Long-acting antiretrovirals and HIV treatment adherence.

Intramuscular injection of long-acting cabotegravir and rilpivirine is a novel, long-acting antiretroviral therapy (ART) combination approved for use as a fully suppressive regimen for people living with HIV. Long-acting cabotegravir with rilpivirine ART has reduced required dosing frequency from once daily to once every month or every 2 months injections. This new era of long-acting ART, which includes other antiretrovirals and formulations in various stages of clinical development, holds tremendous promise to change the standard of HIV treatment.

Understanding Women's Vaginal Douching Behaviors and Practices for Consideration in the Development of a Potential Future Vaginal Microbicide Douche for HIV Prevention: A Systematic Review of the Literature.

Despite clinicians consistently advising against vaginal douching, 29-92% of women worldwide report douching. This review documents women's douching practices, motivations for douching, and specific associations (or absence of associations) between vaginal douche use and vaginal outcomes thought to be associated with douching. Understanding women's existing douching behaviors and vaginal health outcomes is critical for developing a safe vaginal microbicide douche that can be used as HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).

Functional mitral regurgitation.

Purpose Of Review: Functional mitral regurgitation (FMR) is a complex condition in which significant mitral regurgitation coexist with cardiomyopathy and heart failure and carries an increased risk for associated morbidity and mortality. In addition to guideline-directed medical therapy and cardiac resynchronization therapy, percutaneous transcatheter mitral valve repair (TMVr) is a new therapeutic option but requires careful selection of the proper candidates. We describe the different mechanisms of functional mitral regurgitation, review echocardiographic parameters to assess its severity, and discuss recently published relevant studies including TMVr.

Conventional Radioiodine Therapy for Differentiated Thyroid Cancer.

This article presents an overview of the use of radioactive iodine (131-I) in the treatment of patients with differentiated thyroid cancer. Topics reviewed include definitions; staging; the 2 principal methods for selection of 131-I dosage; the indications for ablation, adjuvant treatment, and treatment; the recommendations for the use of 131-I contained in the guidelines of the American Thyroid Association and the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging; the dosage recommendations and selection of dosage approach for 131-I by these organizations; the use of recombinant human thyrotropin for radioiodine ablation, adjuvant therapy, or treatment; and the MedStar Washington Hospital Center approach.

Delivery After 40 Weeks of Gestation in Pregnant Women With Well-Controlled Human Immunodeficiency Virus.

Objective: To evaluate whether there is increased mother-to-child transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 associated with deliveries at 40 weeks of estimated gestational age (EGA) or greater in pregnant women with HIV-1 viral loads of 1,000 copies/mL or less.

Methods: We performed a secondary analysis of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development International Site Development Initiative Perinatal and Longitudinal Study in Latin American Countries and International Maternal Pediatric Adolescent AIDS Clinical Trials P1025 cohorts. We included pregnant women with HIV-1 with recent viral loads of 1,000 copies/mL or less at the time of delivery and compared delivery outcomes at between 38 and less than 40 weeks EGA with delivery outcomes at 40 weeks EGA or greater, the exposure of interest.