Canadian AIDS Treatment Information Exchange

A large study finds an increased risk for liver cancer in some HIV-positive people—and offers several interventions that could help reduce the risk.

As CATIE reports, a Canadian study found that people living with HIV were more likely to be lonely than the average person—and that loneliness grew more common the younger a person with HIV was.

IPERGAY scientists recommended that clinicians screen patients who request PrEP, as well as patients who are already using it, for a number of key HCV risk factors.

Montreal scientists found that 88% of cannabis users had an undetectable viral load. This suggests that a very large majority of cannabis users did not have problems adhering to antiretroviral therapy.

The scientists noted that daily ingestion of methadone provides an opportunity to supervise the consumption of HIV medications in places where methadone is dispensed.

A new study puts numbers to increasingly divergent trends in liver-related deaths vs. injection-related deaths in recent years, highlighting both the success of modern HCV treatment and the devastating effects of the opioid crisis.

"Providing HCV treatment alone while neglecting to concurrently address the social determinants of health will do little to improve the health outcomes of the majority of individuals with chronic HCV," the study authors wrote.

This will likely become the landmark study about the overall rate of neuropsychiatric side effects with this class of medicines over the next several years.

"Placing more attention on meeting the sexual health and holistic wellness needs of gay men affected by sexualized substance use is critical," writes the associate director of Ontario's Gay Men's Sexual Health Alliance.

A Canadian study of this cost-saving approach found high acceptance of de-simplification among people already on a single-tablet regimen, and even higher rates among people who were just initiating single-tablet treatment.