infection. The findings, published in PLOS Pathogens, come from an international research collaboration that includes the University of Gothenburg. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-hiv-earliest-immune-blood-powerful.html Tue, 21 Apr 2026 10:40:09 EDT news695985302 The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which is the cause of AIDS, is a master of deception, using just nine genes to hijack the complex cellular machinery of the human body. Yet, even after decades of research on how the virus replicates and persists, researchers still haven't solved the mystery of exactly which human genes influence HIV infection. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-scientists-hiv-hijacks-human-cells.html Mon, 20 Apr 2026 11:00:03 EDT news695901361 Human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV) is one of the most challenging viruses for doctors to treat. Even with effective antiretroviral therapy, immune cells infected with HIV can hide and lie inactive in certain areas of the body called latent reservoirs. If treatment is discontinued, these reservoirs may become active again, causing patients to face renewed challenges with symptoms of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-drug-effectiveness-dormant-hiv-immune.html Mon, 13 Apr 2026 17:00:08 EDT news695315881 A Norwegian man has been effectively cured of HIV after receiving a stem cell transplant from his brother, doctors announced on Monday. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-norway-oslo-patient-hiv-remission.html Mon, 13 Apr 2026 16:00:04 EDT news695314193 Timely HIV diagnosis and treatment are critical to preventing transmission. To help make this happen, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides funding for HIV testing to local health departments and community organizations. In a new NIH-funded Johns Hopkins Medicine study, researchers used a computer model to quantify the effect of funding cuts for HIV testing. They estimate that HIV infections could increase an average of 10% in 18 U.S. states if this funding is interrupted or ended. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-hiv-infections-cdc-funds.html Tue, 07 Apr 2026 19:00:03 EDT news694793108 Diabetes mellitus affects more than 10% of people with HIV, and its incidence is rising as the population ages, according to the National Institutes of Health. Antiretroviral therapies that treat HIV by blocking specific enzymes the virus uses to multiply can cause metabolic complications, including weight gain and insulin resistance. Since 2015, integrase strand transfer inhibitor-based regimens have been recommended as first-line treatment. In a new Johns Hopkins Medicine study, researchers found adults with HIV who switched from protease inhibitors to integrase inhibitors were at increased risk of diabetes. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-integrase-inhibitors-protease-diabetes-people.html Mon, 30 Mar 2026 18:10:08 EDT news694107061 Imagine a game of chess where your opponent's king is in check. It cannot move, but the game is not over—the piece remains on the board. This is how the body might control HIV on its own: The virus would be contained and unable to replicate or spread, but it would not have been eliminated. This is the goal of Professor Ole Schmeltz Søgaard and an international team of researchers—to enable more patients' immune systems to keep the virus permanently in check without the need for daily medication. Their findings suggest that this requires two key components working in tandem: antibodies and T cells. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-dual-immune-response-hiv-medication.html Mon, 23 Mar 2026 17:30:01 EDT news693505141 HIV exhausts the body's immune system by overactivating it, despite effective antiviral treatment. Researchers from Linköping University in Sweden have conducted cell studies showing that an existing medication restores immune cell function. The findings, published in the journal PLOS Pathogens, raise hopes that this medication could improve the health of people living with HIV. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-medication-hiv-affected-immune-cells.html Mon, 23 Mar 2026 16:20:02 EDT news693496980 For millions of people living with HIV, a daily regimen of medications is a lifelong necessity. If they stop taking the drugs—commonly referred to as antiretroviral therapy—the virus usually rushes back within weeks. But not for everyone; scientists have been baffled by rare individuals who, after stopping the drug regimen, keep the virus under control for months or even years. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-people-naturally-hiv-therapy-leverage.html Fri, 20 Mar 2026 15:40:01 EDT news693231181 New research shows first population-level evidence globally that a national HPV vaccination program can be highly effective in a high HIV-prevalence setting. In South Africa, where the burden of HIV remains high, women living with HIV face a disproportionately increased risk of cervical cancer, around six times higher than women without HIV. This heightened risk is driven by persistent infection with high-risk strains of human papillomavirus (HPV). In settings where access to HPV vaccination, cervical screening and treatment is uneven, the impact on women's health and lives is profound. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-hpv-vaccination-girls-hiv-south.html Wed, 18 Mar 2026 13:00:06 EDT news693056222 A global team of experts has identified a promising new approach to prevent recurrence of bacterial vaginosis (BV), a condition that affects millions of women worldwide. In a Phase I randomized clinical trial of women in the U.S. and South Africa, researchers found that a short course of a multi-strain probiotic restored protective bacteria to the vagina, significantly reducing disease recurrence. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-multi-strain-probiotic-therapy-bacterial.html Wed, 18 Mar 2026 11:00:04 EDT news692950731 A new study published in The Lancet Microbe reports the first twice-yearly injectable HIV treatment regimen—combining lenacapavir, teropavimab, and zinlirvimab—has achieved high rates of viral suppression and demonstrated a favorable safety profile at 26 weeks. Led by Joe Eron, MD, a researcher with the UNC Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, the findings mark a significant milestone toward what could become the first complete long-acting HIV regimen requiring dosing only twice per year. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-twiceyearly-hiv-regimen-treatment-strong.html Mon, 16 Mar 2026 09:20:01 EDT news692870023 A research team led by Albert Einstein College of Medicine scientists has developed a new strategy to engineer immune cells that dramatically prolongs their effectiveness after being infused into patients to fight cancer and HIV, addressing a major limitation of current treatments. Their findings, published in Science Advances, describe a manufacturing approach that, compared to the existing process, generates longer-lasting immune cells that provide more sustained control of human blood cancers and suppression of HIV infection in mouse models. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-multi-cytokine-scaffold-car-cells.html Fri, 13 Mar 2026 14:00:13 EDT news692537641 For decades, scientists have recognized that human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a formidable viral pathogen. After years of probing work and extensive experimentation, a Yale research team has unlocked one of the reasons why that is. In a new study, the lab led by immunologist Grace Chen discovered that HIV produces a circular RNA (circRNA) that helps the virus turn on its genes and replicate more efficiently. The discovery, which the researchers dubbed "circHIV," could represent a new target for future HIV therapies. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-uncovering-hiv-hidden-loop-future.html Fri, 13 Mar 2026 09:40:03 EDT news692612521