https://medicalxpress.com/hiv-aids-news/ en-us Latest health news and information about HIV & AIDS In stigmatized illnesses such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), shame and other negative self-conscious emotions are associated with suboptimal engagement in health care via stress and avoidance coping. However, shame is challenging to assess via self-reporting. Research has shown that people express emotions in different ways, including self-reported emotion, what they say (using shame-related words), and facial and body movements. While people may be self-conscious about expressing or revealing shame, combining ways to measure shame could be helpful in improving accurate assessment. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-shame-combination-language-body-posture.html Wed, 20 May 2026 13:00:01 EDT news698497082 A study has found that adolescents who were aware of their state's minor consent laws were more likely to seek and receive testing for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, suggesting that teens' accurate knowledge of their legal capacity to consent to health care services may be more important than the laws providing this right. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-adolescents-knowledge-legal-capacity-independently.html Mon, 18 May 2026 17:40:08 EDT news698335398 Advances in HIV treatment have transformed what was once a fatal diagnosis into a manageable chronic condition. Today, children living with HIV are surviving—and increasingly thriving—into adolescence and adulthood. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-children-hiv-longer-obesity.html Wed, 13 May 2026 11:36:56 EDT news697890962 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 A clinical trial conducted in Tanzania and Mozambique and published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases concludes that expanding the use of molecular diagnostic tests on urine and stool samples, in addition to sputum, to detect tuberculosis in hospitalized people living with HIV does not improve early treatment initiation nor reduce short-term mortality. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-tb-screening-hiv-wards-treatment.html Fri, 08 May 2026 14:00:04 EDT news697465983 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 Blood tests measuring the aging of certain white blood cells can predict cognitive and mood-related symptoms of depression, rather than physical symptoms. These findings, published in The Journals of Gerontology, Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, bring researchers closer to identifying a biomarker for detecting the mood disorder, which affects nearly one in five US adults. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-marker-biological-aging-linked-cognitive.html Mon, 04 May 2026 01:00:01 EDT news696843301 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 In the early 1990s, a secret HIV vaccine research project was carried out in the Central African Republic. The project didn't yield results and was hidden for many years. Today it sheds light on debates over clinical trials, access to treatment and, more broadly, a specific form of exploitation rarely discussed: biomedical extractivism. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-bangui-story-blood-science-biomedical.html Fri, 01 May 2026 09:40:01 EDT news696845521 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 A study in Health Economics uncovered an unintended consequence of a major medical breakthrough: while the availability of HIV treatments in the late 1990s dramatically improved survival, they also contributed to a resurgence in syphilis, a sexually transmitted infection. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-life-hiv-therapy-contributed-sexually.html Wed, 22 Apr 2026 03:10:03 EDT news695977422 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 New data released Friday show that the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) treated about the same number of people in the last quarter of 2025 as it did a year earlier in 2024. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-aids-relief-disruptions.html Mon, 20 Apr 2026 18:20:02 EDT news695918703 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 A major study presented at ESCMID Global 2026 has found that antiretroviral therapy (ART) reduces accelerated biological aging in people with HIV (PWH) by nearly four years, a finding that could transform how clinicians monitor HIV treatment and long-term health outcomes. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-hiv-treatment-biological-aging-years.html Sun, 19 Apr 2026 18:00:06 EDT news695625376 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 An increasing number of U.S. states have passed laws that allow health care providers—including doctors, nurses, and pharmacists—to refuse to treat patients based on their personal or religious beliefs. While these conscientious objection laws have long existed for issues such as abortion, their effects on LGBTQ+ people have not been well studied. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-doctors-lgbtq-patients-states-religious.html Mon, 13 Apr 2026 11:00:09 EDT news695294161 The composition of gut bacteria appears to be associated with how much latent HIV remains in the blood of people receiving antiretroviral therapy. This is shown in a new study from Karolinska Institutet, published in Gut Pathogens. The findings offer clues as to how the gut microbiome may influence the amount of virus that persists in the body. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-gut-bacteria-linked-latent-hiv.html Thu, 09 Apr 2026 14:40:08 EDT news694963381 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 A new sexual health survey reveals a mix of progress and persistent gaps. Overall, many Americans report positive experiences—interest in having sex, sexual pleasure, and good communication with partners—yet women and gender-diverse individuals still face higher rates of sexual violence, lower sexual pleasure, and discomfort discussing sexual health. The study was led by Jessie Ford, Ph.D., assistant professor of sociomedical sciences at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, and the findings are published in the Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-sexual-health-card-high-pleasure.html Mon, 06 Apr 2026 16:20:03 EDT news694710601 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 Beyond both being viruses, HIV-1 and SARS-CoV-2 don't seem to have a lot in common. HIV-1 is a retrovirus that integrates with its host's DNA for life and can be passed down from mother to child, while SARS-CoV-2 is contagious but temporary and cannot be inherited. And while antivirals can repress the symptoms caused by each infection, effective vaccines exist only for one. But for Rockefeller virologist Theodora Hatziioannou, the viruses have one very important thing in common: They both cause deadly pandemics. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-qa-viruses-strategies-potent-antiviral.html Mon, 30 Mar 2026 17:50:07 EDT news694109462 The Trump administration's decision to halt most US foreign aid and development work constitutes a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) under international law, argue experts in The BMJ. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-health-emergency-international.html Wed, 25 Mar 2026 18:30:01 EDT news693656401 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