 Hey everyone, Raif DeRozzi here, and this is another weekly roundup of the latest HIV news for the week of June 26th through July 2nd. This week, I'll be going through 13 articles covering topics ranging from the military, pregnancy, latent reservoirs, HIV-Aid denialism, and more. I won't be reading the articles per se, but I will be providing a short summary of what the articles are about in general. I'll also have the links below in the description box if you want to read the articles for yourself later. Okay, and on to this first article, five PrEP navigators on exactly what black gay and bisexual men say about going on PrEP. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, has reported a decline in new HIV transmissions among young people age 13 to 24. Yay, with the most significant decline seen among white men who have sex with men, MSM. However, the decline among black MSM was lower, indicating the need for more targeted efforts. The CDC also highlighted the low uptake of pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, among black and Latinx populations compared to white populations. To encourage black MSM, men who have sex with men, to consider PrEP, it is important to present it as a proactive choice for enhancing health and pleasure rather than a mandatory action due to being part of a high-risk group. Conversations with PrEP navigators revealed that providing information, addressing concerns about access and cost, and offering alternative options such as injectable PrEP could help increase uptake. Additionally, it is crucial to approach the topic without singling out specific racial groups and to create a broader conversation about HIV prevention that includes everyone. I agree, it's this ongoing conversation about wraparound care that we need to meet people where they are, what their needs are, acknowledge the hurdles that are in the way of rolling out things like PrEP, and that's exactly what they're saying we need to do. It's pretty obvious, but it needs to be spelled out sometimes, often I should say, and I do agree that injectable PrEP is a winner here, I think, especially if it lasts for two months plus, not having to worry about taking PrEP every single day. If you think about it, taking PrEP every single day is like a hurdle every single day that has to be overcome, that adherence, and so only having to go in once every two months or not as often is a win and something you don't have to think about really. Onto the next. Anti-retroviral therapy intensification does not affect existing neurocognitive impairment and virally suppressed people with HIV study fines. A recent study, U.S. study, found that intensifying anti-retroviral therapy, or ART, with dolutegravir with or without maravarok, does not provide significant improvement in neurocognitive symptoms for people living with HIV who are already on suppressive therapy. The study involved 191 participants with neurocognitive impairment, and they were divided into three groups. One had dolutegravir and maravarok together, one only had dolutegravir and then the other had a placebo. While verbal learning and memory showed slight improvement in the dolutegravir and maravarok group, overall neurocognitive impairment did not differ significantly among the groups. The study highlights that current ART drugs may not effectively treat existing neurocognitive impairment in people living with HIV already on suppressive therapy. However, the study had limitations and further investigations are needed to understand the factors influencing the results. So, especially as a population, people living with HIV grow older and we start to realize that there are more things that we need to be concerned about with our health rather than just surviving. We're past that. If we have access to health care, if we have access to medicine, if we can get undetectable or we can remain virally suppressed, then we have the chances of living a very long healthy life. But with that said, there are other risk factors that are starting to pop up and that we'll learn more about as we age and as we get older. And we start to understand the impacts of HIV over time. One of those being neurocognitive impairment. It's nothing to freak out about. It's just something that happens in some people. We have a higher risk of it. And so studying that is important and seeing what we can do to either mitigate that or eliminate it completely is great. And so this study was taking people with neurocognitive impairment, 191 people to see if increasing this amount of ART would have a positive effect. Apparently it did have some effect on what was it, language and memory. So, I mean, that's good, but not the intended effects. So, apparently the study did have some limitations. So, there's more work that needs to be done. But guys, people are working on this stuff and they're looking into it and they're researching it to see and to hopefully prevent us having to deal with stuff like that. So, have heart in that. Okay, next article, test then treat. 13% of those infected with HIV don't know they have it. In preparation for National HIV Testing Day, it's already past now, the Health Resources and Service Administration emphasizes the importance of getting tested for HIV. Shockingly, around one in eight people living with HIV in the United States are unaware of their status. Testing is crucial because it allows for timely treatment and improved outcomes. There are approximately 1.2 million people with HIV in the U.S. with an estimated 14,000 in Washington, D.C. Although there has been a 12% reduction in new infections since 2017, there's still work to be done, of course. To end the epidemic, testing sites can be found online or individuals can self-test at home. For those who test positive, low to no cost treatment options are available through the Ryan White HIV AIDS Program. For those who test negative prevention strategies such as condoms and vaccines can help in preventing other sexually transmitted diseases. Regular testing is recommended by the CDC for everyone between the ages of 13 and 64 with increased