Disappointing end to trials of new gel to protect women against AIDS

In what appears to be a disappointing outcome, trials of a new gel designed for women to protect themselves from the AIDS virus were stopped this week when researchers found that women using it became infected at a higher rate than women not using it.

The gel called Ushercell is a microbicide and is produced by Polydex Pharmaceuticals; it apparently had the opposite effect to what was expected and in fact appeared to make the women more vulnerable to the virus.

The advanced trial was being conducted on 1,333 women in South Africa, Benin, Uganda and India; a second trial of the drug in Nigeria has also been stopped as a precaution.

Preliminary trials carried out earlier on more than 500 women did not indicate it raised the risk of HIV infection.

Dr. Lut Van Damme, who was leading the trial of the Polydex product, says the findings are unexpected and disappointing, but hopefully important information will be gleaned from the trial that will help future HIV prevention research.

Unfortunately this is the second microbicide designed for women to use vaginally to prevent infection with HIV, which has failed.

Trials of the spermicide nonoxynol-9 were also stopped after it was found it raised the risk of HIV infection.

According to the World Health Organization and UNAIDS, who were involved in the coordination of the trial, it is unclear why the product did not work.

The WHO and UNAIDS say the gel was one of four compounds being evaluated in large-scale studies of effectiveness among women at high risk of HIV infection.

Apparently three other products are also in advanced trials.

WHO says that of the 39 million people infected with HIV half are women; HIV is mostly commonly transmitted through sexual intercourse between a man and a woman.

At present there is no cure for HIV and no vaccine against it and while condoms can prevent infection many women, especially those in underdeveloped countries are often powerless to demand their use.