ATLIS Study Uncovers 'Positive' Side Of Living With HIV/AIDS

In its 30 year history, few (if any) positive aspects of the HIV/AIDS epidemic have made the spotlight, but advances in treatment and a new study are aiming to turn that around and to demonstrate to HIV/AIDS patients that they can still have a high quality of life while undergoing treatment.

The AIDS Treatment for Life International Study (ATLIS) collected information about treatment awareness from more than 2,000 patients across 12 countries, the largest patient survey of its kind.

"We were able to, for the first time ... garner an understanding of what that patient goes through from a treatment perspective, but also from a personal perspective," says Lindsay Deefholts of Cohn & Wolfe, one of the companies involved in the research.

"We didn't want to just uncover the negatives associated with this disease. There are a whole lot of positives that we were able to learn about with these findings," Deefholts says. "It actually gave a lot of hope and it was something to celebrate ... there's a lot of good that's also happening."

One result of the findings is the first-ever set of treatment guidelines for HIV, which have yet to be released by the National Institutes of Health. Researchers from the International Association of Physicians in AIDS Care, or IAPAC, which sponsored the study, also cited new treatment options with fewer side effects, in an effort to strengthen communication between doctors and patients when it comes to adherence to medication and the long-term benefits patients can experience as a result.

The findings also revealed the need for more individualized treatment and greater focus on co-morbidities, which refer to the other health conditions that can be exacerbated by HIV or its treatments, such as heart disease, stroke or kidney failure.

"It's great that HIV clinicians are focusing on antiretroviral therapies and patients are doing so much better," Renslow Sherer, professor of medicine at the University of Chicago and member of the ATLIS team, told the Chicago Tribune when the study findings were presented last year. "But people are now dying from heart disease, liver disease, kidney disease and stroke ... We just want to make sure that both patients and doctors treating people with HIV don't just focus on the T-cells," he says.

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Comments

[Elvira Walker]

08:52 PM on 11/17/2011

For some, it's a little too late.

[NYGHTCLOUD]

09:56 AM on 11/16/2011

I have been living with this for nearly 20 years. My face is part of a campaign in Memphis, TN to help those who may be out care get the care they need. So it is very ironic that I moved to Georgia to start serving in a church I love, but this state is fighting me in everyway in getting the healthcare I need. I have not be able to get to a doctor since living here. I don't know what my numbers are at this point, but I through God's grace I am still doing very well. HIV is not a death sentence and I have no intent of being taken out by it even though it seems the State of Georgia wants me to die. Many who find out now only have to take one pill a day and they are fine. I still have to take (if Georgia ever tries to help me) a bunch of medications, but the fact remains that I have not and will not die from this and neither does anyone who takes care of themselves and adheres to the drug treatment prescribed.

[hjo4]

11:25 PM on 11/16/2011

Where are you in Georgia ,there must be a service to HIV+ patients somewhere, please network and KNOW your numbers. Your attitude is great, the motto " I have HIV+, it does not have me " certainly applies to you. Good Luck and best of health.

[NYGHTCLOUD]

12:13 AM on 11/17/2011

Thank you very much. God is my source and I trust His word. He will work this situation out and I will return to full health at the end of this ordeal. Under God's protection, I win all the time. Thanks again. Be blessed.

[thebearclaw007]

07:58 PM on 11/15/2011

Each day is a blessing, and whether you are HIV+ or not you should enjoy each day. Tomorrow isn't promised to anyone.

[patientX]

07:08 PM on 11/15/2011

If you cant afford your CANCER drugs US taxpayers will foot the bill too...
USA sending foreing aid when fellow USA citizens cant afford HIV care or medicines.Other countries giving away HIV drugs regardless of the income. Ex. Canada, Mexico, Australia, EU, South America. We encourage HIV/AIDS awarness and testing while private insurance companies deny coverage to hiv positive. Is something wrong with this picture?

[Skylar Perkins]

03:38 PM on 11/15/2011

Positive side: If you can't afford the expensive HIV drugs the US taxpayers will foot the bill
Negative side: You have HIV

[Jim Pickett]

12:42 PM on 11/16/2011

Uh - tell that to the 6,411 individuals on the federal ADAP (AIDS Drug Assistance Program) waiting lists in twelve (12) states - current data of 11/15/11. And tell it to the half a million people with HIV who have inconsistent access to care - due to lack of insurance, poor insurance. The US taxpayers are letting these folks fall right through a very, very weak safety net.

[DanSc]

03:18 PM on 11/15/2011

Yet, oddly, I still don't want HIV

[melissafwms]

10:25 PM on 11/15/2011

Uh me either Dan!