New rule allows HIV-positive organ transplants — expected to shorten wait time for all

New rule allows HIV-positive organ transplants — expected to shorten wait time for all

People with HIV who need a kidney or liver transplant will be able to receive an organ from a donor with HIV under a new rule announced Tuesday by US health officials. Previously, such transplants could be done only as part of research studies. The new rule, which takes effect Wednesday, is expected to shorten the wait for organs for all, … Read more

7th person likely ‘cured’ of HIV in a remarkable case

7th person likely ‘cured’ of HIV in a remarkable case

A seventh person has essentially been cured of HIV after receiving a stem cell transplant nearly a decade ago, doctors announced Thursday. The 60-year-old unidentified German man was suffering from acute myeloid leukemia when he underwent the risky procedure to replace his unhealthy bone marrow in October 2015. He quit taking anti-retroviral drugs — which … Read more

CDC issues alert about rare bacteria that can lead to meningitis, possibly death

CDC issues alert about rare bacteria that can lead to meningitis, possibly death

US health officials are warning of an increase in rare bacterial illnesses than can lead to meningitis and possible death. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an alert to US doctors on Thursday about an increase in cases of one type of invasive meningococcal disease, most of it due to a specific strain … Read more

Genetic tool eliminates HIV from infected cells, new research shows: ‘Cure strategy’

Genetic tool eliminates HIV from infected cells, new research shows: ‘Cure strategy’

Scientists have successfully zapped HIV out of infected cells — raising hopes of a cure for the chronic disease. The team from Amsterdam UMC used gene-editing technology to eliminate all traces of the virus from cells in the laboratory, the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases announced Tuesday. “These findings represent a pivotal … Read more

Patient cured of HIV and leukemia is ‘extremely grateful’ 5 years after stem cell transplant

Patient cured of HIV and leukemia is ‘extremely grateful’ 5 years after stem cell transplant

Five years after receiving a life-changing stem cell transplant, a 68-year-old man says he’s “extremely grateful” to be essentially cured of acute myelogenous leukemia and in HIV remission. “Many City of Hope doctors, scientists, nurses, supportive care professionals and others made it possible for me to be cured of leukemia and in remission for HIV. I … Read more

Dear Abby: I don’t know if I should tell my kids my boyfriend has HIV

Dear Abby: I don’t know if I should tell my kids my boyfriend has HIV

DEAR ABBY: I am a gay man who came out late in life. I have three grown, married children and five grandchildren. They are my world, and we are all very close. I’ve had one partner. My family readily accepted and welcomed him because he made me happy. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out.  I have … Read more

After COVID’s devastating toll, the US needs a ‘Pentagon’ for diseases

After COVID’s devastating toll, the US needs a ‘Pentagon’ for diseases

We lost about three times as many Americans to COVID-19 as we did in World War II.  Certified COVID deaths totaled roughly 1.1 million in the US, while fewer than 420,000 Americans died in the war. That’s more deaths per capita than any other developed nation. Only Peru, Bulgaria, and a few Eastern European countries … Read more

Over 400 patients warned of HIV, hepatitis exposure in US hospital

Over 400 patients warned of HIV, hepatitis exposure in US hospital

Most people go to the hospital to get cured of disease. But almost 450 patients at Salem Hospital in Massachusetts have now been warned of their possible exposure to hepatitis and HIV. The exposure was caused by intravenous (IV) medication errors over the past two years. Officials at Salem Hospital, located some 16 miles north … Read more

TikTok ‘doctor’ revealed as total fraud who gave people health advice on cancer, HIV while donning scrubs

TikTok ‘doctor’ revealed as total fraud who gave people health advice on cancer, HIV while donning scrubs

An Australian woman who portrayed herself as a doctor and gave people all sorts of health advice over TikTok and Instagram revealed she was faking her profession the whole time, according to The Sun. Dalya Karezi plead guilty Wednesday and was sentenced to a two-year community corrections order at Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court, Yahoo … Read more

