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HIV/AIDS policies “woefully inadequate” in Britain: Report

AIDS and HIV prevention policies in Britain are “woefully inadequate” and must be improved, a House of Lords committee warned today. The report by the Lord Select Committee is published on the 25th anniversary of the 'Don't Die of Ignorance' campaign, a public health initiative launched to try to stem the spread of the virus.

2 Sep 2011

IPS examines DNDi program to develop pediatric HIV drugs

Inter Press Service profiles a program launched by the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi) to develop antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) specifically designed for children living with HIV/AIDS.

31 Aug 2011

Symptom-based viral load testing detects HIV in MSM

Testing for HIV when flu-like symptoms develop may offer a cost-effective alternative for early detection of HIV infection in men who have sex with men (MSM), reports a study in the journal AIDS.

31 Aug 2011

Age-related declines in hearing may accelerate brain atrophy

A new study by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania shows that declines in hearing ability may accelerate gray mater atrophy in auditory areas of the brain and increase the listening effort necessary for older adults to successfully comprehend speech.

31 Aug 2011

Iranian HIV physician released from Tehran prison

"Iranian HIV doctor Arash Alaei has been released from jail in Tehran after spending more than three years behind bars for allegedly conspiring against the regime, his U.S.-based brother said Monday," Agence France-Presse reports.

30 Aug 2011

Few treatment options for growing population of drug users in Afghanistan

The New York Times examines the "growing drug addiction problem" in Afghanistan, where, in 2010, about 900,000 people, or seven percent of the adult population, were using drugs, according to the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime.

30 Aug 2011

Study: Social partners can help extend memory

Effective memory is a key ability for independent living in later life, and a new Iowa State University study is among the first to report that social partners can help extend memory.

30 Aug 2011

Infrared Systems completes several internal projects, discusses corporate strategies

Infrared Systems International announces the completion of several internal projects and discusses corporate strategies for continued success.

29 Aug 2011

CIRM approves stem cell research planning grants for five UC Davis teams

The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), the state stem cell agency, today approved research planning grants for five UC Davis Health System teams that are working to develop human clinical trials to treat illnesses such as Huntington's disease, vascular disease, osteoporosis, HIV/AIDS and airway disease in children.

29 Aug 2011

South African HIV cases fall slightly to 5.4M, but new infections continue to outpace prevention efforts

"The number of people living with HIV in South Africa has dropped slightly to 5.38 million, and the number of AIDS deaths is finally starting to fall, Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe said Thursday ... in a written reply to a question from parliament, where lawmakers had asked for an update on the success of the anti-AIDS fight," Agence France-Presse reports.

26 Aug 2011

Viewpoints: Drug shortages = rationing; Changing forces in health marketplace; Birth control mandate

A widespread shortage of prescription drugs is hampering the treatment of patients who have cancer, severe infections and other serious illnesses. While some Republican politicians have railed against the imaginary threat of rationing under health care reform, Congress has done nothing to alleviate the all-too-real rationing of lifesaving drugs caused by this crisis.

26 Aug 2011

Asia-pacific region making gains against HIV/AIDS, but more needs to be done, UNAIDS report says

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26 Aug 2011

Faith-based organizations assist in fight against malaria

Natasha Bilimoria, president of Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, discusses the importance of faith-based organizations in battling malaria in this post on the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog.

26 Aug 2011

AHF shares The Lancet's concerns over use of Gilead's Truvada as HIV prevention pill

Today AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) commented on an editorial published in the September 2011 issue of The Lancet Infectious Diseases that raises concerns about the use of the HIV treatment drug Truvada, manufactured by Gilead Sciences Inc., as an HIV prevention pill or pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), agreeing with the publication's public health concerns.

25 Aug 2011

Tel Aviv University researcher finds already-medicated patients transmit HIV virus to others

Since HIV infection rates began to rise again around 2000, researchers have been grasping for answers on what could be causing this change, especially in the homosexual community.

25 Aug 2011

Some fear industry interests are stalling negotiations on U.N. NCD summit, BMJ reports

"In the run up to the U.N. summit on non-communicable diseases (NCDs), there are fears that industry interests might be trumping evidence-based public health interventions," BMJ reports.

25 Aug 2011

Researchers reveal specific process by which HIV virus infects healthy T cells

A George Mason University researcher team has revealed the specific process by which the HIV virus infects healthy T cells-a process previously unknown. The principal investigator, HIV researcher Yuntao Wu, says he hopes this breakthrough will start a new line on inquiry into how researchers can use this knowledge to create drugs that could limit or halt HIV infection.

25 Aug 2011

Global Fund to resume suspended grants to China

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, which "froze disbursements of its AIDS grant to China in November and all other grants in May over suspected misuse of the money and the government's reluctance to involve community groups, ... said Tuesday that it was lifting the freeze on financing to ensure that AIDS work in China continued while it worked with government officials, representatives from United Nations agencies and private groups to resolve the dispute," the Associated Press reports.

25 Aug 2011

IMMY, University of Nevada receive FDA clearance for CrAg Lateral Flow Assay

The Food and Drug Administration has cleared a new diagnostic test that will help save the lives of hundreds of thousands of AIDS patients stricken with cryptococcosis, a fungal meningitis.

25 Aug 2011

Showing PEPFAR effectiveness and value important in face of budget negotiations

With "looming budget cuts for FY2012 and recent reports about the decline in AIDS funding from the USG in FY2010 relative to FY2009 ... now, more than ever, PEPFAR needs to better demonstrate the effectiveness and value of its programs," Nandini Oomman, director of the HIV/AIDS Monitor at the Center for Global Development (CGD), writes in the CGD's "Global Health Policy" blog.

24 Aug 2011