Coordination of clinical HIV research in the EU
Currently there are 35 million HIV positive people worldwide, with over two million residing in Europe. Despite significant advances in HIV management and treatment, HIV is the sixth leading cause of death globally. To improve this, a better coordination and translation of research findings into clinical practice is critical. The EU-funded EUROCOORD (European Network of HIV/AIDS cohort studies to coordinate at European and international level clinical research on HIV/AIDS) project set out to integrate the scientific strengths of HIV cohorts and collaborations (CASCADE, COHERE, EuroSIDA and PENTA) in the field. Towards this goal, the network established a common virtual database of over 350 000 HIV-infected individuals across Europe. This database included patient characteristics and clinical data on the course of HIV infection and co-morbidities. It helped EUROCOORD researchers to explore differences within sub-groups and address questions that would not be possible through single studies alone. The scientific vision of EUROCOORD was to understand HIV pathogenesis and discover the implications of long-term infection and response to therapy. Additionally, scientists wished to evaluate the effect of specific management strategies and examine co-morbidities such as hepatitis virus infection and tuberculosis. Furthermore, project partners created and disseminated standardised methods and protocols alongside evidence for treatment guidelines. By contributing to capacity building in the region and reporting on the characteristics of the European HIV positive population, they wanted to improve access to combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) across Europe. For example, the AMASE (Advancing migrant access to health services in Europe) study in EUROCOORD underscored the importance of improved primary prevention of HIV infection in migrant populations. The SSOPHIE (Stochastic simulation of outcomes of people with HIV in Europe) project developed a method that could provide in-depth information about HIV-positive populations across Europe and aid in public health decision making. Overall, the activities of the EUROCOORD network focused on improving the management and life of HIV-infected individuals by building on the infrastructure for prevention, diagnosis and treatment of HIV.
Keywords
HIV research, network, database, hepatitis virus, tuberculosis, combination antiretroviral therapy
