Gay Men Report Fewer Partners
The mean number of male sexual partners MSM reported in the previous year fell significantly from 2.9 to 2.3 between the two surveys
The study also notes that 15% of gay men surveyed now say they have never been tested for HIV. Previously that number was 25%.
Government halts HIV vaccine trial after shot fails to prevent infections
41 HIV infections occurred in volunteers who received experimental vaccine, 30 cases of HIV infection occurred among recipients who received placebos
Study: Intermittent Condom Use Nearly as Useless as No Condom
Men who used condoms every time they had anal sex were 70% less likely to acquire HIV than men who never used condoms, according to a study whose results were announced Sunday at the 20th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections
Meanwhile, only using condoms intermittently was nearly as ineffective at preventing HIV as not using condoms at all over an extended period of time, according to the study. Among all men having anal sex, men who said they used condoms every single time were 68% less likely to become infected with HIV than men who said they sometimes used them.
STUDY: Bee Venom Shown To Kill HIV
A study in the current issue of Antiviral Therapy reports that nanoparticles loaded with a toxin found in bee venom can destroy HIV while leaving nearby normal cells unharmed.
The toxin, melittin, can pierce the protective shell of HIV and other viruses like hepatitis B and C—and has been shown to be effective against tumor cells, as well. Scientists say it could be used to develop a vaginal gel that prevents the spread of HIV.
“Our hope is that in places where HIV is running rampant, people could use this gel as a preventive measure to stop the initial infection,” says Joshua L. Hood, MD, PhD, a researcher at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
Dissolving Condom In Development At University Of Washington
In summary: cloth-like fibers can be woven from medicine into ultra-thin webs that also block STIs and prevent unwanted pregnancies.
Read more at HuffingtonPost.com
Walgreens Opens Hundreds of HIV Care Stores Throughout U.S.
“Under a program launched in 2011, the Walgreens pharmacy chain has opened more than 500 “HIV Centers of Excellence” (COEs) in areas of the nation where CDC has found high rates of HIV infection.
Though many customers may not notice a difference, COE stores are “stocked in every kind of HIV drug and all kinds of supplemental products — nutrition, health care products, topical products — they might need to deal with side effects,” said Collen Armstrong Grosek, a Walgreens specialty pharmacy territory manager. Regular Walgreens stores do not stock many of these items, she said.
COE pharmacists complete the University of Buffalo pharmacy school’s HIV/AIDS pharmaceutical care education program, which includes social and cultural training and annual renewals to keep their knowledge current…”
via The Body
(via projectqueer)
Please Don’t Infect Me, I’m Sorry
The first guy I ever turned down on Grindr for having HIV, my patient zero if you will, is all kinds of hot: hot in the face, hot in the body and hotheaded. In May, he asked me to come over and make out. We chatted a little bit more, he told me about his status and I slipped out of the conversation, just like that. Randomly in July, I noticed him at a movie theater: On Grindr and online, people lie with pictures all the time, choosing ones that distort their appearance in a captured second, but I was able to pick Miguel right out of a crowd. His picture is a symbol of habitual honesty, maybe, but also because he’s so attractive, he has no reason to lie.
Keep reading at Gawker.com
Organization to know: The Stigma Project, a grassroots organization aiming to remove the stigma of HIV through education campaigns rooted in social media. Here’s their Tumblr and Facebook.
(via queercandy)
Reps. Himes, Lee Introduce the Cure for AIDS Act
U.S. Representatives Jim Himes (D–Conn.) and Barbara Lee (D–Calif.) have introduced the Cure for AIDS Act (H.R. 6187), a bill to fund research and development for an HIV cure, according to a Himes statement. The legislation establishes a $100 million research program within the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program managed by the Department of Defense (DOD). A consortium of scientists, academic researchers, advocates and nonprofit organizations would work closely with the DOD to review cure proposals.
(via projectqueer)
Organization to know: The Stigma Project, a grassroots organization aiming to remove the stigma of HIV through education campaigns rooted in social media. Here’s their Tumblr and Facebook.
(via projectqueer)
$80 MILLION IN GRANTS TO FUND HIV/AIDS CARE WILL END STATE WAITING LISTS
Ahead of the International HIV/AIDS Conference, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced nearly $80 million in grants to ensure that low-income people living with HIV/AIDS have access to health care and medication. About $69 million will fund the Ryan White AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) in 25 states, which should eliminate any waiting lists. An additional $10 million will go to community health clinics nationwide to expand access to 14,000 new patients. In the 2013 budget proposal released in February, the Obama administration called for $75 million for ADAP to end the state waiting lists.
FDA Approves First Medication to Reduce HIV Risk
People diagnosed with HIV—the human immunodeficiency virus that without treatment develops into AIDS—take antiviral medications to control the infection that attacks their immune system.
Now, for the first time, adults who do not have HIV but are at risk of becoming infected can take a medication to reduce the risk of sexual transmission of the virus.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the new use of Truvada—to be taken once daily and used in combination with safer sex practices—to reduce the risk of sexually acquired HIV-1 infection in adults who do not have HIV but are at high risk of becoming infected. (HIV-1 is the most common form of HIV.)
In two large clinical trials, daily use of Truvada was shown to significantly reduce the risk of HIV infection
- by 42 percent in a study sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) of about 2,500 HIV-negative gay and bisexual men and transgender women, and
- by 75 percent in a study sponsored by the University of Washington of about 4,800 heterosexual couples in which one partner was HIV positive and the other was not.
Debra Birnkrant, M.D., director of the Division of Antiviral Products at FDA, explains that Truvada works to prevent HIV from establishing itself and multiplying in the body. She notes that while this is a new approved use, Truvada is not a new product. It was approved by FDA in 2004 for use in combination with other medications to treat HIV-infected adults and children over 12 years old.
Keep reading at FDA.GOV
