BACKGROUND The central nervous system is considered a sanctuary site for HIV-1 replication. Variables associated with HIV cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) viral load in the context of opportunistic CNS infections are poorly understood. Our objective was to evaluate the relation between: (1) CSF HIV-1 viral load and CSF cytological and biochemical characteristics (leukocyte count, protein concentration...

Trends in HIV virulence have been monitored since the start of the AIDS pandemic, as studying HIV virulence informs our understanding of HIV epidemiology and pathogenesis. Here, we model changes in HIV virulence as a strictly evolutionary process, using set point viral load (SPVL) as a proxy, to make inferences about empirical SPVL trends from longitudinal HIV cohorts. We develop an agent-based...

Seminal viral load is likely to be directly related to the sexual transmissibility of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). However, it is not clear whether the level of HIV-1 in semen varies with the stage of infection and whether antiretroviral therapy reduces seminal viral load. A nucleic acid sequence-based amplification (NASBA) technique was used to quantify HIV-1 RNA as an indicato...

OBJECTIVE Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 blood plasma viral load is correlated with the sexual transmission of HIV, although transmission from men involves virus from semen instead of blood. We quantified HIV-1 RNA in the blood and semen of men who did or did not transmit HIV to their sex partners. We compared the relationships of HIV-1 transmission risk with blood plasma viral load, semin...

OBJECTIVE This study aimed to detect and quantify the HIV-1 viral load in ranula fluid of HIV-positive patients. STUDY DESIGN Fourteen HIV-positive patients (13 not on highly active antiretroviral therapy) presenting with ranulas were prospectively evaluated. The viral load in the ranula fluid was quantified, and the results were correlated with CD4(+) cell count and viral load in the patient...

BACKGROUND Recent papers have suggested that expanded combination antiretroviral treatment (cART) through lower viral load may be a strategy to reduce HIV transmission at a population level. We assessed calendar trends in detectable viral load in patients recruited to the Australian HIV Observational Database who were receiving cART. METHODS Patients were included in analyses if they had star...

When adhered to consistently, ART can reduce the HIV viral load in an individual’s blood, semen, vaginal fluid and rectal fluid to such a low level that blood tests can’t detect it.1 This is described as an 'undetectable' viral load or viral suppression. In these circumstances, as long as someone’s viral load remains undetectable, their health will not be affected by HIV and they cannot transmi...

Plasma HIV-1 RNA concentration, or viral load, is an indication of the magnitude of virus replication and largely correlates with disease progression in an infected person. It is a very useful guide for initiation of therapy and monitoring of response to antiretroviral drugs. Although the majority of patients who are not on antiretroviral therapy (ART) have a high viral load, a small proportion...

BACKGROUND Treatment-naïve patients newly diagnosed with HIV occasionally present with low viral RNA of ≤1'000 copies/ml, raising concerns about viral load underestimation. Because falsely low or undetectable viral loads might lead to inadvertent virus transmission or treatment delays, confirmation of such cases by a sequence-independent viral load test is recommended in Switzerland. METHODS ...

BACKGROUND The development of tipranavir and darunavir, second generation non-peptidic HIV protease inhibitors, with marked improved resistance profiles, has opened a new perspective on the treatment of antiretroviral therapy (ART) experienced HIV patients with poor viral load control. The aim of this study was to determine the virologic response in ART experienced patients to tipranavir-ritona...