Researchers from the HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) presented results from the HPTN 094 (“INTEGRA”) study at the 2025 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) in San Francisco. The main findings from this randomized controlled trial that enrolled persons who inject drugs showed that similar numbers of participants were on medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) and antiretroviral therapy (ART) for HIV care or prevention at 26 weeks post-randomization either to an intervention arm that provided integrated services with peer navigation in a mobile unit or to an active control arm that received navigation to integrated services at available community agencies only. Findings showed about seven percent of participants in both arms were determined as alive and on MOUD, about 35 percent of participants living with HIV were virally suppressed, and between three percent and five percent on HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) at 26 weeks post-randomization.

Adolescent substance use is a significant predictor of future addiction and related disorders. Understanding neural mechanisms underlying substance use initiation and frequency during adolescence is critical for early prevention and intervention. A novel study in Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, published by Elsevier, shows that by tracking year-to-year changes in brain connectivity underlying cognitive control, the ability to flexibly use goals to guide behavior and overcome habitual responses, data can predict when an adolescent is at high risk of starting to use substances, an important message for early prevention.