Are you interested in herbal medicine for health?An approved herbal medicine study by the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) – Australian Research Centre of Complementary & Integrative Medicine (ARCCIM), in conjunction with the Endeavour College of Natural Health (ECHN) is being conducted from within Herbs on the Hill (Naturopathic and Herbal Clinic) in Brisbane.Who is the study for? Anyone with... Read more
Category Archives: Treatments
The All or Nothing Mindset
In daily living, it is so easy to get overwhelmed with expectations of what you should be doing…that you end up doing nothing.“I should workout five times a week for at least 30 minutes…but that’s overwhelming, so I won’t work out at all.” “I should eat healthier…but I don’t know where to start so I will just keep eating unhealthy food.”Sound familiar? We’ve all been there, but life does not... Read more
Living with Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) and HIV?
It is estimated that about 13% of PLHIV have coinfection with Hepatitis C. In Queensland, this equates to about 360-450 people living with HIV/HCV coinfection. It is known that HIV speeds up hepatitis C disease progression and so worsens hepatitis C outcomes. Less is known of the effect of hepatitis C on HIV, although it may elevate HIV viral load.Hepatitis C can be acquired sexually, and this is rising among gay... Read more
Treatment as Prevention – More Good News
July 12: To coincide with the IAS Conference, Durban, 2016, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) has published the first formal results of the PARTNER Study in a special issue devoted to HIV-related matters (Vol. 316, No. 2).Initially, at the 2014 CROI Conference, the PARTNER study investigators reported their interim (2 year) findings demonstrating zero linked transmissions among sero-discordant... Read more
It May Be Possible to Take Atripla Just Three Times a Week
According to research reported at the ASM Microbe Conference Boston June16-20 2016, people who cut back on taking Atripla (TDF/FTC/efavirenz) from daily to three times a week maintained an undetectable viral load for six months. The study was conducted among 61 HIV-positive people who had an undetectable viral load for at least two years (well controlled HIV), had never developed virologic failure (a rise in viral load)... Read more
The Treatment Evolution…
Better, kinder, easier to take, more tolerable treatments have been the pursuit of HIV drug development research for decades now. Although we have now arrived at a place where a single daily pill may be all that’s currently required for most people (at least for initial treatment), there is more to do to improve the status-quo - particularly for greater convenience, improved long-term tolerability and continuing... Read more
Striking the right balance in the healthcare setting
Active participation in healthcare leads to improved health outcomes. Research studies have indicated that consumers who understand their health conditions and who are actively involved in decisions about their own care are more likely to value treatment programs and have better health outcomes[1].As PLHIV engage in life-long monitoring of their condition it is vital that they are supported to make informed... Read more
Un-detectable Un-transmissible Un-ambiguously…
For many years it’s been know that effective HIV treatment reduces or lowers the risk of sexual transmission of HIV. By how much, is now more certain, poignantly in the absence of condom use.Previous landmark studies (namely HPTN052) measured the protective benefits of HIV treatment PLUS condom use combined, proving 96% reduction in HIV transmission risk predominantly among heterosexual sero-different couples. ... Read more
Information For People Ordering Online Generic HIV Treatments
HIV generic drug online ordering companies can dispense and ship HIV medications to people who have no local HIV medication access through the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) - which provides subsidised treatment to Medicare card holders only. Whilst generic HIV drugs ordered online are dearer than PBS subsidised drugs, they are a high cost saving compared to the full purchase cost of brand HIV drugs.... Read more
Starting Treatment at Low Versus High CD4 Counts
Last month we blogged about the PBS lifting of the 500 CD4 cell count barrier to starting treatment, which is expected in April 2014. This month we review mounting evidence why it’s a good idea to start HIV treatment before the CD4 cell count falls to lower levels.A large cohort study published in the Clinical Infectious Diseases (CID) Journal online in January of this year, and reported here... Read more