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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).

Innovative mobile-technology strategy to prevent HIV/AIDS in Uganda

1 million people in Uganda live with HIV/AIDS, where long distances and expensive travel costs significantly limit access to treatment. By employing an innovative mobile-technology strategy, Dr. Femida Gwadry-Sridhar, Director of I-THINK Research at Lawson Health Research Institute, hopes to provide a much-needed solution.

2 Nov 2011

Lack of resources, leadership hindering male circumcision campaign in Uganda, PlusNews reports

"Ugandan men have been seeking medical male circumcision in droves since the government launched a national policy in 2010, but the health system is not equipped to handle the caseload, slowing down the potential HIV prevention benefits of the campaign," PlusNews reports.

2 Nov 2011

UL, IU and UMMS to implement Center for Excellence in Health and Life Sciences

Indiana University today announced that it is partnering with the University of Liberia and the University of Massachusetts Medical School to administer a transformative $7.2 million project that will address a national shortage of healthcare workers in Liberia, an African nation with which IU has had long-standing ties.

1 Nov 2011

USAID has technical capacity to lead GHI if given authority

In a post in the Center for Global Development's "Rethinking U.S. Foreign Assistance Blog," Nandini Oomman, director of the HIV/AIDS Monitor at the center, and Rachel Silverman, a research assistant at the center, examine the question of Global Health Initiative (GHI) leadership, citing the State Department's Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR), released last December, which states that "USAID would assume leadership of the GHI by September 2012, contingent upon fulfilling a set of 10 benchmarks to demonstrate its capacity."

1 Nov 2011

Potential transmission of HBV, HCV and HIV infections in nail salons and barbershops

The risk of hepatitis transmission through non-single use instruments -- such as nail files, nail brushes, finger bowls, foot basins, buffers, razors, clippers, and scissors -- during nail salon and barbershop visits cannot be excluded, according to the results of a new report unveiled today at the American College of Gastroenterology's (ACG) 76th Annual Scientific meeting in Washington, DC.

1 Nov 2011

Viewpoints: Judd Gregg on revamping entitlements and taxes; John Breaux on slashing Medicare fraud; Medicaid limits on hospital stays

Consider this. As of this year, every other household in America will have at least one person in it who is receiving an entitlement benefit, according to the Census Bureau. As of this year, fewer than half of the Americans who have earned income will pay income taxes on that income.

1 Nov 2011

PEPFAR and women's health in South Africa

This report, titled "Improving Women's Heath in South Africa: Opportunities for PEPFAR," by Janet Fleischman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, says that with "major change ... unfolding in health and HIV services in South Africa," "[t]he United States can find feasible, flexible ways to support" the decentralization of "HIV services to the primary care level ... even though its health program through the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) is scaling down.

31 Oct 2011

Fierce Vaccines highlights Inovio's VGX-3100 as one of 10 Promising Therapeutic Vaccines

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc., which is advancing synthetic vaccines to fight cancers and infectious diseases, announced today that VGX-3100, its investigational SynCon vaccine for treating cervical dysplasia and cancer caused by human papillomavirus, was highlighted by Fierce Vaccines as one of 10 Promising Therapeutic Vaccines.

31 Oct 2011

Study: New verbal autopsy methods are fast, effective and inexpensive

New research by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington shows that innovative and improved methods for analyzing verbal autopsies - a method of determining individuals' causes of death in countries without a complete vital registration system - are fast, effective, and inexpensive, and could be invaluable for countries struggling to understand disease trends.

31 Oct 2011

Researchers shed light on inner workings of endocycle

An international team of researchers led by investigators in the U.S. and Germany has shed light on the inner workings of the endocycle, a common cell cycle that fuels growth in plants, animals and some human tissues and is responsible for generating up to half of the Earth's biomass.

31 Oct 2011

ZAMSTAR project reduces prevalence of tuberculosis by 22%

The results of a large-scale community-randomized trial presented at the 42nd World Conference on Lung Health in Lille, France today show that the Zambia-South Africa TB and AIDS Reduction (ZAMSTAR) project reduced the prevalence of tuberculosis by 22%.

31 Oct 2011

USAID celebrates 50 years of partnership with Kenya

This post in USAID's "IMPACTblog" -- the third of a four-part series on USAID's partnership with Kenya -- reports on how "USAID's health and population program ... works with partners in Kenya to bring health workers directly to the communities. These health workers provide information and care through HIV/AIDS and malaria programs, as well as work with community religious leaders to discuss family planning."

29 Oct 2011

Global Health Technologies Coalition blog reports on health research projects in Kenya

In a post in the Global Health Technologies Coalition's "Breakthroughs" blog, GHTC's Kim Lufkin reports on her travels to Kenya this month "to visit global health research projects and see the impact on people in the country," writing, "Although we visited a range of projects, I was left with the lasting impression that much of this research is so close to producing new health tools that can lead to amazing innovations in public health," including "the first ever malaria vaccine, gels women can use to protect themselves from HIV, and new drugs for neglected diseases that affect the poorest of the poor."

29 Oct 2011

Researcher's compound disables bacteria instead of killing them

After 70 years, antibiotics are still the primary treatment for halting the spread of bacterial infections. But the prevalence of antibiotic resistance is now outpacing the rate of new drug discovery and approval. A microbiologist at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) has discovered a different approach: Instead of killing the bacteria, why not disarm them, quashing disease without the worry of antibiotic resistance?

29 Oct 2011

Scientists identify nicotinamidase enzyme as new drug target for Leishmaniasis

IRD scientist and their research partners recently identified the key role of nicotinamidase, an enzyme in the parasite Leishmania, essential for its survival but which does not exist in humans. The pathogen is incapable of developing in mammals In the absence of this enzyme. Specific targeting of this enzyme could lead to more effective ways of controlling this neglected tropical disease.

29 Oct 2011

NYUCN to study 'Test and Linkage to Care Among Injecting Drug Users Kenya'

New York University College of Nursing (NYUCN) received a five-year, $4,161,665.00 grant from the National Institute of Health's National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIH/NIDA) to research "Test and Linkage to Care Among Injecting Drug Users (TLC_IDU) Kenya."

29 Oct 2011

NYUCN to study 'Combination HIV Prevention for Kenyan Youth'

New York University College of Nursing (NYUCN) received a four-year, $ 2.8M grant from the National Institute of Health's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIH/NIAID) to study "Combination HIV Prevention for Kenyan Youth."

29 Oct 2011

NIH awards NYUCN $7.56M grant to study HIV risk among heterosexuals

New York University College of Nursing (NYUCN) received a five-year, $7.56 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to evaluate the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of a peer-driven intervention to seek out heterosexuals at high risk for HIV in their communities, test them for HIV, and link them to care in a timely fashion if they are found to be HIV infected.

29 Oct 2011

Merck third quarter global sales increase 8% to $12.0 billion

Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today announced financial results for the third quarter of 2011.

29 Oct 2011

Atwater collection of AIDS education posters now available online

When Edward Atwater, M.D., boarded a subway car on Boston's Red Line in the early 90s, he found himself staring at a poster unlike any he had seen before. It showed two hands, a condom wrapper, and text reading, "Prevent AIDS. Use One." Intrigued by what he saw, Atwater began to track how different societies viewed and responded to the worldwide epidemic through posters and other public messages, eventually gathering together the largest collection of AIDS posters in the world.

28 Oct 2011