‘Geneva patient’ could be sixth person to achieve HIV remission

‘Geneva patient’ could be sixth person to achieve HIV remission

A European man has reportedly been in remission from HIV for two years, following a stem cell transplant to treat blood cancer. Confirmation would make him the sixth person in history to become HIV-free. Unlike the other five people who have achieved HIV remission through stem cell transplants, the donor for this unidentified patient did … Read more

More gay, bisexual men can donate blood as FDA updates rules

More gay, bisexual men can donate blood as FDA updates rules

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has finalized a rule allowing more gay and bisexual men to donate blood. Under the new guidelines, released on Thursday, men who have sex with men who are in a monogamous relationship won’t have to abstain before donating blood. However, people who have had anal sex with a new … Read more

HIV patient becomes oldest, 5th cured worldwide: ‘I wasn’t ready to die’

HIV patient becomes oldest, 5th cured worldwide: ‘I wasn’t ready to die’

Paul Edmonds thought his AIDS diagnosis was a death sentence. Now, over three decades later, he’s made medical history as one of the five people worldwide to be cured of HIV. Edmonds, 66, and his husband, Arnie House, were both HIV-positive when they were first diagnosed all those years ago. Thanks to medical advancements, the … Read more

Flesh-eating mpox virus more deadly for those with HIV: study

Flesh-eating mpox virus more deadly for those with HIV: study

A new study has found that the flesh-eating mpox virus is particularly deadly for people living with HIV. Mpox — previously known as “monkeypox” before it was renamed last November amid concerns of racism — infected thousands of people last year, prompting a “public health emergency.” Now, a new study published in the Lancet has … Read more

Third person ‘cured’ of HIV after risky stem cell transplant

Third person ‘cured’ of HIV after risky stem cell transplant

A German man has become the third person ever to be effectively “cured” of HIV thanks to a stem cell transplant ten years ago. His breakthrough case was first announced in 2019, it wasn’t until Monday that researchers confirmed he was indeed HIV-free. “We don’t think there’s a functional virus present,” Dr. Björn Jensen, the … Read more

Only HIV vaccine in advanced trials failed: ‘Obviously disappointing’

Only HIV vaccine in advanced trials failed: ‘Obviously disappointing’

The last HIV vaccine in a late-stage trial has failed, researchers announced Wednesday, dealing yet another blow to the decades-long efforts to end the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Called “Mosaico,” the trial began in 2019 as one of three late-phase HIV vaccine studies. Some 3,900 men and transgender people between the ages of 18 and 60 received … Read more

How one scientist lost big trying to genetically ‘enhance’ unborn babies

How one scientist lost big trying to genetically ‘enhance’ unborn babies

In early 2018, Dr. He Jiankui, a then-34-year-old Chinese biophysicist, traveled to an Arizona science conference to meet with one of his heroes, the Nobel Prize-winning geneticist James Watson, a man who first proposed the double helix structure of DNA molecules back in 1953.  Dr. He was in the midst of a big experiment of … Read more

Parallels to HIV: Another Fatal Monkey Virus Could Be Poised for Spillover to Humans

Parallels to HIV: Another Fatal Monkey Virus Could Be Poised for Spillover to Humans

An obscure family of viruses, already endemic in wild African primates and known to cause fatal Ebola-like symptoms in some monkeys, is “poised for spillover” to humans. Evoking parallels to HIV, authors are calling on global health community to be vigilant. According to new research, an obscure family of viruses, already endemic in wild African … Read more

Gay men are the “canary in the coal mine” of future pandemics, warns doc seeking HIV cure

Gay men are the “canary in the coal mine” of future pandemics, warns doc seeking HIV cure

Posed by models (Photo: Shutterstock) The trial of a potential HIV cure is underway. The scientists involved hope for initial results by November. One of them also has stark warnings about the threat to humanity of future pandemics. He believes that, as seen with HIV and monkeypox, gay men could be the “canary in the … Read more