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Pap Test, a Mainstay Against Cervical Cancer, May Be FadingEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
From the New York Times: The big news in the war on cervical cancer is the new vaccine recently approved to prevent the disease. But another major change that will affect millions of women is also under way, though more slowly and quietly.The Pap smear, an annual ritual for many women and the mainstay of cervical cancer prevention for more than half a century, may start to fade in importance.It will not disappear for many more years, if ever. But a newer genetic test that detects human papillomavirus, or HPV, which causes cervical cancer, is starting to play a bigger role in screening. And other genetic tests are being dev...
Source: THE CHIVE: an archive of HIV and STD news - January 17, 2007 Category: HIV AIDS Source Type: blogs

Condoms urged in prisons to curb AIDS in blacksEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
From Reuters: U.S. prisons should make condoms available to inmates and test for HIV as part of a broader effort to curb the spread of AIDS among blacks, hit disproportionately hard by the incurable disease, experts urged on Thursday.The National Minority AIDS Council advocacy group, backed by U.S. black lawmakers and medical leaders, issued a series of recommendations aimed at U.S. policymakers to slow the epidemic among blacks, 10 times more likely than whites to have AIDS."In 2006, AIDS in America is a black disease," said Phill Wilson, executive director of the Black AIDS Institute in Los Angeles.With U.S. black men se...
Source: THE CHIVE: an archive of HIV and STD news - November 16, 2006 Category: HIV AIDS Source Type: blogs

Insurers offer plan to cover uninsuredEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
From the Chicago Tribune: The insurance industry proposed an ambitious plan Monday to cover as many as 45 million uninsured Americans, adopting a pro-health reform posture that would have been unthinkable a decade ago."We think covering the uninsured should be the nation's No. 1 domestic policy priority," said Karen Ignagni, president of America's Health Insurance Plans, the nation's leading health insurance trade group. The organization called on the federal government to spend an additional $300 billion over 10 years to expand public health programs for poor Americans, offer subsidies to working families to buy medical c...
Source: THE CHIVE: an archive of HIV and STD news - November 14, 2006 Category: HIV AIDS Source Type: blogs

Life Expectancy Increases for HIV PatientsEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
From the New York Times: An American found to have the virus that causes AIDS can expect to live for about 24 years on average, and the cost of health care over that time is more than $600,000, new research indicates.Both life expectancy and the cost of care have risen from earlier estimates, mainly because of expensive and effective drug therapies, said Dr. Bruce Schackman, an assistant professor of public health at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University in New York and the study’s lead author.The research found the average annual cost of care was $25,200, about 40 percent higher than a commonly cited estimate ...
Source: THE CHIVE: an archive of HIV and STD news - November 12, 2006 Category: HIV AIDS Source Type: blogs

Homeless shelter residents receptive to STD testingEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
From Reuters: The vast majority of people living in homeless shelters are willing to undergo testing for sexually transmitted infections (STI), and to receive treatment if they are found to have these infections, a new study shows."It is worth emphasizing that all infected persons identified in this study were asymptomatic and would have been unlikely to seek screening or treatment if they had not been approached at the shelters by our outreach staff," Dr. Diane M. Grimley of the University of Alabama at Birmingham and her colleagues note.Homeless people are at greatly increased risk of STIs compared to the general populat...
Source: THE CHIVE: an archive of HIV and STD news - November 10, 2006 Category: HIV AIDS Source Type: blogs

U.S. experiment uses AIDS to fight AIDSEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
From Reuters: An AIDS virus genetically engineered to fight other AIDS viruses worked better than expected, suppressing the virus and renewing the immune systems of a few patients, researchers reported on Monday.The study involved just five people, and such an approach needs years more study, they cautioned -- but the surprising results offer new hope both for the field of gene therapy and for treating the fatal and incurable AIDS virus."The goal of this phase I trial was safety and feasibility and the results established that," said Dr. Carl June of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, who led the study."But...
Source: THE CHIVE: an archive of HIV and STD news - November 7, 2006 Category: HIV AIDS Source Type: blogs

Novartis drug for chronic hepatitis B gets FDA nodEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
From Reuters: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Wednesday it has approved Novartis AG's telbivudine once-a-day drug for treating adults with chronic hepatitis B, a viral infection that attacks the liver.During clinical studies of the drug, also known as Tyzeka, it was generally well tolerated and most adverse events were mild to moderate, the FDA said in a statement.Approximately 70,000 Americans are infected with chronic hepatitis B annually and 5,000 of them die from complications of the disease, according to the FDA. It is sometimes spread through sexual contact or blood contamination."Tyzeka offers prescrib...
Source: THE CHIVE: an archive of HIV and STD news - October 26, 2006 Category: HIV AIDS Source Type: blogs

