South African ‘Mentor Mothers’ improve perinatal health outcomes

The incidence of HIV infection in South Africa tops that of any nation in the world, with some 6 million of the country’s nearly 50 million residents infected. Sadly, young women — and particularly young pregnant women — suffer some of the highest rates of HIV infection. More than one-fourth of pregnant South African women are infected with the virus; in some communities, the infection rates are even higher.

But a new study conducted by UCLA’s Mary Jane Rotheram-Borus, the director of the UCLA Global Center for Children and Families at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, and her colleagues from Stellenbosch University in South Africa found that community-based interventions could improve the health of children in those contexts. A paper about the randomized controlled trial appears in the current edition of the journal PLoS One.

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NHS to offer tablet which can reduce HIV risk by 90%

A daily tablet that offers up to a 90 per cent reduction in the risk of contracting HIV could soon be available on the NHS, in what is being described as the most significant breakthrough in the battle against the virus in a generation.

A landmark trial in England is to be dramatically sped up after it was found that taking a single dose of the pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) Truvada provided unprecedented levels of protection for those most at risk of infection.

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Robert Weiss, Ph.D. – Analyzing Sexual Behavior from the Healthy Living Project

CHIPTS Methods Seminar – UCLA-Semel Institute Center for Community Health

Analyzing Sexual Behavior from the Healthy Living Project

Robert Weiss, Ph.D.

Professor

Department of Biostatistics

UCLA Fielding School of Public Health

 

Abstract:

Longitudinal behavioral intervention trials to reduce HIV transmission risk collect complex multilevel and multivariate data longitudinally for each subject with important correlation structures across time, level, and variables. Accurately assessing the effects of these trials are critical for determining which interventions are effective. Both numbers of partners and numbers of sex acts with each partner are reported at each time point. Sex acts with each partner are further differentiated into protected and unprotected acts with correspondingly differing risks of HIV/STD transmission. These trials generally also have eligibility criteria limiting enrollment to participants with some minimal level of risky sexual behavior tied directly to the outcome of interest. The combination of these factors makes it difficult to quantify sexual behaviors and the effects of intervention. We propose a multivariate multilevel count model that simultaneously models the number of partners, acts within partners, and accounts for recruitment eligibility. Our methods are useful in the evaluation of intervention trials and provide a more accurate and complete model for sexual behavior. This is joint work with Yuda Zhu.

Robert Weiss is professor in the department of Biostatistics in the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health and a member of the CHIPTS methods core. He is expert in analysis of longitudinal data. He develops statistical methodology for longitudinally collected univariate and multivariate psychometric data, and human behavior generally such as retention in care, self-reported substance use and sexual behaviors. He is author of the advanced introductory textbook Modeling Longitudinal Data (Springer, 2005).

 

Paige Rawl's memoir about growing up HIV-positive is latest TODAY Book Club pick

The latest TODAY Book Club pick is “Positive,” a memoir by Paige Rawl, who was diagnosed as HIV-positive when she was in middle school.

At 15, while battling depression in the wake of the bullying she faced, Rawl attempted suicide by taking one pill for each year of her life.

Fortunately she survived, and at 19 she is now an advocate and mentor helping to educate kids about the dangers of bullying and spreading awareness of HIV and AIDS.

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Half of gay, bisexual men with HIV go untreated

Anti-HIV drugs work to extend lives and slow the spread of the AIDS virus, but fewer than half of infected gay and bisexual men in the United States took those medications in recent years, a new report says.

Treatment was especially scant among young men and black men, says the report from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, published Thursday in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

The report is the latest evidence that “one of the most powerful tools for protecting people’s health and preventing new HIV infections is reaching only a fraction of the gay men who need it,” says David Purcell, deputy director for behavioral and social science in the CDC’s HIV prevention division.

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Los Angeles Women’s HIV/AIDS Task Force Presents the 8th Annual HIV Treatment Summit and Health Resource Fair

On August 14th, 2014, the Los Angeles Women’s HIV/AIDS Task Force held their 8th Annual HIV Treatment Summit and Health Resource Fair at the California Endowment, in downtown Los Angeles. The summit began with opening remarks from Mario Perez, MPH, Director of the Los Angeles County Division of HIV and STD Programs, and keynote presentation from Gail E. Wyatt, PhD, Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior. The event was attend by over 220 HIV positive women, advocates, service providers, and other community members.

Other highlights of the event featured Jordan Lake, MD and Danielle Campbell, MPH, who presented on the importance of participation in clinical trials and why research is important. Also, Nina Harawa, PhD, a core investigator on the CHIPTS Policy Core, led an interactive session exploring the relationship between women and their men who have sex with men and women (MSMW) partners. Kara Chew, MD, a physician at the UCLA CARE Center, also presented on the newest treatments for Hepatitis C and on the transmission and effects of the virus itself.

The event was sponsored by the Magic Johnson Foundation. Among the community partners and supporters of the event included Venice Family Clinic/Common Ground, East LA Women’s Center, UCLA Center for Behavioral and Addiction Medicine (CBAM), UCLA Center for HIV Identification, Prevention and Treatment Services (CHIPTS), UCLA CARE Center, Charles Drew University, JWCH Institute, Special Services for Groups/APAIT, and many others.

Mark A. Wainberg – What if HIV could not develop resistance to a new integrase inhibitor when that compound is used in first-line therapy?

Mark A. Wainberg, Ph.D.
Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
Director, McGill AIDS Centre, Lady Davis Institute
Jewish General Hospital
“What if HIV could not develop resistance to a new integrase inhibitor when that compound is used in first-line therapy?”
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UCLA CFAR/AIDS Institute Grand Rounds
This monthly lecture series, which is offered by the UCLA CFAR / AIDS Institute, consists of hour-long lunchtime lectures, delivered by invited guests or distinguished members of the Institute faculty, on a broad range of subjects. The aims of the program are to highlight important developments in AIDS-related research, encourage collaborations between UCLA investigators and invited speakers, interest young investigators in AIDS research, and provide information about new findings and new funding opportunities.