BIO-ALCAMID is a new, injectable substance that can be used to repair the effects of lipodystrophy by correcting small and large soft tissue deficits. It appears to have been of benefit in a randomised group of patients who received it. “A synthetic biopolymer, with unique features that combine to create an implant to make you look fantastic!” says the manufacturer.
Scottish scientists, from universities of Strathclyde and Glasgow and the Scottish Cancer Registry, were surprised, last month, to find the risk of non-Aids defining cancers (such as lung, skin and liver cancer) up to 22 times higher in HIV positive people. Homosexual men topped the list as the group most likely to develop cancers of any kind. The UK’s first dedicated male-only cancer centre opened in Edinburgh last week - hailed as an example of innovation and reform which “puts the patient’s needs at the heart of the health service.”
People who have caught hepatitis A may be protected against asthma, according to US researchers. They believe the virus stops the immune system from reacting to allergens that may trigger asthma in some people. Nevertheless, they said only people with a particular version of a key gene may be protected. “With rates of hep A falling [in the US], it may go some way to explaining why so many people are developing asthma,” said Dr Nicholls, from the University of California. The scientists said further research is needed to confirm their theory that infection in childhood is important in reducing the risk of developing asthma. “This latest study may help us understand why infections, such as hep A may have a protective effect against the development of allergies,” stated Professor Martyn Partridge, medical advisor for the UK’s National Asthma Campaign, adding: “The goal is to find a suitable vaccine to provide the beneficial effects of such early life infections.”
A revolutionary scan may be able to pick out areas where HIV is active, thus
allowing doctors to plan new treatments for the infection. The Positron Emission
Tomography scan (PET) can reveal areas where the immune system is actively
fighting HIV. The research indicates that different tissues are active, depending
on how long they have been infected, and US scientists say that surgery or
radiotherapy may be on the horizon to treat HIV.
In the recently infected patients, any activity was confined to the lymph nodes
in the head and neck; whereas those who had been infected for a little longer
showed signs of lymphatic activity in the ‘peripheral nodes’ (further
from the head and neck). Those infected the longest had activity throughout
the lymphatic system, even including areas of the abdomen. The scientists believe
that by targeting enough nodes the progress of the disease could be restricted.
US prevention experts have blamed recent sharp increases in HIV infection
among gay men on doctors and their gay patients being afraid to talk frankly
about sex. New diagnoses increased by 18 per cent between 1999 and 2002 in
gay men, while staying static among other groups.
A Californian survey revealed that only a quarter of gay patients said they
had talked to someone at their clinic about safer sex practices. This occurs
at a time when the George Bush government has cut back on community HIV prevention
efforts, particularly those aimed at gay men, and redirected the funding into
a blanket programme of HIV testing.
Access to the new Bristol-Myers Squibb anti-HIV drug atazanavir has been widened, so that doctors can prescribe it as appropriate to patients who need it. The protease inhibitor has been made available through an Individual Patient Supply scheme. Previously atazanavir was only available as part of a clinical trial, during which it was prescribed it free of charge to patients with high cholesterol levels and were not responding to drugs. It will now be available for an administration fee of £360 a month.