Many STD patients reinfected within monthsEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
From Reuters: Many patients who are treated for chlamydia infection, vaginal trichomoniasis or gonorrhea are infected again within months, U.S. researchers reported Monday.The findings, they say, suggest that anyone diagnosed chlamydia infection or gonorrhea should return to their doctor in three months to be re-tested.People can't rely on symptoms to tell them they're infected, said study leader Dr. Thomas A. Peterman, a researcher with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "These infections are often asymptomatic," Peterman told Reuters Health. "and that's why we need to do re-screening."His team's finding...
Source: THE CHIVE: an archive of HIV and STD news - October 17, 2006 Category: HIV AIDS Source Type: blogs

Einstein College Of Medicine Receives $10 Million Grant To Study Health Of Hispanic PopulationEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Medical News Today: Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University announced today that it has been awarded a $10 million grant from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) for a landmark and unprecedented large-scale study of the health status of 4,000 people of Hispanic/Latino origin in the Bronx. Einstein is one of only five institutions nationwide to receive grants under this new Federal program, and the only one in New York."We are enormously pleased and honored to have been chosen to conduct this landmark study of the health needs of the Hispanic/Latino population," said Allen M. Spiegel, M.D....
Source: THE CHIVE: an archive of HIV and STD news - October 17, 2006 Category: HIV AIDS Source Type: blogs

AIDS Activist Jeff Getty Dead at 49Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
From ABC News: Jeff Getty, a prominent AIDS activist who in 1995 received the first bone-marrow transplant from a baboon to treat the disease, has died. He was 49.Getty died Monday of heart failure, following treatment for cancer and a long struggle with AIDS, at the High Desert Medical Center in Joshua Tree, said Ken Klueh, his partner of 26 years.Before antiviral drug combinations were used successfully by AIDS patients, Getty grabbed national attention in December 1995 for becoming the first person ever to receive a bone marrow cell transfusion from one species to another. His transplant at San Francisco General Hospita...
Source: THE CHIVE: an archive of HIV and STD news - October 16, 2006 Category: HIV AIDS Source Type: blogs

U.S. OKs early test to help diagnose HIVEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
From Reuters: U.S. health officials have approved a Gen-Probe Inc. test to help diagnose the HIV virus sooner, the Food and Drug Administration said on Thursday.The test, called the Aptima HIV-1 RNA Qualitative Assay, helps detect genetic material to diagnose the HIV-1 virus before antibodies appear, the FDA said. It can also help confirm presence of the virus if antibodies are found.Shares of the San Diego, Calif.-based company closed up 10 cents at $47.72 on Nasdaq after the approval.The FDA said the Aptima test was as sensitive as other kinds of tests that measure the amount of virus in patient with established human im...
Source: THE CHIVE: an archive of HIV and STD news - October 5, 2006 Category: HIV AIDS Source Type: blogs

Update 1: Congress Adjourns Without Approving Ryan White CARE Act ReauthorizationEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
From Kaiser Network: Congress on Saturday adjourned without the Senate passing a measure to reauthorize the Ryan White CARE Act, which provides funding for HIV/AIDS programs in the U.S., the AP/Boston Globe reports (Abrams, AP/Boston Globe, 10/1). Five senators, including a "handful" from New Jersey and New York, on Friday blocked Senate consideration of a House-approved bill (HR 6143) sponsored by Rep. Mary Bono (R-Calif.) that would change CARE Act funding formulas so that rural areas experiencing increasing numbers of HIV/AIDS cases receive increased funding amounts, which would decrease funding allocated to urban areas...
Source: THE CHIVE: an archive of HIV and STD news - October 3, 2006 Category: HIV AIDS Source Type: blogs

Ethnic Disparities In Medicare Claims Revealed By Rochester StudyEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
From Medical News Today: African Americans and Latinos are more likely to underestimate how long it has been since their last routine screening test for disease -- such as a mammogram, Pap smear, or cholesterol test - according to a University of Rochester study that matched patient recollections with Medicare documentation. Researchers are concerned this might be harming the health of minorities in the long run."If you ask anyone, "When was the last time you had a mammogram, or a cholesterol test?' almost all people will think it's been a shorter time than it's actually been. Over-reporting happens to all of us," said lea...
Source: THE CHIVE: an archive of HIV and STD news - October 3, 2006 Category: HIV AIDS Source Type: blogs

