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Misconceptions about contraception contribute to lack of family-planning n Uganda

University of Alberta graduate student Jennifer Heys wants to make her message clear: there needs to be more education in Ugandan communities about contraception.

24 Nov 2009

Vitamin D: A multi-purpose nutrient for overall health

A string of recent discoveries about the multiple health benefits of vitamin D has renewed interest in this multi-purpose nutrient, increased awareness of the huge numbers of people who are deficient in it, spurred research and even led to an appreciation of it as "nature's antibiotic."

24 Nov 2009

Opinion: China forced abortions; U.S. work in Africa; foreign aid; Uganda legislation

"One of the few incontrovertible assertions one can reasonably make is that no one supports forced abortion," syndicated columnist Kathleen Parker writes in a Detroit News opinion piece that examines reports of "coerced abortions" and involuntary sterilizations in China.

23 Nov 2009

New York Times magazine examines needle-exchange programs

In a New York Times magazine article, Tina Rosenberg examines how needle sharing has contributed to the HIV/AIDS epidemic and the viability of needle exchange programs as a prevention strategy.

23 Nov 2009

Guardian examines challenge of testing, treating patients with HIV/AIDS in Kenya

The Guardian examines the challenge of testing and treating some of the estimated 1.4 million people living with HIV/AIDS in Kenya. "Deep-rooted stigma and patchy health education has led many to cower from the disease, which has seen the country's life expectancy rates shortened by 20 years in the last two decades," the newspaper writes. Even though "[t]he country's government has supplied antiretroviral therapy (ART) to suppress the virus to patients for free since 2006, … of the 390,000 adults estimated as being eligible for ART at the time of the survey, around 140,000, or 35%, were taking the medication," according to a 2007 country survey.

23 Nov 2009

AP/News-Observer examines state of vaccine research

The Associated Press/News-Observer examines revitalized vaccine research, including for such conditions as malaria, TB and HIV. "Vaccines are no longer a sleepy, low-profit niche in a booming drug industry.

23 Nov 2009

STD infections continue to rise among young people

Sexually spread diseases continue to rise, with reported chlamydia cases setting yet another record in 2008, officials at the Centers for Disease Control recently reported. The CDC estimates that approximately 19 million new STD infections occur each year. Approximately half of them occur in young people between 15 to 24 years of age.

23 Nov 2009

HIV infected scope for TEE procedure, patient sues St. Vincent's Hospital

Milvia Lopez, by her attorney MICHAEL STEWART FRANKEL, of New York City, recently filed suit, in Supreme Court, New York County, bearing Index # 112888/2009. The complaint alleges that while Ms. Lopez underwent a routine transesophageal echocardiogram ("TEE") at ST. VINCENT'S HOSPITAL, doctors used an HIV infected scope exposing her to HIV.

23 Nov 2009

Publication serves as a guide to build productive partnerships and overcome global health challenges

Meaningful and lasting progress in addressing global health challenges cannot be achieved without partnerships and collaboration, according to a publication released today, Case Studies for Global Health.

21 Nov 2009

UNICEF report highlights gains in child health, while 1b still lack essential services

A special edition of UNICEF's annual State of the World's Children report, released 20 years after the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, shows that "fewer youngsters are dying and more are going to school - but an estimated 1 billion still lack services essential to their survival and development," the Associated Press reports.

20 Nov 2009

University of Michigan scientists discover how SEVI works

Since the discovery in 2007 that a component of human semen called SEVI boosts infectivity of the virus that causes AIDS, researchers have been trying to learn more about SEVI and how it works, in hopes of thwarting its infection-promoting activity.

20 Nov 2009

Discoveries on anti-HIV antibodies may help researchers create an effective HIV vaccine

New discoveries about anti-HIV antibodies may bring researchers a step closer to creating an effective HIV vaccine, according to a new paper co-authored by scientists at the Vaccine Research Center of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health.

20 Nov 2009

Many pregnant Ugandan women avoid HIV screening

'Prevention is the best cure' is a common expression, but what happens if preventative measures are not used? A large proportion of pregnant Ugandan women are going out of their way not to be HIV tested, increasing the risk of mother-to-child transmission.

