Category Archives: Research

Join a research study to help understand how sleep can affect the health of people living with HIV

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The aim of this study is to understand how sleep can affect the health of people living with HIV through effects on the immune system. We hope information from this research will help us find ways to improve sleep or lead to treatments that could reduce the bad effects of poor sleep.

The study involves two (2) visits to Montefiore Hospital. Each visit is about one (1) hour.

man sleeping in bedOn the first visit, subjects would complete questionnaires and get a watch-like device similar to a Fitbit. Subjects would wear the device for two (2) weeks to track their sleep patterns. Subjects would also answer a few questions in a diary each morning about their sleep. At the end of two (2) weeks, subjects would return the watch, complete more questionnaires and provide a urine and blood sample.

Subjects will receive up to $100 for their participation. Parking vouchers or bus fare will also be provided.

Please remember that subjects may choose whether they would like to participate in the study. It is completely voluntary and there are no consequences if subjects decide not to.

To learn more about the study, please call the study team at 412-330-1453 or email them at healthysleep@pitt.edu.  You can also download the study flyer pdf for more information.

Use your brain to help people living with HIV

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Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Nebraska Medical Center are looking for participants living with HIV, and participants not living with HIV, for a non-invasive brain imaging research study.

sculpture of human face and brain

Image courtesy of David Matos

The purpose of the first research study is to investigate brain activity, cognitive functioning, and aging in those living with HIV versus those living without HIV. The human brain and cognitive abilities change as people age, and this research study aims to identify those changes.

The purpose of the second research study is to investigate how chronic cannabis use affects brain activity and cognitive functioning differently in people who are living with HIV and those who are not living with HIV. To study the brain, researchers will be using a series of brain imaging tests, both of which are completely non-invasive. There is no cost to you, and you will receive compensation for your time and travel expenses.

You may be eligible if:

  • You are between the ages of 19 and 72
  • You have not had a stroke or been diagnosed with any neurological or psychiatric disorder(s)
  • You are able to complete a series of mental tasks You are not pregnant or planning to become pregnant
  • You either regularly use cannabis or do not use cannabis

This research study is sponsored by the National Institute of Mental Health. For more information, please call 412-246-5590 or send an email to mindscan2019@gmail.com. You can also download the study brochure.

Switching HIV treatment to delstrigo is safe and effective

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From Poz.com…

People with HIV who switch from a stable antiretroviral (ARV) regimen to Delstrigo (doravirine/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate/lamivudine) had a high rate of full suppression of the virus at the three-year mark in a large Phase III clinical trial.

Princy Kumar, MD, of Georgetown University, presented findings from the open-label, randomized, active-controlled, noninferiority DRIVE-SHIFT trial at the virtual HIV Drug Therapy Glasgow meeting.

Delstrigo contains the relatively new non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) Pifeltro (doravirine), which, like Delstrigo, was approved in September 2019.

Read the full article.

People with HIV are living longer

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From HIV.gov…

The HIV population in the United States is aging. This can be seen as a sign of success as people with HIV are living longer because they are engaged in care and benefiting from effective treatments. Consider these data from the HRSA Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) fact sheet, Older Adult Clients: Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, 2018

  • 46.1% of individuals getting RWHAP care are over 50 years old, similar to the age demographics of all Americans diagnosed with HIV
  • 91.5% of those aged over 50 are virally suppressed, exceeding the RWHAP average of 87%.

The aging trend has been underway for many years and is projected to continue. In 2018, RWHAP clients aged 55 and older accounted for 31% of all clients, up significantly from 16.6% in 2010. A large proportion of RWHAP clients (45-54 years old) are on the cusp of joining the 55+ age group.

graph showing increase in age of HIV positive people

The trend is likely to continue. By 2030, 64% of RWHAP clients are projected to be 50+. See the CROI 2019 poster Projected Growth and Needs of Aging People Living with HIV in HRSA’s Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program , presented by HRSA staff and summarized in the HIV.gov blog HRSA Analyzes Growing Ryan White Client Population Over 50 Years Old .

Trust and stigma affect gay couples’ choices on PrEP and PEP

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From aidsmap.com…

Both relationship-specific and structural factors influence whether coupled gay men living in New York City choose to use pre- and post-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP/PEP) for HIV prevention. Some men – particularly those in monogamous relationships – felt that discussing PrEP and PEP in the context of a relationship could threaten the relationship by raising issues of trust, while others felt that it had the potential to enhance sexual health and satisfaction.