frequency for those with certain risk factors. Yeah, I mean, I have to say I'm personally not shocked that that many people who are living with HIV don't even know it. That doesn't surprise me. There's so much fear out there still in denial and not wanting to confront the potential for having HIV. So a lot of people just don't get tested. They don't talk about it. They want to deal with it. They don't even want to think about it. So that's, you know, that's a hurdle. If we want to get to a place where we're stopping the epidemic, people need to be willing to just get tested. And I think routineizing testing is important. Any kind of general health care visit, have you had it tested lately? No. Okay, let's let's wrap it up into everything else you're doing. It's just part of routine. Okay, next article. This one's actually a little older. It's from June 6th, but I wanted to include it now, but since I forgot previously, encouraging first and human results for a promising HIV vaccine. Scientists have made significant progress in the development of a safe and effective HIV vaccine. A recent trial of an HIV nanoparticle vaccine showed promising results in terms of safety and immune response. The vaccine called, oh boy, EOD-GT860MER triggered the production of, okay, can we just come up with a better name for this triggered the production of rare immune B cells that are precursors to the production of broadly neutralizing antibodies, also known as BNABS. BNABS is a term that gets thrown around a lot, especially in the scientific community. It stands for broadly neutralizing antibodies. Remember that one, because we'll be talking about it more in the future on this channel. Against diverse HIV variants. Additionally, the vaccine elicited broad responses from helper T cells, which support the development of BNABS. While the vaccine does not offer HIV protection, it is a crucial step in a multi-step vaccination regimen. The researchers are now collaborating with Moderna to develop an mRNA version of the vaccine, which will help expedite the research process. Multiple clinical trials of the mRNA vaccine are already underway. This progress brings hope in the ongoing efforts to develop a safe and effective HIV vaccine and ultimately end the HIV epidemic. So yeah, the fact that they're working on an HIV vaccine is great. It's awesome. We need that as well. It's not just about the people who are living with HIV, but it's also about preventing others from getting it. Just like PrEP, a vaccine would be one step further. Whereas you're not consistently having to take oral pills or get injections on a routine basis. It would hopefully just be, you know, one shot or a series of shots, and then you're good to go for an extended period of time. Again, BNABS, remember that. Just think it's a kind of antibody that is very versatile. And so they're able to use these versatile antibodies and direct them to do certain things. That's basically what you need to know. And in the future, we'll talk about it more and we'll get into it more because I'm still learning to. Okay, on to the next article, another one by the Body Pro. Overcoming Barriers to HIV Testing in Rural Cameron. Dr. Vanessa Fozal, I'm sure I didn't say that right. And her team at HIV Free faced numerous challenges while providing HIV testing and education in remote areas of Cameroon. They confront entrenched HIV stigma, limited access to healthcare, misinformation, and lack of proper infrastructure. They work closely with community leaders and influencers to gain support and conduct screenings. The team focuses on vulnerable populations and aims to reduce transmission by treating those living with HIV and providing counseling and support to inform sexual partners. Stigma remains a significant hurdle, but HIV Free works tirelessly to educate people about HIV treatment, effectiveness and dispel misconceptions. Despite the difficulties, Dr. Fozal is driven by her personal experience, living with a chronic disease and is determined to make a difference in the lives of those in need. I wanted to include this article because again, I want to be able to cover more than just the US or Western countries. It's important that we realize it's a global epidemic, not one that just affects a certain region of the world. And one that's also kind of hopeful. And I think it's great that in Cameroon, there are people and organizations that are working tirelessly to address the needs of the locals and to address stigma there because it's everywhere. Okay, next article, research roundup HIV treatment concerns specific to cisgender women. Cisgender women don't get talked about enough. In the United States, although the number of HIV diagnoses among women has decreased in recent years, there were still approximately 7,000 new HIV diagnoses among cisgender women in 2019, accounting for about 19% of all new infections. Globally, it is estimated that 54% of the 38.4 million people living with HIV are women and girls. I bet that surprises some of you that more than half of people in the world living with HIV are actually women and girls. This is something that I have to reiterate a lot because not just men, but I get that, you know, that typical remark that it's a gay disease or something like that. It's not even, it's not a gay disease. It's certainly not a male disease if 54% of those living with HIV are women and girls. That's a wake up. Recent research has focused on addressing the specific needs of women living with HIV, including topics such as abortion care, the safety of taking pre-exposure prophylaxis during pregnancy, medication adherence, challenges, weight gain during midlife and menopause, and sexual satisfaction as women age. These studies provide valuable insights into improving prevention, care, and treatment for living with HIV. Again, it's I like seeing this stuff because we're expanding the frame of reference that we have on what it means to be living with HIV and the way that it affects communities. And it's not just about, you know, survival and taking your pills. It's about so much more and understanding the needs of women specifically is a very nuanced one. And so I'm glad that they're looking to stuff like that. All right. Here's one from Rolling Stone. RFK Jr. claims vaccine research likely responsible for HIV and the Spanish flu. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a lung shot candidate for the 2024 presidential run. Well, we'll see. It's too early to say he's long shot. Held a panel discussion featuring doctors and influencers known for spreading false claims about vaccines and promoting medical conspiracies. During the discussion, Kennedy made unfounded claims suggesting that vaccine research was responsible for creating some of the deadliest diseases in history, including HIV, the Spanish flu, and Lyme disease. He also expressed age denialism and downplayed the threat of infectious diseases. Kennedy's views align with the history of promoting debunked links between vaccines and autism. He has been named as a member of the disinformation dozen by the Center for Countering Digital Hate. Kennedy's conspiratorial stance on vaccines has remained steadfast despite scientific evidence refuting his claims. He was also on Joe Rogan's podcast and there was a while for at least several days on Twitter where he was challenging. I think it's Dr. Huckle is someone who has helped bring vaccines to other parts of the world. I think he and Joe Rogan wanted to challenge him to a debate. They wanted RFK Jr. to challenge him to a debate and even at one point Elon Musk chimed in and was kind of egging it on. It's just how did we get to the point where a presidential hopeful who is an AIDS denialist and claiming that vaccines created HIV is now challenging on social media scientists to a debate about it. It's pretty crazy but it's real. It's there. A growing number of people are buying into that nonsense so it's definitely something that I'm going to have to address on this channel more as time goes on. Okay next article by the Kansas City Star. Transgender women with HIV put in solitary confinement sorry transgender woman with HIV put in solitary confinement for six years in Missouri lawsuit ensued. A transgender woman referred to as Jane Rowe has filed a federal lawsuit against the Missouri Department of Corrections and its director and Precife along with 11 other employees alleging discrimination based on her HIV status. Jane Rowe spent over 2000 days in solitary confinement while in prison while which she claims pushed her to the brink and led to suicide attempts. The lawsuit argues that the use of prolonged solitary confinement is inhumane and unconstitutional and the corrections department enforces a policy that discriminates against individuals with HIV. The woman's attorney assert that her placement in solitary confinement was solely based on her HIV status and not on any legitimate risk that she posed. The lawsuit includes counts of cruel and unusual punishment and violations of due process and equal protection for this trans woman to be locked into solitary confinement if true. You know this is alleged at this point for 2000 days based solely on her HIV status. I mean that's that's scary. Yeah anybody could wind up in jail for whatever reason you me who knows and if that was the case and you were immediately put in solitary confinement imagine the psychological toll that could take. Okay next article road island current all these regional papers I've never heard of HIV prevention and post exposure medications now available with no out-of-pocket cost to insured road islands governor signed a bill expanding access to HIV prevention drugs in a ceremony at an LGBTQ community clinic. The legislation ensures that patients covered by health insurance plans have no out-of-pocket costs for pre-exposure prophylaxis prep and post exposure prophylaxis PEP drugs which target individuals at risk of HIV exposure. The bill also allows pharmacists to prescribe these drugs by removing cost barriers the aim is to increase the use of prep and reduce the associated stigma. Road Island joins other states in making HIV prevention and post exposure medications affordable and covered by insurance contributing to efforts to address the HIV crisis. Now this is a big step in the right direction I think if you're not familiar with PEP PEP is post exposure prophylaxis that means if you've been possibly been exposed to someone with HIV then you can go to healthcare professional request PEP and they'll give you a month's regimen of ART to prevent any HIV that might have gone into your body from taking hold and and prevent you from having HIV diagnosis and then making no out-of-pocket costs if you're insured first of all yeah that should be the case everywhere and second of all giving the pharmacists the ability to prescribe it is great so being able to go into a pharmacy if you have concerns not having to make this formal doctor's appointment you know all those things are little hurdles that get in the way being able to go up to a pharmacist let them know you know I think I'm going to be at risk what have you and for them to be able to just give it to you prescribed is amazing okay pink news says I always dreamed of having kids but my HIV status means I can't access fertility treatments. Noel Watson or Noel Watson a gay man living with HIV discovered that he couldn't access surrogacy or fertility treatments due to outdated regulations in the UK the human fertilization and embryology act provides individuals with HIV from participating pro sorry prohibits individuals with HIV from participating in IVF processes donating spur more eggs or accessing surrogacy except for opposite sex couples in an intimate relationship these restrictions exclude LGBTQ plus people living with HIV from starting families and perpetuates stigma and discrimination the national AIDS trust is urging people to write to their MPs to push for change and update the regulations to reflect the scientific consensus the effective HIV treatment prevents transmission the government has established a working group to consider the issue and its recommendations are expected in June well this