HIV Scientists Refocus Research Efforts

U.S. medical scientists say they are refocusing research efforts as HIV patients live longer and develop associated maladies such as hepatitis.

The longer lifespan of HIV patients is due to the development of better therapies, said the scientists, but now the research must look at the accompanying diseases that traditionally have not been emphasized.

People are living longer with HIV now, but then we see people developing complications from liver disease due to hepatitis, said Dr. Mamta Jain, assistant professor of internal medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. "Before we had effective HIV therapy, there was no interest in treating hepatitis C because the thought was the patient would die of AIDS.

Well, they’re not dying of AIDS, so we are making an effort to try to treat more patients for hepatitis C.

Other diseases, such as cirrhosis or hepatocellular cancers, progress faster in co-infected HIV and hepatitis patients. As a result, healthcare providers are trying to intervene as early as possible, said Jain, who specializes in infectious diseases.