People living with HIV are increasingly experiencing a range of non-AIDS-related comorbidities as the population ages, including cardiovascular disease, kidney impairment, and bone loss leading to fractures, according to research presented at the recent IDWeek 2016 meeting in New Orleans.

A coformulation of tenofovir alafenamide (TAF) plus emtricitabine, used with a third antiretroviral drug, maintained viral suppression as well as tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) plus emtricitabine in older individuals, and was associated with improvements in kidney function and bone density, which may be of greater concern for this group, according to a presentation last week at IDWeek 2106 in New Orleans.

Long-term use of omega-3 fatty acid supplements was associated with reduced levels of triglycerides and the inflammation biomarker C-reactive protein (CRP) in HIV-positive people with suppressed viral load, according to research presented last week at IDWeek 2016 in New Orleans.

A new 3-drug regimen of sofosbuvir, ledipasvir, and voxilaprevir, taken without ribavirin for 8 weeks, produced sustained virological response in 96% of previously untreated patients with all hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypes, while a 12-week course cured 99% of treatment-experienced patients, researchers reported at the recent IDWeek meeting in New Orleans. Response rates dropped off, however, when treatment was shortened to 6 weeks.

Ibalizumab, an experimental antiretroviral agent that works differently than existing HIV drugs, demonstrated promising safety and antiviral activity in a small Phase 3 study of people with highly drug-resistant virus, according to a report at the IDWeek conference this week in New Orleans. If confirmed in larger studies, this could be good news for HIV patients who cannot be successfully treated using available therapies.

A once-daily regimen containing the potent HIV integrase inhibitor dolutegravir worked better than an older atazanavir-containing regimen -- with higher rates of viral suppression both overall and across race subgroups -- in the ARIA trial, one of the few antiretroviral therapy studies to enroll only women, according to a presentation at IDWeek last week in New Orleans.

Rates of gonorrhea, syphilis, and chlamydia have risen steeply at Fenway Health in Boston since 2011, according to presentation last week at IDWeek in New Orleans. Being HIV-positive and using pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to prevent HIV were associated with higher risk of getting-sexually transmitted infections (STIs), but more frequent STI testing and treatment could potentially help reduce the numbers.

Routine surveillance in southern Ohio has detected a steep increase in gonorrhea showing resistance to ciprofloxacin or reduced susceptibility to azithromycin, according to a presentation at IDWeek last week in New Orleans. Azithromycin is one of the 2 drugs in the sole recommended gonorrhea treatment regimen in the U.S., but no resistance to ceftriaxone, the other drug in that regimen, was seen.

In the face of extensive research showing that HIV-positive people on antiretroviral therapy (ART) with stable undetectable viral load have an extremely low likelihood of transmitting the virus, a majority of participants at IDWeek 2016 in New Orleans thought they should still be advised to use condoms -- a proportion that actually increased after a debate that laid out the evidence.

A machine learning algorithm used to analyze electronic health records (EHRs) identified high-risk individuals who could potentially benefit from HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), according to a report presented this week at IDWeek 2016 in New Orleans. Out of 800,000 patients in a large EHR database, more that 8000 were found to be potential PrEP candidates.

In the absence of national screening guidelines, only 11% of HIV-positive gay and bisexual men in the U.S. received anal Pap smears to detect anal cancer or precancerous cell changes during 2009-2012, with disparities between patient groups and variations across centers, according to a presentation at IDWeek, taking place this week in New Orleans.