Active clinical trials for "Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome"

This project aims to assess the effect of group peer support to children with HIV in relation to adherence, virological treatment failure as well as physical development. A randomised controlled trial (RCT) will be used where HIV+ children on antiretroviral treatment (ARV) and their caretakers are randomized into either enhanced treatment support (ETS) through peer supporters or the conventional treatment (CT) according to the guidelines of The National AIDS Control Program. The treatment strategies will be assessed and compared in relation to virological treatment failure as primary endpoint, immunological and clinical (AIDS events and mortality) as secondary endpoints as well as treatment adherence and physical development. The results from this project will lead to an increased knowledge in relation to the impact of enhanced treatment support on adherence, virological suppression and resistance development for children with HIV and have an impact on HIV treatment policies and guidelines for Pediatric HIV in low-income settings globally.

Cryptococcal meningitis is one of the most common central nervous system infections among HIV-infected patients. The outcome is generally severe. This study aims to determine long-term survival rate among HIV-infected CM patients in the era of antiretroviral therapy (ART). The secondary objectives are to clarify outcomes of CM and determine prognostic factors.

This is an investigator-initiated study to measure the impact of an educational intervention on the basic palliative approach for a multidisciplinary staff team at an outpatient HIV clinic. The study aims to: 1) refine a curriculum for non-palliative care clinicians caring for persons living with HIV disease early in the disease trajectory; 2) assess the impact of the palliative approach educational intervention on outcomes for 2 target populations: a) patients (mental health, quality of life, health-related quality of life and secondarily, retention in care and viral suppression) and b) staff (burn-out and caregiving stress). It is hypothesized that training outpatient HIV staff in palliative care competencies will improve care provided that might, in turn, improve clinical outcomes for HIV patients receiving care at that clinic. Quantitative data will be augmented by qualitative interviews of selected staff and patients at both clinics in the final year of the study to appreciate response to the intervention.

The purpose of this study is to assess the safety data of etravirine in a natural clinical practice.

To date, despite the known benefits of antiretroviral therapy (ART), many HIV-infected people are presenting late with very low CD4+ T-cells levels below 350/ul. These patients are more likely to be diagnosed with opportunistic infections, their risk of death is higher and their rate of immunological improvement is slower (Mussini C et al., 2008). These patients often present a real challenge due to their advanced clinical status (Borghi V et al., 2008). Unfortunately, little is known about the clinical presentation of these patients, their responses to antiretroviral treatment and especially about the changes in the adaptive and innate immunity of the GALT.

The overall purpose of the study was to describe the real-life adherence, effectiveness and safety of the Kaletra Adherence Support Assistance (KASA) Program in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive patients who were receiving treatment with lopinavir / ritonavir (LPV/r; Kaletra®) in Canada.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate tolerability of darunavir (PREZISTA) or etravirine (INTELENCE) in patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) who are naïve to these medications and in patients who have experienced tolerability issues on their current or prior combination antiretroviral therapy (cART). The tolerability is evaluated by switching the patients from their previous or current combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) to either darunavir or etravirine.

Despite effective ART that can suppress both HIV and HBV, HBV-related liver disease remains a significant co-morbidity in this population. Little is known about the histologic spectrum of liver disease, the significance of complete vs. incomplete HBV suppression, the utility of novel virologic and serum markers of disease severity, and the long-term renal and bone effects of TDF-based therapy. This proposal will address these important questions and impact the science and health of those coinfected with HBV-HIV.

This study aims at assessing the effect of a demand-creation intervention on couples' HIV counseling and testing (couples' HCT) uptake among married couples who have never tested together as a couple. The study is being implemented in 12 clusters; six intervention and six comparison clusters. A total of 1,538 couples will be enrolled into the study; 769 couples per arm. Couples in the intervention communities are invited to participate in small group, couple-focused or men-only, interactive sessions lasting 3-4 hours in which the advantages and fears associated with couples' HCT are discussed with invited couples to motivate them to consider testing together as a couple. The meetings are reinforced with testimonies from previously tested couples. At the end of the sessions, couples or men receive invitation coupons which they present to a designated health facility to receive couples' HCT services (couples are free to receive individual HCT or not to honor the invitation, if they are not interested in taking the HCT offer). In the comparison communities, standard of care health education activities including general adult community sessions are held but couples do not receive any invitations to test as a couple. Nevertheless, couples in the comparison communities have unlimited access to HIV counseling and testing services that are offered by the Rakai Health Sciences Program within the study communities. The investigators hypothesize that couples in the intervention arm will be more likely to test together than those in the comparison arm. The study objectives include: a) exploring the motivations for and barriers to couples' HCT uptake; b) assessing the effect of a demand-creation intervention on couples' HCT uptake among married couples with no prior couples' HCT experience, and c) exploring the effect of couples' HCT vs. individual HCT on linkage to and retention in HIV care.

The investigators propose to improve HIV prevention and care through expanding HIV testing options to include self-testing for young women, their peers and their sex partners, and by facilitating linkage to care.