Formation | 1987 |
---|---|
Founder | Peter Scott |
Purpose | Independent, accurate & accessible information about HIV |
Headquarters | United Kingdom |
Executive Director | Matthew Hodson |
Website | www |
Formerly called | National Aids Manual |
Aidsmap, also known as NAM aidsmap, is a website which publishes independent, accurate and accessible information and news about HIV and AIDS. [1] [2] [3] [4] The aidsmap website is run by a charity based in the United Kingdom, NAM. [1]
"NAM" originally stood for "national AIDS manual" and referred to a 1987 compendium of all information about HIV published for non-scientists in England. [5] [6] [2] [7] Since aidsmap became an international organisation, [3] NAM is no longer used as an acronym and there is no longer any particular "aids manual" being maintained. [8] [9] [2]
NAM aidsmap's vision is a world where HIV is no longer a threat to health or happiness.
NAM was founded in 1987 [2] by Peter Scott, [5] [10] who was then working for the London Lesbian and Gay Switchboard. He was seeking to address the public's demand for a source of information about HIV. [11]
Subsequent Directors were Will Anderson (to 1996), [12] Colin Nee (1996–2001), [12] [13] Caspar Thomson (2001–2016) [14] [12] and Matthew Hodson (2016–present). [14] [15] [12]
In 1992 the organisation began publishing the newsletter now called the HIV Treatment Update, [16] which was designed to give patients the information they need to help direct their choices for HIV treatment. [11] [17] [18] [19]
In 1998 aidsmap.com was launched as an online resource [2] [20] [21] for all printed materials. It was a partnership project involving NAM and The British HIV Association, [21] [20] [22] and later the International HIV/AIDS Alliance. The original site editors were Edward King [23] and Keith Alcorn. [24]
In 2006 aidsmap.com was awarded first prize in the Patient Information Website category of the 2006 British Medical Association’s (BMA) Medical Books Competition. [25]
In 2019, NAM aidsmap launched its new aidsmap website after a major redevelopment project. [26]
In December 2019, aidsmapLIVE, an HIV information series broadcast on NAM's social media channels, won both the Innovation and Media award at the nOscars, hosted by Naz Project London. [27] [28]
Zidovudine (ZDV), also known as azidothymidine (AZT), was the first antiretroviral medication used to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS. It is generally recommended for use in combination with other antiretrovirals. It may be used to prevent mother-to-child spread during birth or after a needlestick injury or other potential exposure. It is sold both by itself and together as lamivudine/zidovudine and abacavir/lamivudine/zidovudine. It can be used by mouth or by slow injection into a vein.
The management of HIV/AIDS normally includes the use of multiple antiretroviral drugs as a strategy to control HIV infection. There are several classes of antiretroviral agents that act on different stages of the HIV life-cycle. The use of multiple drugs that act on different viral targets is known as highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). HAART decreases the patient's total burden of HIV, maintains function of the immune system, and prevents opportunistic infections that often lead to death. HAART also prevents the transmission of HIV between serodiscordant same-sex and opposite-sex partners so long as the HIV-positive partner maintains an undetectable viral load.
HIV-positive people, seropositive people or people who live with HIV are people infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus which if untreated may progress to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).
amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research, known until 2005 as the American Foundation for AIDS Research, is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to the support of AIDS research, HIV prevention, treatment education, and the advocacy of AIDS-related public policy.
Auranofin is a gold salt classified by the World Health Organization as an antirheumatic agent. It has the brand name Ridaura.
HIV/AIDS was first diagnosed in 1981. As of year-end 2018, 160,493 people have been diagnosed with HIV in the United Kingdom and an estimated 7,500 people are living undiagnosed with HIV. New diagnoses are highest in gay/bisexual men, with an estimated 51% of new diagnosis reporting male same-sex sexual activity as the probable route of infection. Between 2009 and 2018 there was a 32% reduction in new HIV diagnosis, attributed by Public Health England (PHE) to better surveillance and education. PHE has described an "outbreak" in Glasgow amongst people who inject drugs, and has campaigns targeting men who have sex with men in London and other major cities. London was the first city in the world to reach the World Health Organization target for HIV, set at 90% of those with HIV diagnosed, 90% of those diagnosed on HAART and 90% of those on HAART undetectable. The UK as a whole later achieved the same target. Under the Equality Act 2010, it is illegal to discriminate against someone based on their HIV status in the UK.
