Research Advances
Tools underestimate cardiovascular event risk in people with HIV
March 4, 2024 - The elevated cardiovascular disease risk among people with HIV is even greater than predicted by a standard risk calculator in several groups, including Black people and cisgender women, according to analyses from a large international clinical trial primarily funded by NIH. The risk of having a first major cardiovascular event was also higher than previously predicted for people from high-income regions and those whose HIV replication was not suppressed below detectable levels.
New guidelines for use of statins by people with HIV to prevent cardiovascular events
February 29, 2024 - The Department of Health and Human Services Guidelines Panel for the Use of Antiretroviral Agents in Adults and Adolescents with HIV (the Panel) has developed recommendations for the use of statin therapy in people with HIV, in collaboration with representatives from the American College of Cardiology, the American Heart Association, and the HIV Medicine Association. The new guidelines, Recommendations for the Use of Statin Therapy as Primary Prevention of Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease in People with HIV, were published on February 27, 2024, and can be found online at ClinicalInfo.hiv.gov
Long-acting HIV treatment demonstrates efficacy in people with challenges taking daily medicine as prescribed
February 21, 2024 - Long-acting antiretroviral therapy (ART) with cabotegravir and rilpivirine was superior in suppressing HIV replication compared to daily oral ART in people who had been unable to maintain viral suppression through an oral daily regimen, according to interim data from a randomized trial. Upon review of these findings, an independent Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) recommended halting randomization and inviting all eligible study participants to take long-acting ART.
NIH-developed HIV antibodies protect animals in proof-of-concept study: findings support the HIV fusion peptide as a promising preventive vaccine target
January 17, 2024 - Three different HIV antibodies each independently protected monkeys from acquiring simian-HIV (SHIV) in a placebo-controlled proof-of-concept study intended to inform development of a preventive HIV vaccine for people. The antibodies—a human broadly neutralizing antibody and two antibodies isolated from previously vaccinated monkeys—target the fusion peptide, a site on an HIV surface protein that helps the virus fuse with and enter cells.
Biomedical STI prevention evidence is inadequate for cisgender women
December 20, 2023 - Pivotal studies of some biomedical HIV and sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevention interventions have excluded cisgender women or demonstrated low efficacy among them, limiting their prevention options relative to other populations who experience high HIV and STI incidence. Findings from an NIH-funded study show doxycycline postexposure prophylaxis (better known as DoxyPEP) did not prevent STI acquisition in cisgender women, despite showing promising results in gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men and transgender women in a previous study.
NIH research identifies opportunities to improve future HIV vaccine candidates: study suggests greater CD8+ T-cell activity may increase HIV immunity
December 14, 2023 - An effective HIV vaccine may need to prompt strong responses from immune cells called CD8+ T cells to protect people from acquiring HIV, according to a new study from researchers at NIH. The study findings draw comparisons between the immune system activity of past HIV vaccine study participants and people with HIV who naturally keep the virus from replicating even in the absence of antiretroviral therapy (ART).
NIH clinical trial of tuberculous meningitis drug regimen begins: six-month multidrug regimen being evaluated against standard treatment
December 7, 2023 - A trial of a new drug regimen to treat tuberculous meningitis (TBM) has started enrolling adults and adolescents in several countries where tuberculosis (TB) is prevalent. The trial will include 330 participants aged 15 years and older who have or are likely to have TBM based on signs and symptoms, including people living with and without HIV.
Generic daily HIV prevention pill for young men who have sex with men could save lives, lower costs, NIH-funded study suggests
October 12, 2023 - Compared to annual HIV screening alone, generic daily oral HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) with HIV screening every three months would result in fewer HIV acquisitions, longer life expectancy, and fewer HIV-associated costs among young men who have sex with men in the United States. These predictions, which come from a simulation study supported by the National Institutes of Health, illustrate the value of promoting PrEP use in this population.
NIH-funded study finds several potential risk factors for high blood pressure disorders of pregnancy in people with HIV
September 27, 2023 - The risk for hypertensive disorders of pregnancy was higher for pregnant people with HIV if they had low CD4+ immune cell counts in the first or second trimester or if they began taking antiretroviral drug regimens after 20 weeks of pregnancy, rather than at conception, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health.
Clinical trial of HIV vaccine begins in United States and South Africa
September 20, 2023 - A trial of a preventive HIV vaccine candidate has begun enrollment in the United States and South Africa. The Phase 1 trial will evaluate a novel vaccine known as VIR-1388 for its safety and ability to induce an HIV-specific immune response in people.
