Tag Archives: Prep

Most switches to Descovy PrEP are probably unnecessary and some may be harmful

One in eight PrEP users in Boston switched from the better-established formulation Truvada to the newer Descovy, but only 7% of those switching had a clinical indication for doing so. Moreover, 14% made potentially harmful switches, as Descovy may have a negative effect on body weight and cholesterol. The data come from Fenway Health, a… Read More »

England’s big PrEP implementation trial releases its enrolment data: young people under-represented

The first data from the large implementation study of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in England, The IMPACT trial, were presented at the joint British HIV Association and British Association of Sexual Health and HIV conference this week. Chief Investigator, Dr Ann Sullivan of London’s Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, told the conference that although there were… Read More »

High rates of starting and staying on PrEP in pregnant South African women, despite barriers

High initiation and persistence on pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) has been documented in pregnant women in Cape Town, South Africa, with 91% of those offered PrEP starting it and nearly half of those continuing to take PrEP six months later. While women who had given birth and those reporting side effects were less likely to stay… Read More »

African studies explore reasons to start, stick with or stop PrEP

This year’s HIV Research for Prevention (HIVR4P) virtual conference featured a large number of sessions examining PrEP usage and discontinuation rates among a variety of users, especially in Africa. Many of the presentations looked at factors that worked as incentives to keep taking PrEP. There is interest in this because, despite higher initiation rates in a… Read More »

European PrEP programmes face two big issues: how to get more people coming forward, and how to serve them if they do

There remains a substantial gap throughout Europe between the need and desire for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and the number of people actually using it, an online workshop convened towards the end of last year by the European AIDS Clinical Society (EACS) heard. The workshop on PrEP was the second part of its fourth Standard… Read More »

Bacterial STI rates rose in the year before starting PrEP, but not during PrEP, Australian study finds

A study of gay and bisexual male participants in the first large implementation study of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in Australia has found that although rates of bacterial sexually transmitted infections (STIs) were high, they did not increase in the two years after starting PrEP. In contrast, they increased significantly in the year before men… Read More »

Is reducing anxiety a legitimate indication for PrEP in itself?

Australian doctors and nurses discuss PrEP’s role in tackling stigma, supporting U=U, and improving mental health Do doctors and other healthcare workers feel it’s legitimate to prescribe PrEP to people who are anxious about catching HIV, even if their actual risk is low? This question has been rarely been systematically asked of doctors and other… Read More »

Glasgow outreach service shows the feasibility of PrEP for people who inject drugs

A proactive, outreach-based service for people who inject drugs has successfully delivered the HIV prevention medication PrEP in the midst of Glasgow’s HIV outbreak, Dr Ceilidh Grimshaw of Sandyford told the virtual British HIV Association conference this week. Very few PrEP programmes for people who inject drugs have reported results and ongoing engagement with healthcare… Read More »