article is written June 28th so I really expecting that the the recommendations a day or two later I don't know I'll keep an eye out for that let me know if you see it if I miss it send it my way and I'll cover that but yeah so it's time that laws and regulations catch up to the science okay medical express says propolis found to improve immunity reduce free radicals and attenuate chronic inflammation in HIV patients a recent study published in the journal biomedicine and pharmacotherapy highlights the potential benefits of propolis propolis propolis a resin produced by these for individuals living with HIV the research demonstrated that consuming 500 milligrams of propolis per day resulted in a significant reduction in plasma levels of malondialdehyde we'll go with that a marker of oxidative stress in comparison to a placebo group propolis propolis propolis has well-known antioxidative antiviral and anti-inflammatory properties making it a promising natural product for combating the adverse effects of HIV and antiretroviral therapy while further clinical trials are needed this study sheds light on propolis as a potential intervention to improve the immune response and reduce inflammation individuals living with HIV cool anytime we can find a natural occurring substance or supplement of some kind that we can take to lead to better health outcomes i'm all for it and i'm glad they're doing this this research okay two more articles to go okay this one by healthcare brew tbd health launches subscription service for prep and at-home hiv testing tbd health a sexual health care provider has launched a subscription program for the daily hiv prevention medication called pre-exposure prophylaxis prep which we know the subscription costs $149 every three months after an initial purchase of $299 and includes at-home sexually transmitted infection and hiv testing telehealth consultations and the prescription for prep tbd aims to expand the adoption of prep beyond the traditional user demographic of men who have sex with men emphasizing that anyone engaging in unprotected sex or having multiple partners can benefit from prep the company hopes to attract a broader customer base and offer additional sexual health services the subscription is an option for patients with inconsistent insurance coverage or those between insurance plans tbd sends at-home hiv testing kits to patients every three months to maintain the subscription great we have another option to be able to take at-home prep at-home hiv testing that's always great um yeah the cost is a little high but i'm all for more options another taking this another step further i think would be to have services like this because i've seen stuff like this before be but none of it is covered by health insurance so um that would be the next level that i think we we need to strive for is to have something like this be covered by health insurance and zero out of pocket so anyone who is worried about um you know getting their hands on some prep or some hiv testing you go to one of these services it's covered by insurance no out of pocket send it to your door wham bam thank you ma'am there's anonymity there you don't have to go out you don't have to go to a place because that can be intimidating for a lot of people or that can out people in certain situations you get it at home you're safe you mail it back get your results done that takes so much of the pain points of that process out of the picture so that's that's something i think we need to strive for okay and last article for this past week menopause may start earlier for aging women with hiv hiv a virus that weakens the immune system is increasingly affecting older women with almost half of the infections in the united states occurring in those aged 50 or older researchers are exploring the relationship between hiv and menopause as the virus can have significant health implications for women studies show that women with hiv may experience early menopause around five years earlier than women without hiv due to factors such as chronic infection lower estrogen levels and metabolic changes associated with hiv early menopause can lead to increased risk of conditions like osteoporosis however access to good health care can help hiv positive women experience menopause at similar ages to hiv negative women okay hiv transmission occurs through certain body fluids making older women more susceptible to infection due to vaginal dryness after menopause women with hiv tend to experience a higher prevalence of menopausal symptoms compared to those without hiv including joint pain hot flashes exhaustion and sleep disturbances hiv positive women may also experience sudden cessation of periods it is crucial for women with hiv to focus on overall health during menopause as they are at higher risk for other conditions and immune activation so that's really interesting and yeah it's typically a fact that women dealing with medical issues of any kind are more complicated because of all the natural biological physiological differences that there are between women and men so this is a great start we need a lot more of this especially for those women as we're aging and living with hiv that's it for this week thank you so much for tuning in i would do my best continually to source news from around the world someone just today sent me a dm with an article from some from an international source that's great if you guys want to reach out to me via dms or comments or whatever or you can email me raif dorasi it's my full name at gmail.com send me articles and i'll do my best to include all the ones that are pertinent from different parts of the world i want international stuff so please send it to me it'd be very helpful and i want to get that and share it to everybody else all right you can find links to all these articles again in the description box below please like this video if you liked it subscribe if you haven't already and hit that bell doing these three things is the best way to help support my channel and ensure that it 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