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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).

Aethlon receives approval to begin Hemopurifier study at Sarcoma Oncology Center

Aethlon Medical, Inc., the pioneer in developing therapeutic filtration devices to address infectious disease and cancer, announced today that a cancer research study to test the ex vivo effectiveness of the Aethlon Hemopurifier to capture tumor-secreted exosomes from the blood of advanced-stage cancer patients has received institutional review board approval to begin studies at the Sarcoma Oncology Center, based in Santa Monica, California.

7 Dec 2011

Headache affects one of every two HIV/AIDS patients

A University of Mississippi study of headaches among HIV patients is being hailed as a critical step to improving treatment and reducing unnecessary medical costs among sufferers.

7 Dec 2011

Integration of family planning, HIV programs 'makes sense'

In this Knowledge for Health (K4Health) blog post, Elsie Mwaniki, a communication specialist at K4Health, reflects on the integration of family planning and HIV services, writing, "Many HIV-positive women have an unmet need for family planning (FP) services," so providing these services together (FP/HIV integration) "makes sense."

7 Dec 2011

Mayo Clinic in Florida now offers kidney and pancreas transplants for HIV-positive patients

Mayo Clinic in Florida is now offering kidney and pancreas transplants to HIV positive patients with advanced kidney disease and diabetes. Evidence is now solid that HIV-positive patients have the same favorable outcome in terms of patient and allograft survival as non-HIV positive organ transplant recipients, says Mary Prendergast, M.D., a kidney specialist whose focus is the care of patients who receive kidney and pancreas transplants.

7 Dec 2011

UNAIDS, PEPFAR announce 5-year action framework to scale up voluntary medical male circumcision for HIV prevention

UNAIDS and PEPFAR on Monday at the 16th International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) in Africa (ICASA) "launched a five-year action framework to accelerate the scale-up of voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) for HIV prevention," according to a UNAIDS press release.

7 Dec 2011

Researchers reveal how podocytes may regenerate themselves during normal kidney function

Damage to podocytes -- a specialized type of epithelial cell in the kidney -- occurs in more than 90 percent of all chronic kidney disease. Now researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have uncovered an unexpected pathway that reveals for the first time how these cells may regenerate and renew themselves during normal kidney function.

6 Dec 2011

Incorporate other diseases into fight against AIDS

"The public and private sectors have achieved remarkable success in Africa in the battle against AIDS, and the question now is: Where do we go from here?" James Glassman, founding executive director of the George W. Bush Institute and former under secretary of state for public affairs and public diplomacy, writes in this Forbes opinion piece.

6 Dec 2011

Fully funding global health initiatives critical in AIDS fight

"With donor support flagging around the world, U.S. leadership is crucial. Congress must fully fund its global health programs, especially the Global Fund" to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, Joyce Kamwana, a Global Fund "HERE I AM" campaign ambassador, writes in The Hill's "Congress Blog."

6 Dec 2011

Proposed bill in Nigeria would affect gay rights, possibly HIV/AIDS donor funding, AP reports

The Associated Press examines the potential impact on HIV/AIDS funding of a proposed bill in Nigeria that would outlaw gay marriage; assisting a gay couple in marriage; "'public show of same-sex amorous relationships directly or indirectly'"; or "organizing, operating or supporting gay clubs, organizations and meetings."

6 Dec 2011

Telemedicine can improve depression in nursing home rehab patients

A new pilot study is getting underway in Rhode Island aimed at improving depression in nursing home rehabilitation patients, all through telemedicine. Geriatric mental health specialists from Rhode Island and The Miriam hospitals will work with patients in the Evergreen House Nursing Home and Rehabilitation Center in East Providence to test the program.

6 Dec 2011

Cameron says all NHS patients should share their medical data for research

According to British Prime Minister David Cameron, every NHS patient should be a “research patient” with their medical details “opened up” to private healthcare firms. The PM announced that all those who use the NHS in England will be helping in the fight against disease by helping advance research. He hopes the result will be that patients get faster access to new treatments and Britain's life sciences sector will become a world leader.

6 Dec 2011

Plasma can inactivate and prevent replication of adenoviruses

Life-threatening viruses such as HIV, SARS, hepatitis and influenza, could soon be combatted in an unusual manner as researchers have demonstrated the effectiveness of plasma for inactivating and preventing the replication of adenoviruses.

5 Dec 2011

Obama pledges more for fighting HIV/AIDS

On the occasion of World AIDS day on 1st December, President Barack Obama vowed to boost U.S. efforts to fight AIDS with a new target of providing treatment to 6 million people worldwide by 2013, up from an earlier goal of 4 million.

4 Dec 2011

Product Development Partnerships 'essential' in fight against global diseases

"If the momentum gained in the last few years" in fighting global diseases such as HIV, tuberculosis (TB), malaria, measles, and meningitis "is any indicator of our future trajectory, we are standing on the threshold of a revolutionary change in the state of global health," Wendy Taylor, senior adviser of Innovative Finance and Public Private Partnerships at USAID, and David Cook, executive vice president and COO of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI),

3 Dec 2011

Viewpoints: Is Berwick a scapegoat?; Rep. Smith on Kagan; Daschle on health IT

Don Berwick, the prominent pediatrician and Harvard School of Public Health professor who headed the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, has officially stepped down, another victim of Washington's hyper-partisan politics.

3 Dec 2011

Government leaders make statements in recognition of World AIDS Day

A number of government leaders made statements on Thursday in recognition of World AIDS Day. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in a press statement said, "We have come a long way in the fight against AIDS, but there is still a long road ahead to realize our ambitious goals.

3 Dec 2011

End to AIDS in reach, U.N. officials say on World AIDS Day

"As the world heads into the fourth decade of AIDS, it is finally in a position to end the epidemic, [U.N.] Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said [Thursday], leading a chorus of United Nations officials in calling for the political will, investments and determination to reach this goal," the U.N. News Centre reports. "'Momentum is on our side. Let us use it to end AIDS -- once and for all,' Mr. Ban said in his message for World AIDS Day," the news service writes.

3 Dec 2011

Research roundup: Recession's big impact on men's insurance coverage

Researchers examined three sets of surveillance data and found that of the estimated 1.2 million persons in the United States living with the human immunodeficiency virus, 942,000 persons were aware of their infection. More than three-quarters of those were "linked to care" and among HIV-infected adults in care, "45 percent received prevention counseling, and 89 percent were prescribed antiretroviral therapy."

3 Dec 2011

On World AIDS Day, Obama announces plan to redirect $50 million to fight AIDS

President Barack Obama told advocates, patients and other stakeholders that his administration will do more to get antiretroviral drugs to people infected with HIV - in the United States and in low-income countries around the world.

3 Dec 2011

Obama announces new U.S. commitments to end AIDS domestically, globally

Speaking at the ONE campaign and (RED)'s "Beginning of the End of AIDS" event at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., to mark World AIDS Day on Thursday, "President Obama ... announced a deepened U.S. commitment to fighting the pandemic, declaring 'make no mistake, we are going to win this fight,'" ABC News reports (Bruce, 12/1).

3 Dec 2011