HIV/AIDS News and Research

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Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

War on AIDS needs food

The five billion dollars earmarked by U.S. President George W. Bush to fight HIV/AIDS could be wasted if his administration does not increase food aid resources, asserted the head of a leading development organization.

4 May 2005

Scalpel-free surgery could reduce risk of HIV and Hepatitis exposure for health care workers in city hospitals

While the incidence of disease from HIV and hepatitis is increasing in the United States, little is known about their prevalence in patients undergoing surgery. Now, researchers have shown that nearly 40 percent of surgeries at The Johns Hopkins Hospital occur in patients who tested positive for a bloodborne germ.

4 May 2005

Vaccine developed at Rockefeller University boosts natural killer T cells in patients with cancer

A new vaccine designed at The Rockefeller University boosted a type of fast-responding immune system cell called the natural killer T (NKT) cell in patients with advanced cancer. The study surprised researchers by revealing the ability of these NKT cells to spur other, slower-responding immune cells to go to work.

4 May 2005

Too early to say if Roll Back Malaria initiative is working

Experts say it is too early to assess if an international initiative, Roll Back Malaria (RBM), has had any impact on combating malaria.

3 May 2005

HIV treatment not affected by hormonal birth control

Estrogen and progesterone hormones in birth control do not influence the effectiveness of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), which is used to treat HIV infection, according to researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and other institutions. The study is published in the May 1, 2005, issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology.

2 May 2005

19 primary schoolchildren on HIV drugs after prank with needle

After an 8-year-old girl pricked her schoolmates with her mother's diabetes-testing needle nineteen primary school students have had to be been placed on drugs to fight HIV because one child in a group of nineteen was discovered to be HIV positive.

1 May 2005

Antibiotic minocycline might help alleviate HIV's negative effects on the brain and central nervous system

By studying animals, Johns Hopkins researchers have discovered that the antibiotic minocycline might help alleviate HIV's negative effects on the brain and central nervous system, problems that can develop even though antiretroviral therapy controls the virus elsewhere in the body.

1 May 2005

New centre launched to investigate link between human sugars and disease

A multidisciplinary centre launched today will promote a far broader understanding of the role sugars play in human disease, scientists say.

28 Apr 2005

School nurses are having to treat pupils of 14 who are HIV positive

Nurses at the Royal College of Nursing conference in the UK, say that school nurses are having to deal with children as young as 14 who are HIV positive, involved in prostitution and addicted to drugs.

27 Apr 2005

New guidelines for managing chronic kidney disease in patients living with HIV infection

The HIV Medicine Association has released guidelines for managing chronic kidney disease in patients living with HIV infection. They are published in the June 1 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases.

27 Apr 2005

Breastfeeding causes nearly 40 percent of all pediatric HIV infections

Breastfeeding causes nearly 40 percent of all pediatric HIV infections, yet also prevents millions of child deaths every year by protecting infants from diarrhea and other infections. Finding ways to make breastfeeding safer for infants of HIV-infected mothers has been an urgent research priority.

27 Apr 2005

International coalition works to develop a cocktail of drugs to combat Malaria

As Africa marks its own Malaria Day in recognition of the fact that it bears 90% of the deadly disease’s burden, an international research coalition is working to develop a cocktail of drugs that overcomes increasing resistance to conventional treatment exhibited by the elusive parasite.

27 Apr 2005

Washington State ad campaign discourages young people from having sex

The Washington State Department of Health has launched an advertising campaign urging young people in Washington to wait to have sex. The campaign targets kids ages 15 and younger, as well as their parents.

27 Apr 2005

Denmark becomes first European country to support Aeras Foundation's TB vaccine development efforts

Denmark today became the first European country to support the Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation's efforts to develop a safe, effective tuberculosis vaccine with announcements of new financial commitments and scientific partnerships.

27 Apr 2005

Jackie Chan says stop discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS

At the conclusion of his first mission to Viet Nam, UNICEF/ UNAIDS Goodwill Ambassador Jackie Chan called for an end to discrimination and stigma towards children and families infected or affected with HIV/AIDS.

27 Apr 2005

Promising new West Nile therapy cures disease in mice

West Nile virus alarmed Americans when it made its first U.S. appearance in New York City in 1999. It has since spread from coast to coast, sickened more than 16,000 Americans and killed more than 600.

27 Apr 2005

Drug adverts are a haphazard approach to health promotion

As California State Assembly Bill 95 (Koretz, D-West Hollywood), designed to reign in drug marketing costs in California by requiring manufacturers of drugs for life-threatening chronic conditions to pay the state a rebate equal to the drug marketing cost, moves to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) -- cites a study and accompanying editorial published today in the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) that demonstrates the influence that Direct to Consumer Advertising (DTCA) has on physicians' prescribing decisions.

26 Apr 2005

HIV epidemic among young men unabated because many are unaware they are infected

U.S. health officials say many young gay and bisexual men who are HIV-positive are unaware they have the virus.

26 Apr 2005

Generex Biotechnology receives Australian patent for vaccine technology to fight cancer and pandemic influenza

Generex Biotechnology announced today that its wholly owned subsidiary, Antigen Express, has received Australian Patent No. 778115 titled "Hybrid Peptides Modulate the Immune Response." Antigen Express is designing and testing such vaccine peptides for the control of cancer and infectious diseases with a particular focus on the pandemic H5N1 influenza, which has been reported in South East Asia.

26 Apr 2005

P12 protein influences key cell-signaling pathway

New research shows that a protein produced by a cancer-causing virus influences a key signaling pathway in the immune cells that the virus infects. This stimulates the cells to divide, helping the virus spread through the body.

26 Apr 2005