Etravirine is a drug used for the treatment of HIV. Etravirine is a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI). Unlike the currently available agents in the class, resistance to other NNRTIs does not seem to confer resistance to etravirine. Etravirine is marketed by Janssen, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. In January 2008, the Food and Drug Administration approved its use for patients with established resistance to other drugs, making it the 30th anti-HIV drug approved in the United States and the first to be approved in 2008. It was also approved for use in Canada on April 1, 2008.
Long-term nonprogressors (LTNPs), are individuals infected with HIV, who maintain a CD4 count greater than 500 without antiretroviral therapy with a detectable viral load. Many of these patients have been HIV positive for 30 years without progressing to the point of needing to take medication in order not to develop AIDS. They have been the subject of a great deal of research, since an understanding of their ability to control HIV infection may lead to the development of immune therapies or a therapeutic vaccine. The classification "Long-term non-progressor" is not permanent, because some patients in this category have gone on to develop AIDS.
Health in Vietnam encompasses general and specific concerns to the region, its history, and various socioeconomic status, such as dealing with malnutrition, effects of Agent Orange as well as psychological issues from the Vietnam War, tropical diseases, and other issues such as underdeveloped healthcare systems or inadequate ratio of healthcare or social workers to patients.
Avert is an international charity that uses digital communications to increase health literacy on HIV and sexual health, among those most affected in areas of greatest need, in order to reduce new infections and improve health and well-being.
Censavudine (INN) (BMS-986001) is an investigational new drug being developed by Bristol Myers-Squibb for the treatment of HIV infection. It was originally developed at Yale University. It is still in an investigational phase of development as of 2023.
The STEP Study was a Phase IIb clinical trial intended to study the efficacy of an experimental HIV vaccine based on a human adenovirus 5 (HAdV-5) vector. The study was conducted in North and South America, the Caribbean, and Australia. A related study using the same experimental vaccine was conducted simultaneously in South Africa. These trials were co-sponsored by Merck, the HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN), and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), and had an Oversight Committee consisting of representatives from these three organizations. In South Africa the trial was overseen by the South African AIDS Vaccine Initiative.
Adult-onset immunodeficiency syndrome is a type of immunodeficiency. It is linked to vulnerability to disseminated infections brought on by opportunistic pathogens. People with this condition have increased levels of anti-interferon-gamma autoantibodies. These particular immune system proteins mistakenly target an individual's own tissues. It is most commonly reported among previously healthy Southeast Asians. The average age of onset is between 30 and 50 years. Non-tuberculous mycobacteria, non-typhoidal salmonella, cytomegalovirus, Penicillium marneffei, and varicella zoster virus are some of the pathogens that can cause infections in patients with this illness. Symptoms vary depending on the infection(s) present in each individual.
HIV/AIDS research includes all medical research that attempts to prevent, treat, or cure HIV/AIDS, as well as fundamental research about the nature of HIV as an infectious agent and AIDS as the disease caused by HIV.
Dame Anne Mandall Johnson DBE FMedSci is a British epidemiologist, known for her work in public health, especially the areas of HIV, sexually transmitted infections and infectious diseases.
Viral load monitoring for HIV is the regular measurement of the viral load of individual HIV-positive people as part of their personal plan for treatment of HIV/AIDS. A count of the viral load is routine before the start of HIV treatment.
Ya-Chi Ho is a Taiwanese infectious disease researcher and Associate Professor of Microbial Pathogenesis and Medicine at Yale University. Her research centers on the interaction between HIV and the host's immune system with the ultimate goal of curing HIV/AIDS.
The Edinburgh City Hospital was a hospital in Colinton, Edinburgh, opened in 1903 for the treatment of infectious diseases. As the pattern of infectious disease changed, the need for in-patients facilities to treat them diminished. While still remaining the regional centre for infectious disease, in the latter half of the 20th century the hospital facilities diversified with specialist units established for respiratory disease, ear, nose and throat surgery, maxillo-facial surgery, care of the elderly and latterly HIV/AIDS. The hospital closed in 1999 and was redeveloped as residential housing, known as Greenbank Village.
Lenacapavir, sold under the brand name Sunlenca, is an antiretroviral medication used to treat HIV/AIDS. It is taken by mouth or by subcutaneous injection.
Margaret Johnson is a British physician who is a consultant in thoracic medicine and chair of the St John & St Elizabeth Hospital. In the late 1980s, she was the first dedicated HIV doctor at the Royal Free Hospital.