ssues & ideas EDITOR MURRAY B. HUNT THE VOICE, THURSDAY, MARCH 3, 2016 7 Winning the battle against HIV Testing, transplants, tablets offer new advances in combating the chronic HIV virus New views on HIV transplants Johns Hopkins Hospital is the first to offer donor and recipient transplants between HIV patients By BRIAN KUROKAWA it is the first hospital in the world to do a liver transplant where both donor and recipient are HIV-positive, giving hope to Canadian patients. Doctors in Vancouver, B.C., have ex- perience performing a limited series of liver transplants in HIV-positive peo- ple. So far, all four patients who re- ceived liver transplants have recovered from surgery and are doing well. Regulations for organ transplants are stricter in the U.S. than in Canada, according to Dr. Eric Yoshida, a liver specialist at Vancouver General Hospi- tal. There are no specific legal restric- tions in Canada but specific procedures have to be followed. Until recently, despite a clear medi- cal need for organ transplantation, such procedures were rarely carried out for HIV-positive people because of a number of concerns. These include the short life span of patients and fear of the transplant team becoming infect- ed with HIV either during surgery or via needle-stick injury. However, thanks to the educational and advoca- cy efforts of patients, infectious disease specialists and policy planners, HIV- positive people can now be considered for organ transplantation in B.C., ac- cording to CATIE’s, Canadian AIDS Treatment Information Exchange, website. Yoshida said that enabling the proce- dure to come to Canada is a matter of ensuring the safety of both parties be- forehand. Checking for any potential drug interactions, and making sure the strains of HIV between patients are similar is necessary. CATIE reported that of 28 transplant referrals, five matched the require- ments, however one died before the transplant. “Patients were selected for transplantation based on [the presence of severely worsening liver disease]. There is absolutely no bias against the HIV-infected individual; in fact, we have been their advocates,” said the B.C. doctor’s transplant team. “Tf we were able to use HIV-positive organs, there would have been more organs available for others.” said the transplant team. Ji: Hopkins Hospital announced WIKIPEDIA photo Liver transplant operation. BEEN TESTED FOR AN STI By VERONNICA MACKILLOP any college students are not getting tested for HIV be- cause they do not feel they are at risk of the disease. According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, youths are vulner- la able to HIV be- cause they are un- informed about TI have seen their sexual health. . A recent survey lives af- done by nursing fected by students at Langa- ra College found L HI Vd an d that 65 per cent of I know it Langara students have not been test- can hap- ed for HIV. pent to Stephanie Duke, any bo dy a Langara student, says she is well in- formed about her sexual health. LANGARA “T have seen STUDENT ives affected by {[HIV] and I know that it can happen to anybody,” Duke said. She said that sexual education was lacking in her high school. “T got the whole banana condom thing, but that’s it.” When looking for HIV information, STEPHANIE DUKE OFTEN FROM THAN FROM HEALTH Cui CAN GET TESTED FOR HIV AND STIs AT LANGARA HEALTH SERVICES VERONNICA MACKILLOP photo Window display by student nurses at Student Health Services at Langara College. Students shun HIV test, fail to see risk: officials Testing is a major concern for health service workers on Langara cam- pus: 65 per cent of students have not been tested for HIV Duke said she would go to the Internet. “That’s where everyone seems to turn, but it’s good to have a doctor who is trustworthy.” Dan Patry, a Langara student, said that HIV is not something he actively 1 worries about. “It’s not that I have zero per cent chance of catching it, I just don’t find it to be that likely,” Patry said. 2 He said that he had a good sexual education in high school, but many of his friends did not. 3 Patry said that when looking for HIV information, he would go to his doctor. “T think that’s the best way because you get an impartial opinion from someone who is invested in your health.” Susan Kensett, a nurse from Student 4 Health Services at Langara, believes that not enough students are getting tested, and part of the reason is that students are scared to get the blood 5 work done. “You don’t actually have to have a blood draw,” Kensett said. There is another option called point- 6 of-care testing, which is a small pin- prick on your finger that gives results in under a minute. Over 80 per cent of Langara stu- dents surveyed by the nursing depart- ment have never heard of HIV point-of- care testing. HIV/AIDS fast facts Every 3 hours a person in Canada is infecteed with HIV 1in 4 people living with HIV in Canada are women Aboriginal people make up 12% of HIV infections in Canada but only 4% of the popula- tion 23,700 Canadians living with HIV in 2014 were hetero- sexuals 39,630 Canadians living with HIV in 2014 were gay 75,500 Canadians were currently liv- ing with HIV at the end of 2014 Source: Canadian AIDS Treatment Information Exchange Canadian finds medicine slows aging In patients University of Alberta discovers tablets that will slow down aging process in HIV-positive patients By SIMRAN GILL step forward in preventing the accelerated aging of HIV pa- tients, according to a study done by the University of Alberta. Cholesterol pills have been discov- ered to slow down the aging process. The study states HIV infected indi- viduals experience advanced aging in different organs as the result of chronic inflammation and elevated immune activation. Dr. Daphne Scaramangas, who spe- cializes in internal medicine in Los Angeles, California, said that this new study will be life changing for infected individuals. “ATV infection has become a chron- ic disease and the rapid aging is only one of the negative components of the previous anti-retroviral medication that the patients have been taking,” Scaramangas said. “Patients faced the added challenges such as increased rates of cardiovascular disease, stroke, kidney and liver disease.” Brian Samberg, a peer counselor in Vancouver, said the new medication allows patients to think about their health from a long-term perspective. “We can consider the impact of HIV as we age and take care of ourselves,” he said. According to Scaramangas, choles- terol medications, such as Atorvas- tatin, work because they reduce in- flammation and they are beneficial for the long-term health of patients. “In the recent paper that was pub- lished, it showed that Atorvastatin ef- fectively reduced immune activation, thereby diminishing the systemic in- flammation that leads to premature or accelerated aging,” she said. Dr. Pargat Bhurji, owner of Bhurji Medical Clinic in Surrey, said that HIV patients have an increased risk of heart attack and stroke but the cho- lesterol pills could potentially help decrease those risks even though they may have some negative side ef- fects. “Despite the fact that statin medica- tions have many positive features they still has some drawbacks,” he said. Some of the negative symptoms of the medication are muscle and joint pain according to Bhurji. medication is a major _OF ____ FOR MRJ/MS. SIMRAN GILL photo Cholesterol tablets taken daily.