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HIV home test popular among men with high risk sexual practices

Thirty years into the HIV epidemic, many people who are at high risk of HIV infection cannot or will not adopt safer sexual practices, such as abstinence and condom use. This means there is room in the market for alternative methods to reduce either exposure to or transmission of HIV among these individuals.

21 Aug 2012

US task force unconvinced of case for hearing tests in elderly

A US Preventive Services Task Force review of screening for hearing impairment in older, asymptomatic adults concludes that there is insufficient evidence to assess whether or not the benefits outweigh the harms.

20 Aug 2012

USAID blog examines structural issues fueling HIV epidemic

"During the recent International XIX International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2012) in Washington, D.C., exciting breakthroughs in HIV prevention, treatment, and care -- even a possible cure -- took center stage," but, "despite recent advances, many men and women remain at risk of HIV as a result of structural issues that fuel and have an impact on the epidemic," Molly Fitzgerald, technical advisor for AIDSTAR-One, writes in this post in USAID's "Impact Blog."

18 Aug 2012

U.N. calls for more aids to reach 2.5M people affected by conflict in Syria

"Some 2.5 million people face destitution in Syria as fighting grows ever more intense in populated areas, the United Nations top relief official said Thursday, calling on the Government and donors to facilitate more aid through non-governmental organizations (NGOs) on the ground," the U.N. News Centre reports.

18 Aug 2012

Blog examines use of controversial HIV drug in Malawi

This post in the Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog examines the use of stavudine, "also known as d4T, an antiretroviral treatment that was dropped in wealthy countries years ago and that the World Health Organization has recommended stop being included in treatment programs," to treat HIV in Malawi.

17 Aug 2012

Kenyan President announces additional funding for national AIDS response

"Kenya's government, under the leadership of President Mwai Kibaki, has allocated additional funding to its national AIDS response," UNAIDS reports in a feature story on its webpage, noting, "The announcement came last Friday during a high level advocacy meeting in Nairobi."

17 Aug 2012

Rhomboid enzymes and malaria treatment: an interview with Sinisa Urban

Rhomboid enzymes live in the cell’s membrane where their job is to cut the anchors of proteins, which releases the target proteins from the membrane.

16 Aug 2012

Achieving AIDS-free generation worth more than Olympic gold

In this post in Huffington Post's "Healthy Living" blog, John-Manuel Andriote, a journalist and author living with HIV, asks, "For all of us living with HIV infection -- Oct. 27 will mark seven years since my own diagnosis -- the question we face daily, hopefully more consciously and deliberately than most, is how shall we live, knowing as we do that we will most assuredly die one day?"

16 Aug 2012

U.S. military medical team supports Botswana HIV prevention efforts

In an article on the U.S. Department of Defense webpage, the American Forces Press Service reports on how a U.S. military medical team is helping the Botswana Defense Force "to promote Botswana's national program of education, HIV screening and male circumcision surgeries to stem what's become a national epidemic," according to Army Col. Michael Kelly, an Army Reserve surgeon deployed in Botswana from the Army Reserve Medical Command in Washington.

16 Aug 2012

Gates looks to develop 'next-generation toilets' for developing world

Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, on Tuesday "announced the winners of the Reinvent the Toilet Challenge -- an effort to develop 'next-generation' toilets that will deliver safe and sustainable sanitation to the 2.5 billion people worldwide who don't have it," according to a foundation press release.

16 Aug 2012

India launches new laboratory for HIV vaccine research in collaboration with IAVI

India on Monday "opened a $12 million, government-backed laboratory whose mission is to create a new vaccine against HIV," Science Insider reports.

16 Aug 2012

Article describes novel technique to study interactions between HIV-1 and P. falciparum

The World Health Organization estimates that in 2011 there were 216 million cases of malaria and 34.2 million people living with HIV. These diseases particularly afflict sub-Saharan Africa, where large incidence of co-infection result in high mortality rates. Yet, in spite of this global pandemic, interactions between the parasite that causes malaria, Plasmodium falciparum, and HIV-1 are poorly understood.

16 Aug 2012

TG2 plays a key role in serotonin deficiency associated with depression

Connecting the dots between two molecules whose levels are decreased in depression and increased by current antidepressants could yield new therapies, researchers say.

15 Aug 2012

Recognizing the role of international partnerships in global health

"When you're dealing with a global public health crisis, having an international presence isn't just advisable -- it is imperative," Margaret McGlynn, president and CEO of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), writes in this post in USAID's "Impact" blog, adding, "That's why the [IAVI], in partnership with USAID, has worked diligently over the past several years to establish itself as a truly global non-profit partner."

15 Aug 2012

Universal HIV treatment, if achieved, would not mean eradication of AIDS

In this post in BMJ's "Yankee Doodling," Douglas Kamerow, chief scientist at RTI International and an associate editor for the journal, reflects on the possibility of achieving an AIDS-free generation "if somehow we succeeded in getting all HIV positive people in the world identified and under long term treatment."

15 Aug 2012

U.S. support of PEPFAR, Global Fund helping to achieve global AIDS, TB, malaria goals

In this post in Huffington Post's "Impact" blog, Deborah Derrick, president of Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis (TB) and Malaria, examines "the success of U.S. efforts to promote better global health through support for [PEPFAR] and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria."

15 Aug 2012

Lack of legislative action heading into congressional recess could impact global health funding

"With Congress adjourned until after Labor Day and not a single funding bill for the federal fiscal year beginning October signed into law before the recess even began, the virtual standstill of legislative action could have a mixed impact on global health funding," the Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog reports.

14 Aug 2012

CBIS initiates CS-TATI-1 GMP development plan

Cannabis Science (CBIS), a pioneering U.S. Biotech Company developing pharmaceutical to meet global public health challenges is pleased to announce the initiation of GMP development plan for CS-TATI-1 with the initial production of CS-TATI-1 to be performed in Colorado under C-GMP conditions evaluated by the FDA for initial human studies to treat HIV associated Kaposi Sarcoma.

13 Aug 2012

World needs a business plan to end AIDS

In this post in Global Post's "Global Pulse" blog, Mitchell Warren, executive director of AVAC, a leading HIV prevention advocacy organization, and Chris Collins, vice president and director of public policy at amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research, write that "the world needs a business plan to end AIDS."

13 Aug 2012

Study assesses gender differences in the efficacy of antiretroviral treatment

Women comprise nearly half of the HIV-infected population worldwide, but these 15.5 million women tend to be under-represented in clinical trials of anti-HIV drug therapies. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has created a database from 40 clinical studies to assess gender differences in the efficacy of antiretroviral treatments.

12 Aug 2012