19 Nov 2009

Goosby says PEPFAR remains among 'highest priorities' of Obama administration, welcomes partnership with South African president Zuma

Eric Goosby, head of PEPFAR, on Wednesday reemphasized the U.S. commitment to fighting HIV/AIDS globally, the Associated Press reports. Despite concerns by international aid groups that the current economic climate might force HIV/AIDS funding to be scaled back, "Goosby said President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton have assured him his program remains among 'the highest priorities,'" the news service writes.

19 Nov 2009

Op-Eds: HIV travel ban; improving sanitation; counterfeit drugs

A "blot" on U.S. HIV/AIDS leadership "ended last month when President [Barack] Obama lifted the prohibition" that kept HIV-positive foreigners from visiting the U.S. or seeking residency, according to a Washington Post editorial. "The process for eliminating the travel ban started under President George W. Bush in July 2008, when he signed legislation that repealed the original statute."

19 Nov 2009

Also in Global Health News: HIV/AIDS grant giving; Africa's water resources; sex workers in Malawi

HIV/AIDS program grants made by U.S.-based foundations totaled $618 billion in 2008, an 11 percent increase from the previous year, according to a new report by Funders Concerned About AIDS, the Chronicle of Philanthropy reports. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation accounted for the majority of the grants, and when it was "excluded, foundation giving [for HIV/AIDS] actually declined 3 percent compared to 2007."

19 Nov 2009

Adamas Pharmaceuticals expands its Phase 2 TCAD therapy study for influenza A

Adamas Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately held company, announced today that it has expanded its Phase 2 clinical study of a proprietary investigational triple-combination antiviral drug therapy for influenza to include centers in the United States, Canada and Europe. The study, which was initiated in August 2009 in the Southern Hemisphere, is designed to investigate Adamas' triple combination antiviral drug (TCAD) therapy as a treatment for influenza A, including novel influenza A/H1N1, the cause of the current flu pandemic.

19 Nov 2009

UNGASS monitoring system provides the overall progress in the global response to HIV

Although much work remains to be done, a United Nations global reporting system on HIV/AIDS has already yielded an "unequaled wealth of data" on progress toward meeting UN targets for responding to the global HIV epidemic. An update on the development of the UN General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS (UNGASS) global reporting system appears in a special supplement to JAIDS: Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes.

19 Nov 2009

Data from Phase 1 safety study of SB-728-T announced

Sangamo BioSciences, Inc. announced today that 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 inadvertently and prematurely disclosed on the internet.

19 Nov 2009

Opinions: Fighting TB; currency transaction tax

Though tuberculosis "is one of the world's leading killers … few citizens, scientists and policymakers are demanding more attention to TB research, treatment and prevention. … It's time to bring TB research into the 21st century," Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, writes in an MSNBC opinion piece.

19 Nov 2009

HIV News and Research

Misconceptions about contraception contribute to lack of family-planning n Uganda

Vitamin D: A multi-purpose nutrient for overall health

Opinion: China forced abortions; U.S. work in Africa; foreign aid; Uganda legislation

New York Times magazine examines needle-exchange programs

Guardian examines challenge of testing, treating patients with HIV/AIDS in Kenya

AP/News-Observer examines state of vaccine research

STD infections continue to rise among young people

HIV infected scope for TEE procedure, patient sues St. Vincent's Hospital

Publication serves as a guide to build productive partnerships and overcome global health challenges

UNICEF report highlights gains in child health, while 1b still lack essential services

University of Michigan scientists discover how SEVI works

Discoveries on anti-HIV antibodies may help researchers create an effective HIV vaccine

Many pregnant Ugandan women avoid HIV screening

Goosby says PEPFAR remains among 'highest priorities' of Obama administration, welcomes partnership with South African president Zuma

Op-Eds: HIV travel ban; improving sanitation; counterfeit drugs

Also in Global Health News: HIV/AIDS grant giving; Africa's water resources; sex workers in Malawi

Adamas Pharmaceuticals expands its Phase 2 TCAD therapy study for influenza A

UNGASS monitoring system provides the overall progress in the global response to HIV

Data from Phase 1 safety study of SB-728-T announced

Opinions: Fighting TB; currency transaction tax

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Expanding access to NMR with the Fourier 80 Duo

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