Pharmacy Week in Review: Early ART May Preserve CD4 Helper T Cells, ASHP Coverage Coming

This weekly video program provides our readers with an in-depth review of the latest news, product approvals, FDA rulings, and more. Our Week in Review is a can't miss for the busy pharmacy professional.

Transcript

Hello and welcome to the Pharmacy Times News Network. I’m Nicole Grassano your host for our Pharmacy Week in Review.

The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists Summer Meeting starts this weekend in Boston from June 8 to 12, and Pharmacy Times will be on location to deliver coverage. The meeting offers plenty of opportunities to attend informative sessions covering everything from patient care to medication safety, and more. One key session you will want to look for is The Psychology of Pain: Managing Expectations and Offering Solutions, which examines practices for treating pain, and opportunities for collaboration between pharmacists and other health care providers on medical teams. Another session is On the Front Lines of Safety: Implementing a Pharmacy-Based Opioid Clinic, which evaluates the opportunity for clinical pharmacy practice expansion in opioid safety and risk mitigation. Check back for updates at PharmacyTimes.com, in our daily e-newsletters, and on our social-media channels: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter, for articles and videos from Boston.

Contemporary Clinic will be covering the American Diabetes Association’s 79th Scientific Sessions at the Moscone Center in San Francisco from June 7 to June 11. The meeting will feature new findings and significant advances in diabetes research, treatment, and care. During the 5-day conference, attendees will have access to more than 180 sessions and 2000 original research presentations to engage with leaders in diabetes care. Attendees will also have the opportunity to network with colleagues from around the world and exchange ideas. The meeting will also feature key findings from highly anticipated study announcements, including new data on cardiovascular prevention trials. Continuing education credit will also be available on site for health care professionals in attendance. Keep an eye on ContemporaryClinic.com for updates on informational sessions and research about the latest diabetes drugs, along with interviews of key opinion leaders. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, to stay up-to-date.

Instituting combination antiretroviral therapy during the early stages of HIV infection may generate functional CD8 “killer” T-cells and preserve CD4 helper T cells, which are the virus’ primary target, Specialty Pharmacy Times reported. In a study, hyperacute HIV infection was detected in 46 of the participants, who were women primarily from South Africa. Twenty-six of these participants began receiving ART within 24 to 48 hours of initial detection, 8 participants began receiving ART at later stages of infection, and 12 began treatment when CD4 T cells dropped below 350, the standard treatment guideline for South Africa at the time. While immediate HIV-specific CD8 T cell response of women receiving early ART was much less intense than those whose treatment began later, that response remained functional and persistent. This was indicated by continued expression of genes associated with key antiviral cytokines. Understanding what constitutes a “good” immune response to HIV gives us important information for vaccine design and could guide the development of interventions to achieve these kinds of responses in chronic infection.

Pharmacists may get more questions about Trintellix, if patients have seen a recent commercial for the prescription medication. In the spot, called “Dirty Laundry” the narrator states that depression’s multiple symptoms can drain a patient’s energy and focus on a constant basis. According to the commercial, Trintellix is a prescribed medication that can help those who suffer from major depressive disorder when taken regularly as prescribed.

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Thanks for watching our Pharmacy Week in Review. I’m Nicole Grassano at the Pharmacy Times News Network.