Blocking HIV enzyme reduces infectivity and slows viral rebound
July 26, 2023 - A pair of studies funded by the National Institutes of Health showed that blocking an enzyme involved in forming HIV particles stopped the virus from becoming infectious, suggesting a possible new target for treating HIV infection.
Using content analysis to understand the usage of stigmatizing language in recent scientific literature and its harmful effect on people living with HIV
July 19, 2023 - People living with HIV and experts in the field have long advocated for the use of person-first language, which is a way to emphasize that the disorder, disease, condition, or disability as only one aspect of the whole person. Outdated terms such as “HIV-infected” and “AIDS-infected” are negative and dehumanizing, with the latter being clinically inaccurate. Recently published research supported by NIH performed a content analysis on the usage of HIV-related stigmatizing language in peer-reviewed scientific literature to understand and help address this issue.
Social support promotes HIV suppression among young adults, NIH-funded study suggests
July 17, 2023 - Young adults born with HIV who report average or high levels of social support are more likely to maintain viral suppression than peers with low social support, according to a study of U.S. young adults funded by the NIH. The findings also suggest that having sufficient social support is particularly important just prior to a young adult’s transition from pediatric to adult HIV care.
Daily statin reduces heart disease risk among adults living with HIV
July 24, 2023 – A National Institute of Health-supported study found that statins, a class of cholesterol-lowering medications, may offset the high risk of cardiovascular disease in people living with HIV by more than a third, potentially preventing one in five major cardiovascular events or premature deaths in this population. People living with HIV can have a 50-100% increased risk for cardiovascular disease. The findings are published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Encouraging First-in-Human Results for a Promising HIV Vaccine
June 6, 2023 – The results of an early phase clinical study, published recently in the journal Science Translational Medicine and earlier in Science, showed that an experimental HIV nanoparticle vaccine is safe in people. While the vaccine alone will not offer HIV protection and is intended to be part of an eventual broader, multistep vaccination regimen, the researchers also determined that it elicited a robust immune response in nearly all 36 healthy adult volunteers.
Daily statin reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease in people living with HIV, large NIH study finds
April 11, 2023 – A National Institutes of Health (NIH) clinical trial ended ahead of schedule because of convincing findings that a daily statin medication could reduce the increased risk of cardiovascular disease among people living with HIV. It was the first large-scale clinical study to test a primary cardiovascular prevention strategy in this population.
HIV Can Persist for Years in Myeloid Cells of People on Antiretroviral Therapy
March 27, 2023 — A subset of white blood cells, known as myeloid cells, can harbor HIV in people who have been virally suppressed for years on antiretroviral therapy, according to findings from a small study supported by the National Institutes of Health.
Mixed-Race Woman Potentially Cured of HIV Using Stem Cell Transplant
March 23, 2023 — A woman with leukemia is likely cured of HIV after receiving a transplant including stem cells from banked umbilical cord blood. The result suggests a way to expand the pool of available stem cells for curing HIV in people who require transplants for other medical conditions.
Learn About the Mpox Vaccine
February 14, 2023 — Demetre Daskalakis, MD, MPH, Director, Division of HIV Prevention, National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention at CDC and National Mpox Response Deputy Coordinator, answers some of the most common questions about mpox.
Long-acting antiretroviral therapy suppresses HIV among people with unstable housing, mental illnesses, substance use disorders
February 21, 2023 — A long-acting antiretroviral treatment (LA-ART) given every four to eight weeks, and delivered with comprehensive support services, suppressed HIV in people who were previously not virologically suppressed. This is according to an ongoing demonstration study of 133 people with HIV in San Francisco, funded by the National Institutes of Health. The study focused on reaching people who have historically had decreased access to antiretroviral therapy (ART), including people experiencing housing insecurity, mental illnesses, and substance use disorders. The study findings indicate that long-acting injectable ART can benefit people who face many treatment barriers and are historically underserved.
Experimental HIV Vaccine Regimen Safe but Ineffective, Study Finds
January 18, 2023 - An investigational HIV vaccine regimen tested among men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender people was safe but did not provide protection against HIV acquisition, an independent data and safety monitoring board (DSMB) has determined. The HPX3002/HVTN 706, or “Mosaico,” Phase 3 clinical trial began in 2019 and involved 3,900 volunteers ages 18 to 60 years in Europe, North America, and South America. Based on the DSMB’s recommendation, the study will be discontinued. Participants are being notified of the findings, and further analyses of the study data are planned.
