AIDS News and Research

RSS

Rescue, relief efforts continue in Haiti, 200,000 people estimated to have perished in quake

Rescue efforts continue in Haiti after a major earthquake hit the country last week, CNN reports (1/18). While teams still search for survivors under the rubble, the priority is shifting to relief for those who survived the quake, according to Nicholas Reader, spokesperson for the U.N. Offices for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, TIME reports (Newton-Small, 1/18).

20 Jan 2010

Preliminary data from Phase 1 study of Sangamo BioSciences' SB-728-T announced

Sangamo BioSciences, Inc. announced today that preliminary data from the University of Pennsylvania investigator sponsored Phase 1 safety study of Sangamo's zinc finger nuclease (ZFN) based product, SB-728-T, for HIV/AIDS were presented on Friday, January 15, 2010 at the Keystone Symposium Session "HIV Biology and Pathogenesis."

20 Jan 2010

CytoDyn commences enrollment in Cytolin clinical trial

Following approval of the Institutional Review Board, CytoDyn, Inc. has discharged its duty to register a clinical trial of Cytolin®, the Company’s lead product, with the government’s website at www.clinicaltrials.gov, ID NCT01048372. The public has online access to this federal database, which describes the key elements of clinical trials and their status.

19 Jan 2010

California limits HMO wait times

The regulations by the California Department of Managed Health Care, in the works for much of the last decade, will require that patients be treated by HMO doctors within 10 business days of requesting an appointment, and by specialists within 15.

19 Jan 2010

National cross country HIV testing tour in Phoenix

The AHF/Magic Johnson ‘Testing America’ Tour, a six month, 48 state national cross country HIV testing tour, rolls into Phoenix, Arizona, for a testing event from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday, January 19th. Free testing will take place on AHF’s new, state-of-the-art ‘Testing America’ mobile HIV testing unit at the One Voice LGBT Community Center (725 West Indian Road, Phoenix, 85013).

19 Jan 2010

Abbott to provide critical pharmaceutical and nutritional products for Haiti relief efforts

Working directly with humanitarian partners to help address the growing health care crisis, Abbott is expanding its support for relief efforts in Haiti. The company will provide $2.5 million in grant funding and donations of critical pharmaceutical and nutritional products to humanitarian aid organizations.

19 Jan 2010

CARE's disaster-response teams teach water purification techniques in earthquake-ravaged Haiti

CARE's disaster-response teams find themselves in a race against time in earthquake-ravaged Haiti, coaching survivors how to purify contaminated water and preparing hygiene kits to help prevent a secondary crisis: the outbreak of disease.

19 Jan 2010

Tragic consequences of AIDS denialism in South Africa

Despite irrefutable proof that HIV treatments have proven benefits, AIDS denialists continue to deny their value. In a paper just published online in Springer's journal AIDS and Behavior, Professor Myron Essex and Dr. Pride Chigwedere, from the Harvard School of Public Health AIDS Initiative in the US, provide additional proof that withholding HIV treatments with proven benefits led to the death of 330,000 people in South Africa as the result of AIDS denialist policies. They also show that the harm has not been reversed and highlight that when denialism enters public health practice, as in South Africa, the consequences are disastrous.

19 Jan 2010

Voice abnormalities in cochlear implants will improve over time, says study

Children with cochlear implants in both ears appear to have difficulty controlling the loudness and pitch of their voices, but these measures improve over time, according to a report in the January issue of Archives of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

19 Jan 2010

Babraham Institute research may lead to new means of making purified T cells

Research from the Babraham Institute, reported today in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, provides new insights into how our immune system produces T cells, a type of white blood cell that is an essential part of the body's immune surveillance system for fighting infection. The findings pave the way for a new means of making purified T cells, which gets over one of many hurdles faced in the use of T cells in regenerative medicine and transplantations, and in addition will open up new avenues of research and applications in drug and toxicity testing in industry.

18 Jan 2010

New book on harnessing science and innovation to tackle challenges in poor countries

Science and Innovation for Development demonstrates how science and innovation can be harnessed to tackle today's biggest challenges in poor countries, including climate change, HIV/AIDS and illiteracy. Case studies are described, including the use of tissue culture to develop disease-resistant bananas in Kenya; the use of nanotechnology to develop cheaper and faster kits for diagnosing infectious diseases and the use of organic material to power a multi-purpose stove that can also function as a refrigerator and generator.

18 Jan 2010

Plan launches international appeal to support its emergency operations in Haiti’s affected areas

Aid workers from children's charity Plan International are in a race to help survivors of the devastating Haiti earthquake cope with the aftermath.

18 Jan 2010

Obama's latest dilemma: Confronting the AIDS pandemic

Confronting the ongoing AIDS pandemic for his upcoming first national HIV/AIDS Strategy is President Obama's newest dilemma, say former New York City Mayor Ed Koch, former White House Drug Policy spokesman Robert Weiner, and Dartmouth College Coalition for Progress president Jordan Osserman.

18 Jan 2010

Flexpoint to develop infant bed cover using patented Bend Sensor® design

Flexpoint Sensor Systems, Inc. announced that they are working on the development of an infant bed cover using their patented Bend Sensor® design. The mattress will be used to monitor infants in the prevention of sudden infant death syndrome (“SIDS”).

18 Jan 2010

Missouri best in using federal aid to combat Medicaid fraud, other states fight over federal rules

The Kansas City Star reports that Missouri led the country in 2008 in efficiency in using federal dollars to combat Medicaid fraud. "The state recovered almost $29.8 million in 2008, the most recent year for which comparative data are available, while receiving about $1.6 million in federal Medicaid fraud grants. That equates to $18.81 recovered for every dollar received — 43 cents better than the next-best state" (Noble, 1/12).

18 Jan 2010

Researchers identify new gene variants associated With glucose, insulin levels

A major international study with leadership from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers has identified 10 new gene variants associated with blood sugar or insulin levels. Two of these novel variants and three that earlier studies associated with glucose levels were also found to increase the risk of type 2 diabetes. Along with a related study from members of the same research consortium, associating additional genetic variants with the metabolic response to a sugary meal, the report will appear in Nature Genetics and has been released online.

18 Jan 2010

Also in global health news: Anti-gay bill; Bush Institute TV show; funds for HIV programs in Kenya; EU aid commitments

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on Tuesday publicly acknowledged the need to address the impact an anti-gay bill before the Ugandan parliament could have on foreign policy, Agence France-Presse reports (1/12).

18 Jan 2010

Atlantic examines drug-resistant TB control worldwide

The Atlantic examines the emergence of drug-resistant strains of tuberculosis around the world, with a look at the situation in South Africa. "[T]he resurgence of tuberculosis is not limited to South Africa. India and China have the largest numbers of tuberculosis cases, and multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) has been found in nearly every country, with XDR [extensively drug resistant]-TB in at least 57 countries," according to the article.

18 Jan 2010

Inadequate saliva and fluoride can contribute to tooth decay

Tooth enamel is tough, harder even than skeletal bone. But even with good dental hygiene, the enamel protecting teeth may show signs of decay in older adults. The January issue of Mayo Clinic Health Letter covers what to look out for and what to do to promote an enamel-friendly setting in the mouth. According to the newsletter, two significant contributors to tooth decay are too little saliva and inadequate fluoride.

18 Jan 2010

H.I.G. Capital acquires Allion Healthcare

H.I.G. Capital, LLC, a leading global private equity firm, today announced that an affiliate has closed its previously announced acquisition of Allion Healthcare, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALLI).

18 Jan 2010