Stigma from the gay community and healthcare providers around promiscuity also presented barriers to PrEP uptake. This qualitative research was conducted by Stephen Bosco, Dr Tyrel Starks and colleagues at City University New York and published in the Journal of Homosexuality.

Gay and bisexual men accounted for 66% of all new HIV diagnoses in the US in 2017. It is estimated that 35-68% of these infections happen within the context of a long-term relationship. This indicates that coupled gay men have the potential to benefit significantly from biomedical prevention strategies, such as PrEP (taken on an ongoing basis) and PEP (taken shortly after a suspected infection). However, only 7% of the potential 1.1 million gay and bisexual men who could benefit from PrEP were prescribed it in 2016. Black and minority men in the US remain most at-risk for HIV infection, while also having the lowest rates of PrEP uptake.

Read the full article.

Unsung heroes: Pittsburgh men, decades-long study impact HIV/AIDS research

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From the Triblive.com…

As they have for more than three decades, the Pitt Men’s Study leaders gathered with about four dozen men and women. They remembered those who have died and gave thanks for the 1,743 men who have participated in the nation’s longest-running HIV/AIDS research project.

Charles Rinaldo, a Ph.D. scientist who has led the effort since the virus surfaced here in 1981, walked solemnly down the center aisle with a group of clergy.

“So here we are again to honor our participants,” the soft-spoken Rinaldo said, welcoming the sparse group. “For 35 years now, you have supported our study for HIV/AIDS. … We can’t thank you enough. Without you, there is no study.”

Every six months, year after year, participants have trekked to Oakland to offer blood and bodily fluids. Their alms have become the foundation of hundreds of research projects.

The Pitt study, conducted in the halls of the university where Jonas Salk developed the world’s first polio vaccine, began before the affliction that has killed an estimated 32 million people worldwide even had a name: human immunodeficiency virus. Or simply, HIV.
Neither the virus nor its final, deadly stage — acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, or AIDS — dominates the news and national fears as they did decades ago. Yet around the world, about 38 million people remain infected. Many are living longer lives thanks to lifesaving, though expensive, medical treatments. But there is no cure — yet.
Worldwide, an estimated 1.7 million people became infected with HIV last year. Another 770,000 died from AIDS-related illnesses.

In the United States, just more than 1 million people are believed to be living with HIV. Although the number of new infections has declined dramatically, nearly 40,000 in the U.S. still contract HIV every year. And about 16,000 people died from AIDS in the United States in 2016.

Because of that, work on the Pitt Men’s Study continues.

Read the full article.

Studies firmly establish “undetectable equals untransmittable”

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From NIH.gov…

Extensive evidence from HIV prevention research studies has firmly established that “Undetectable Equals Untransmittable,” or U=U. This means that people living with HIV who achieve and maintain an undetectable viral load — the amount of virus in their blood — by taking antiretroviral therapy (ART) as prescribed do not sexually transmit HIV to others. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates this strategy is 100% effective against the sexual transmission of HIV.

Now, a new study of nearly 112,000 men who have sex with men in the United States has found increasing acceptance of the U=U message in this population. Overall, 54% of HIV-negative participants and 84% of participants with HIV correctly identified U=U as accurate. The study was supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health. Study results were published online in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes.

“U=U has been validated repeatedly by numerous studies as a safe and effective means of preventing the sexual transmission of HIV,” said Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., NIAID Director. “The increased understanding and acceptance of U=U is encouraging because HIV treatment as prevention is a foundation of efforts to end the epidemic in the United States and around the world. This public health message has the power to reduce stigma, protect the health of people living with HIV and prevent sexual transmission of HIV to others.”

Read the full article.

Only 13% of the gay community utilize LGBT-specific clinics and providers

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From the Windy City Times…

A new study from the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law (Utilization of LGBT-Specific clinics and providers across three cohorts of lesbian, gay, and bisexual people in the United States) found that only a minority ( 13% ) of LGB people have utilized LGBT-specific clinics and providers, but a majority ( 52% ) expressed an interest in utilizing them in the future.

Researchers examined a representative sample of LGB people in the United States from three age groups—young ( 18-25 ), middle ( 34-41 ) and older ( 52-59 )—to understand the factors that influenced past utilization of LGBT-specific clinics and providers and interest in using them in the future.

“The discrepancy between past utilization and interest in future use of LGBT-specific providers suggests there is a disconnect between the type of healthcare many LGB people would like to have and what they have access to,” said lead author Alexander J. Martos, former Research Analyst at the Williams Institute. “Younger, Black LGB people and those with lower incomes reported the greatest interest in LGBT community-based healthcare.”

Read the full article.