HIV Silencing and Cell Survival Signatures in Infected T Cell Reservoirs
January 5, 2023 — NIH scientists and partners developed technology to provide a genome-wide expression profile of cells harboring latent HIV, which could enable the search for new HIV cure strategies that target infected cell reservoirs.
Early HIV Diagnosis and Treatment Important for Better Long-term Health Outcomes
October 21, 2022 — Starting antiretroviral treatment (ART) early in the course of HIV infection when the immune system is stronger results in better long-term health outcomes compared with delaying ART, according to findings presented today at the IDWeek Conference in Washington, D.C. The findings are based on an extended follow-up of participants in the National Institutes of Health-funded Strategic Timing of Antiretroviral Treatment (START) study.
Three-dose Hepatitis B Vaccine Regimen Protects People with HIV
October 20, 2022 — A three-dose course of the hepatitis B vaccine HEPLISAV-B fully protected adults living with HIV who had never been vaccinated against or infected with the hepatitis B virus (HBV), according to study findings presented today at the IDWeek conference in Washington, D.C. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, sponsors the ongoing Phase 3 ACTG A5379 clinical study.
NIH Announces Additional Funding Awards for Ending the HIV Epidemic Initiative Implementation Research Projects
October 6, 2022 — Last month, as part of their support of the Ending the HIV Epidemic in the U.S. (EHE) initiative, NIH announced 66 awards to institutions participating in the NIH-funded Centers for AIDS Research (CFAR) and the NIMH AIDS Research Centers (ARC) programs. This was the fourth year of NIH investments in EHE-focused research projects. These new awards total $26 million and will support research in 33 of the EHE priority jurisdictions to strengthen research-community collaborations and enhance the implementation science knowledge base needed to end the HIV epidemic.
White House Publishes Federal Implementation Plan for National HIV/AIDS Strategy
August 26, 2022 — The National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS) Federal Implementation Plan reflects the collaborative work of representatives from 10 federal departments and details more than 380 action items they will implement individually and collaboratively. This plan documents federal agencies’ commitments to programs, policies, research, and other activities needed to meet the NHAS goals. These critical activities, which encompass work to for fiscal years 2022–2025, will move our indicators of progress in the right directions.
New Insights into HIV Latent Cells Yield Potential Cure Targets
July 27, 2022 — In a presentation today at AIDS 2022, the 24th International AIDS Conference in Montreal, scientists with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases’ (NIAID) Vaccine Research Center (VRC) and their collaborators described how their use of cutting-edge technology revealed new insights into cellular reservoirs of HIV and what those observations could mean for the next steps in HIV cure research. NIAID is part of the National Institutes of Health.
Finding HIV’s ‘Sweet Spot’
July 22, 2022 — An NIH-funded team has found that patterns of sugars at the surface of our own human immune cells affect their vulnerability to HIV infection.
In people with HIV, treating precancerous anal lesions cuts risk of anal cancer by more than half
June 15, 2022 — Nearly all cases of anal cancer are caused by infection with cancer-causing types of HPV.
Creating a one-stop shop for HIV research
June 9, 2022 — access issue of the Journal of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (JAIDS) will highlight HIV implementation science findings, reported by scientists and implementations teams funded by the National Institutes of Health through the Ending the HIV Epidemic initiative. (JAIDS)
How Lessons From HIV Research Informed COVID-19 Vaccine Trials
May 12, 2022 — A new study shows how community engagement approaches developed by the HIV Vaccine Trials Network strengthened COVID-19 vaccine trials.
Transactional sex, HIV and health among young cisgender men and transgender women who have sex with men in Thailand
April 8, 2022 — Study examines how recent sex work is identified and the HIV risk factors and service needs among Thai cisgender men who have sex with men and transgender women who exchange sex. (Elsevier: Annals of Epidemiology)
NIH launches clinical trial of three mRNA HIV vaccines
March 14, 2022 — Phase 1 study is among first to examine mRNA technology for HIV.
Researchers document third known case of HIV remission involving stem cell transplant
February 15, 2022 — Woman has remained without detectable HIV for 14 months
First HIV Vaccines Administered in Moderna Clinical Trial
January 2022 – Moderna announces the launch of human clinical trials for an experimental HIV vaccine that uses the same kind of mRNA technology found in Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine. (The Hill)
NIH celebrates FDA approval of long-acting injectable drug for HIV prevention
December 21, 2021 — Approval marks pivotal expansion of HIV prevention options in the United States.
