https://medicalxpress.com/hiv-aids-news/ en-us Latest health news and information about HIV & AIDS 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 For people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), life-saving antiretroviral therapy keeps their HIV-infected immune cells from making new copies of the virus, preventing illness and transmission. Historically, these infected cells have been known as the "latent" HIV reservoir—implying that the HIV within the infected cells is completely inactive. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-hiv-seq-tool-reservoir-cells.html Sat, 07 Mar 2026 10:00:01 EST news691776266 How people with compromised immune systems respond to vaccines is an important area of immunological research. A study led by York University has found that not only could machine-learning models accurately pinpoint differences in healthy controls and those living with HIV, but also found outliers in both groups that provide fascinating glimpses into the complex nature of the immune system and what personalized medicine could look like in the future, accounting for variables such as age, comorbidities and genetics. The study is published in the journal Patterns. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-machine-immune-analysis-clues-personalized.html Wed, 04 Mar 2026 19:30:12 EST news691865881 Long-acting antiviral medications are transforming HIV prevention and care, requiring only minimalistic dosing. But as the use of lenacapavir expands, scientists are probing a critical question: If the virus evolves resistance, does it also pay a cost? https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-02-hiv-resistance-blockbuster-antiviral-lenacapavir.html Sat, 28 Feb 2026 12:00:01 EST news691407727 A new, daily oral tablet that combines two current HIV treatment medications, bictegravir and lenacapavir (BIC/LEN), could effectively replace more complicated HIV treatment regimens used by people living with HIV who are long-term survivors, according to the results of a new phase 3 clinical trial published in The Lancet. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-02-daily-pill-complex-multi-tablet.html Wed, 25 Feb 2026 13:40:02 EST news691172461 By pairing digital tools with tailored HIV services delivered by community health workers and clinicians, a study has reduced new HIV cases by 70% in rural Kenya and Uganda. This successful strategic implementation of existing health care infrastructure and available HIV prevention and treatment options could become a model for reducing HIV incidence in other countries, including the United States. The findings were presented at the 33rd Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI 2026) in Denver. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-02-kenya-uganda-trial-hiv-incidence.html Tue, 24 Feb 2026 17:20:01 EST news691171141 A new study has overcome a long-standing challenge: how to isolate and study elusive HIV-infected cells called authentic reservoir clones (ARCs) that evade the immune system, making the disease difficult to cure. Researchers from Weill Cornell Medicine, Rockefeller University and collaborating institutions offer a detailed look into these hidden HIV-harboring cells and show that some may be more vulnerable to immune destruction than previously believed. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-02-lab-grown-reservoir-cells-aim.html Tue, 24 Feb 2026 17:00:04 EST news691170721 Drug conjugates (ADCs) developed at Institute of Science Tokyo combine a CD4 mimic with neutralizing antibodies for enhanced suppression of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. By targeting the gp120 on the viral envelope via a two-step mechanism, the ADCs effectively block viral entry—offering seven times better efficacy than existing approaches. Overall, the findings point towards a promising new direction for HIV treatment—targeting two viral sites with a single molecule. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-02-hiv-entry-blocker-pairs-cd4.html Tue, 17 Feb 2026 15:56:34 EST news690566161 Utilizing data from Stichting HIV monitoring (SHM) and Statistics Netherlands, a study published in the journal Nature Communications has compared labor market outcomes of 5,960 people diagnosed with HIV between 2010 and 2022 to a matched control group of 59,600 people drawn from the general population. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-02-economic-hiv-quantifies-impact-income.html Mon, 16 Feb 2026 11:59:22 EST news690465541 King's College London researchers have created a unique collection of human stem cell models that could help to uncover why HIV leads to different outcomes in different people. The research was carried out by Dr. Nathalia Almedia, postdoctoral researcher, and Sam Acors, former Ph.D. student, who are co-lead authors of the paper published in Stem Cell Reports. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-02-human-stem-cell-lines-resource.html Fri, 13 Feb 2026 11:04:38 EST news690203041