Keith Alcorn

London

Editorial Consultant, HIV, TB and Viral Hepatitis at Freelance

Historian of gardens, plant introductions and British botanical empire. Visiting tutor, @RHULHistory

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Articles

Switching from TAF to TDF leads to weight loss

Apr 22, 2024 | aidsmap.com | Keith Alcorn

Replacing TAF with other drugs did not affect weight, Swiss HIV Cohort reports Estimated reading time 6 minutes Switching from tenofovir alafenamide (TAF) to the older formulation of tenofovir disoproxil (TDF) resulted in modest weight loss in people with HIV in the Swiss HIV Cohort, researchers report in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases. Switching from TAF to TDF also brought benefits in the forms of reduced cholesterol and triglycerides.
Women with HIV need tailored advice on statins and heart disease risk

Mar 12, 2024 | aidsmap.com | Keith Alcorn

Estimated reading time 5 minutes Counselling about heart disease risk and statin use for women with HIV should highlight the similar levels of risk for men and women with HIV when communicating the results of the REPRIEVE study, one of the study’s investigators told the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI 2024) in Denver last week. Advice also needs to make women aware of how the symptoms of heart disease differ in women and men.
Too many older people with HIV taking medicines they may not need

Feb 1, 2024 | aidsmap.com | Keith Alcorn

Medicines that raise the risk of falls and confusion being prescribed for too long, without regular checks Estimated reading time 5 minutes A high proportion of older people with HIV are taking medicines they do not need that could increase the risk of falls and confusion, Spanish researchers have found in a review of studies looking at inappropriate medication prescribing in people with HIV.
Cabotegravir levels lower than trials in real-world study, but no increase in viral rebound

Jan 31, 2024 | aidsmap.com | Keith Alcorn

Estimated reading time 5 minutes Low drug concentrations do not automatically lead to virologic rebound in people receiving injectable treatment with cabotegravir and rilpivirine, Swiss researchers found in a study of people receiving injections for up to six months.
Zimbabwe shows how to make new HIV prevention products available quickly

Jan 3, 2024 | aidsmap.com | Keith Alcorn

Dapivirine vaginal ring and long-acting cabotegravir PrEP each approved in less than six months Estimated reading time 5 minutes Zimbabwe has been able to approve two new HIV prevention products within six months and did so before any other African nation. How did it achieve this and what are the lessons for other countries that have urgent needs for new HIV prevention options?
Reduced-drug treatment becoming common in Paris

Oct 22, 2023 | aidsmap.com | Keith Alcorn

Reduced-drug or intermittent treatment reduced HIV drug costs by 29% between 2015 and 2022 Estimated reading time 3 minutes Almost half of people with HIV receiving care at one of Paris’s largest HIV clinics received antiretroviral regimens consisting of two drugs or intermittent treatment in 2022 and drug reduction strategies almost halved the cost of HIV care between 2015 and 2022, Dr Luis Sagaon-Teyssier reported at the 19th European AIDS Conference (EACS 2023) in Warsaw on Friday.
Adherence counselling reverses viral rebound on dolutegravir in 95% of cases

Aug 1, 2023 | aidsmap.com | Keith Alcorn

Estimated reading time 4 minutes Ninety-five percent of people who experienced viral load rebound while taking dolutegravir in a large clinical trial in South Africa were able to re-suppress viral load with the help of adherence counselling and did not need to switch treatment, Dr Andrew Hill of the University of Liverpool reported last week at the 12th International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Science (IAS 2023) in Brisbane, Australia.
People with HIV remain at higher risk of dying from COVID-19 in the Omicron era

Jul 30, 2023 | aidsmap.com | Keith Alcorn

Estimated reading time 4 minutes Deaths from COVID-19 have fallen much less sharply in people with HIV compared with the rest of the population since the arrival of the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, the World Health Organization reported last week at the 12th International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Science (IAS 2023) in Brisbane. The study found that one in five people with HIV admitted to hospital with COVID-19 died during the Omicron wave compared to one in ten people without HIV.
Integrase inhibitors raise the risk of diabetes regardless of weight gain

Jul 30, 2023 | aidsmap.com | Keith Alcorn

Estimated reading time 5 minutes Integrase inhibitors increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes regardless of how much weight is gained while taking one, a large international cohort study has found. People with HIV taking an integrase inhibitor as part of their HIV treatment had a 48% higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Weight gain on HIV treatment greater in people who start treatment with advanced HIV

Mar 8, 2023 | aidsmap.com | Keith Alcorn