Experimental mRNA HIV vaccine safe, shows promise in animals
December 9, 2021 — NIH scientists developed vaccine platform.
AIDS and Behavior: Volume 25, supplement issue 2, November 2021
November 2021 — Includes 14 articles on Innovations in Methods and Measurement Science on the Social Determinants of HIV. (AIDS and Behavior).
Too many people with HIV fail to achieve durable viral suppression
November 30, 2021 — NIH-funded study estimates global progress toward UNAIDS goal.
NIH researchers identify how two people controlled HIV after stopping treatment
October 29, 2021 — Different mechanisms suppressed the virus in each person.
NIH Awards More than $20 Million to International HIV Database Centers
July 22, 2021 — The National Institutes of Health has renewed grants to seven regional centers that compose the International epidemiology Databases to Evaluate AIDS (IeDEA), awarding $20.8 million in first-year funding. The 15-year-old IeDEA program efficiently advances knowledge about HIV by pooling and analyzing de-identified health data from more than two million people with HIV on five continents to answer research questions that individual studies cannot address. The grants are expected to last five years and to total an estimated $100 million.
NIH-funded study tests “one-stop” mobile clinics to deliver HIV, substance use care
June 9, 2021 — Mobile clinics could serve as an innovative strategy for expanding access to care.
HIV Related Stigma Research as a Priority at the National Institutes of Health
April 22, 2021 — The National Institute of Health (NIH) recognizes that ending the HIV epidemic will require eliminating HIV-related stigma, which continues to be a critical barrier to the uptake of evidence-based HIV interventions, and in this article the authors provide an overview of NIH HIV stigma research and findings. (AIDS and Behavior)
NIH experts call for accelerated research to address concurrent HIV and COVID-19 pandemics
April 8, 2021 — The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting people with or at risk for HIV indirectly and direct.
HIV/AIDS in the Era of COVID-19: A Juxtaposition of Two Pandemics
April 7, 2021 — Effective responses to concurrent COVID-19 and HIV/AIDS pandemics require a novel coordinated and collaborative global effort to accelerate biomedical research and implementation science to operationalize evidence-based interventions expeditiously. (The Journal of Infectious Diseases)
Profile: Fogarty Fellow Dr. Joseph Matovu investigates HIV self-testing in Ugandan fishing community
March/April 2021 – When social network leaders were trained to disseminate HIV self-testing kits, more than 95% were properly used and returned. (NIH Fogarty International Center Global Health Matters Newsletter, Image courtesy of Moses Mayombwe)
Scaling Up Covid-19 Vaccination in Africa – Lessons from the HIV Pandemic
March 31, 2021 — Concerns about access to Covid-19 vaccines in Africa resemble concerns raised about responding to the HIV pandemic in the mid-1990s and early 2000s, when highly active antiretroviral treatment was accessible in high-income countries but limited in African countries. (The New England Journal of Medicine)
Methodological and Measurement Advances in Social Determinants of HIV: View from NIH
March 29, 2021 — Lessons learned from a Request for Applications that called for methodological innovations around the social determinants of HIV and provided a unique opportunity to reflect on the state of the science. (AIDS and Behavior)
Final HIV Prevention & Treatment Research Highlights from CROI 2021 (video)
March 12, 2021— Dr. Carl Dieffenbach, director of the Division of AIDS at NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and his colleague Dr. Hillary Hoffman, joined HIV.gov for a conversation about the latest HIV prevention and treatment research presented during the 2021 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections. (HIV.gov)
Unique genotypic features of HIV-1 C gp41 membrane proximal external region variants during pregnancy relate to mother-to-child transmission via breastfeeding
January 2021 - Findings from a pilot study on mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV-1 through breastfeeding raise the possibility for predicting MTCT by breastfeeding based on identifying mothers with high-risk viral populations. (Journal of Clinical Pediatrics and Neonatology)
Antibody Infusions prevent acquisition of some HIV strains, NIH studies find
Tuesday, January 26, 2021 – Results of Antibody-Mediated Prevention Studies funded by the NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases will inform development of long-acting antibody-based HIV prevention tools. (Image Credit: NIAID)
To end HIV epidemic, we must address health disparities
February 19, 2021 — Expert report cites unequal progress in Southern U.S. and among marginalized groups.
This page last reviewed on March 19, 2024