Newsletter
Volume 6, Issue 3
July 2019 – September 2019
Check out the current issue of URBAN ARCH News, the quarterly newsletter bringing you news on the latest URBAN ARCH and related research.
URBAN ARCH: Summer 2019 & Beyond!
Check out what we have been up to this summer in our photo collage and the updates below!
- Job Posting: The Administrative Core is hiring a Project Manager and Research Assistant to join their team! Please email natalia.gnatienko@bmc.org for more information.
- New Publication: Development of a tailored, telehealth intervention to address chronic pain and heavy drinking among people with HIV infection: integrating perspectives of patients in HIV care. (Palfai et al., Addict Sci Clin Pract)
- New Publication: Association between alcohol use and inflammatory biomarkers over time among younger adults with HIV – The Russia ARCH observational study. (So-Armah et al., PLoS One)
- New Publication: Zinc deficiency and advanced liver fibrosis among HIV and hepatitis C co-infected anti-retroviral naïve persons with alcohol use in Russia. (Barocas et al., PLoS One)
- New Publication: A strengths-based case management intervention to link HIV-positive people who inject drugs in Russia to HIV care. (Samet et al., AIDS)
In this issue, we interview Kara Magane, the Director of Research Operations in the Department of Community Health Sciences at the Boston University School of Public Health.
Click on the buttons to see what the URBAN ARCH Cohorts and Cores have been working on.
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Article Spotlight
Heavy Alcohol Use Associated With Inflammatory Biomarkers Among People Living With HIV
Russia ARCH investigators recently evaluated the association between heavy alcohol use* and biomarkers of monocyte activation (soluble CD14 [sCD14]), inflammation (interleukin-6 [IL-6]), and altered coagulation (D-dimer) among 350 antiretroviral therapy-naive people living with HIV (PLWH). Alcohol consumption was measured by self-report augmented by phosphatidylethanol (PEth), an alcohol biomarker. Participants’ baseline characteristics were: 71% male; mean age of 34 years; 87% self-reported hepatitis C; and 86% had current smoking. They were assessed at baseline, 12, and 24 months.
- Compared with non-heavy alcohol use, heavy alcohol use was associated with higher sCD14 (adjusted mean difference, 125 ng/mL), IL-6 (ratio of means, 1.35 pg/mL), and D-dimer (ratio of means, 1.20 ug/mL) across the two-year follow-up.
* Defined as consumption of >4 standard drinks in a day (or >14 standard drinks/week) for men and >3/day (or >7/week) for women. PEth threshold = ≥80 ng/mL.
Comments: Among PLWH, heavy alcohol use was associated with elevated inflammatory biomarkers over time. Since these biomarkers are associated with mortality, interventions to mitigate effects of heavy drinking on these immune processes merit consideration.
Reference: So-Armah KA, Cheng DM, Freiberg MS, et al. Association between alcohol use and inflammatory biomarkers over time among younger adults with HIV-The Russia ARCH Observational Study. PLOS One. 2019;14(8):e0219710. PMCID: PMC6705834
Selected NIH Notices and Funding Opportunities
- Administrative Supplements to Existing NIH Grants and Cooperative Agreements (Parent Admin Supp Clinical Trial Optional)
- Reducing Stigma to Improve HIV/AIDS Prevention, Treatment and Care in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (R21 Clinical Trial Optional)
Click here for more funding announcements related to HIV and alcohol research.
Please email Natalia Gnatienko if you will be attending any of these meetings, so we can connect you with our investigators.
- Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI): March 8-11, 2020; Boston, MA. Abstract submission deadline: September 26, 2019.
- IDWeek Annual Conference on Prevention, Diagnosis, Treatment and Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases: October 2-6, 2019; Washington, D.C.
- Research Society on Alcoholism (RSA): June 20-24, 2020; New Orleans, LA. Abstract submission deadline: December 2, 2019 (program proposal), January 10, 2020 (poster abstract).
- College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD): June 20-24, 2020; Hollywood, FL. Abstract submission deadline: December 2, 2019 (late-breaking research submission: April 17, 2019).
- International AIDS Society (IAS) Conference: July 6-10, 2020; San Francisco, CA. Abstract submission deadline: January 22, 2019.
Click here for more events and conferences.