| From: |
Adeyemo Gabriel [ profile ] |
| Subject: |
How microbicides could forever change HIV for black women
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| Sent: |
Feb 22nd, 2011 - 08:21:12 |
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Source: Colorlines
AUTHOR: Akiba Solomon
http://colorlines.com/archives/2011/02/microbicides_could_forever_change_hiv_for_black_women.html#%7B%22id%22%3A0%2C%22sc%22%3A%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fxd_receiver_v0.4.php%22%2C%22sf%22%3A%22loginStatus%22%2C%22sr%22%3A2%2C%22h%22%3A%22loginSer
Hi friends,
If you're not directly involved in HIV/AIDS research, prevention or
treatment, the word microbicide probably means as much to you as, say,
integrase inhibitor S/GSK1349572. (For the record, that's an anti-HIV
drug that's in clinical trials.)
But, as Colorlines recently reported, microbicide researchers have
brought us one step closer to an HIV prevention method that women can
use -- strictly on their terms. It's potentially revolutionary.
Scientists have been trying out different forms of microbicides for
some 15 years. Those tests, which were publicly funded for the most
part, have failed to stop HIV transmission. But at last summer's
International AIDS Conference, South African researchers unveiled a
clear, odorless, flavorless gel form of the HIV-fighting drug
tenofovir that women can insert into their vaginas with a plastic
applicator.
In their multi-year trial of nearly 900 sexually active South African
teens and women ages 18 to 40, those who used the gel 12 hours before
and after sex reduced their risk of contracting HIV by up to 54
percent. (The gel also reduced participants' risk of contracting
herpes by 51 percent; that's important because having herpes doubles
the risk of contracting HIV.) If a second trial is successful,
microbicides could hit the global market as soon as 2014.
That's a scientific victory that's been hailed as a potential turning
point in the global epidemic, but it will also be of particular
importance to black folks in the United States, who make up nearly
half of all new HIV infections but only 13 percent of the population.
And black women -- who are most often infected through sex with men --
are 15 times more likely to be diagnosed with HIV than white women.
Among AIDS cases in women ages 13 to 24, black women make up a
staggering 62 percent. This Monday was National Black HIV/AIDS
Awareness Day, which is meant to call attention to these disparities.
Please click on the link above to read complete article
--
Many Thanks
Yours' in Prevention Science
Adeyemo Damilare Gabriel
Moderator: Students' for Microbicides (S4M), Nigeria
Regional Focal Point - West Africa
Global Youth Coalition on HIV/AID
+234-80-6798-7317 | gabriel (at) gyca.org
www.gyca.org | www.tigweb.org
GYCA is a youth-led global network of more than 4,500 young leaders and
adult allies working on youth and HIV/AIDS in 150 countries world-wide.
GYCA's mission is to empower young leaders with the skills, knowledge,
resources and opportunities they need to scale up HIV/AIDS interventions
amongst their peers.
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