Over 40 pct in EU take no AIDS precautions: pollEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
From Reuters: More than 40 percent of people in the European Union take no precautions against AIDS during sex, an EU survey showed on Monday.According to the poll, carried out in September and October of last year, fewer people in the 15 "old" member states said they practiced safe sex compared to the previous survey conducted in 2002.The Eurobarometer poll of just under 25,000 EU citizens aged more than 15 showed nearly half were poorly informed about the risks of contracting HIV/AIDS, with those in the bloc's 10 newest member countries the most confused.According to figures from the United Nations, over half a million p...
Source: THE CHIVE: an archive of HIV and STD news - October 2, 2006 Category: HIV AIDS Source Type: blogs

HIV "load" not indicative of AIDS progressEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
From Reuters: Measuring the amount of AIDS virus circulating in the blood of HIV-positive patients is not a good indicator of the health of their immune systems, researchers said on Tuesday.Physicians often assess the amount of HIV particles in the blood -- known as the viral load -- along with the decline in CD4 cells that help the body fight infections to measure the disease's progress and decide when to prescribe drug therapy.But a study of 2,800 untreated HIV-positive individuals found only about 5 percent of the variations in viral load corresponded to variations in immune system damage.Depletion of CD4 cells is there...
Source: THE CHIVE: an archive of HIV and STD news - September 27, 2006 Category: HIV AIDS Source Type: blogs

House Panel Approves Reauthorization Of Ryan White CARE ActEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
From Medical News Today: The House Committee on Energy and Commerce on Wednesday voted 38-10 to approve a draft bill that would reauthorize the Ryan White CARE Act for the next five years, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The draft bill in the House, sponsored by Commerce Committee Chair Joe Barton (R-Texas), would reauthorize the CARE Act through 2011 and appropriate about $2 billion for fiscal year 2007 in grants to state and local governments for medications, health care and social services, CQ Today reports. The measure would change how the grant money is distributed in order to provide funds to areas with increasi...
Source: THE CHIVE: an archive of HIV and STD news - September 26, 2006 Category: HIV AIDS Source Type: blogs

Male genital hygiene affects risk of HIV infectionEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
From ReutersUK: Washing the penis regularly lowers the risk of HIV infection in uncircumcised men, and even among men who are circumcised, according to two papers in the Journal of AIDS for September.Male circumcision is associated with a reduced prevalence of HIV, according to Dr. Nigel O'Farrell, from Ealing Hospital in London, and colleagues. They now suggest that interventions to improve genital hygiene may also effective in reducing HIV infection risk.Specifically, they theorized that the presence of "subpreputial penile wetness" -- a lanolin-like wetness commonly found under the foreskin in most uncircumcised men -- ...
Source: THE CHIVE: an archive of HIV and STD news - September 22, 2006 Category: HIV AIDS Source Type: blogs

Smokers May Be More Likely to Contract HIVEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
This study was published online ahead of print in Sexually Transmitted Infections.
Source: THE CHIVE: an archive of HIV and STD news - September 21, 2006 Category: HIV AIDS Source Type: blogs

CDC Backs HIV Test for All Between 13-64Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
From the Washington Post: Federal health officials Thursday recommended regular, routine testing for the AIDS virus for all Americans ages 13 to 64, saying an HIV test should be as common as a cholesterol check.The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines are aimed at preventing the further spread of the disease and getting needed care for an estimated 250,000 Americans who don't yet know they have it."We simply must improve early diagnosis," said CDC Director Dr. Julie Gerberding.Nearly half of new HIV infections are discovered when doctors are trying to diagnose a patient who has already grown sick with...
Source: THE CHIVE: an archive of HIV and STD news - September 21, 2006 Category: HIV AIDS Source Type: blogs

HIV 'switches off' immune cellsEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
From BBC News: US scientists say they have discovered how HIV evades the body's natural defences against viral infections.HIV disarms the T cells sent by the body to fight it by flicking a molecular switch on the cells.In the laboratory, the researchers were able to block this switch and restore T cell function, Nature reports.Drugs are already available that can do the same, but the scientists say more safety studies are needed.The drugs may not be specific enough and could cause nasty side-effects, they cautioned.Lead researcher Bruce Walker, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute researcher at Massachusetts General Hospital ...
Source: THE CHIVE: an archive of HIV and STD news - August 21, 2006 Category: HIV AIDS Source Type: blogs

Gates Foundation Donates $287 Million for AIDS ResearchEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
From the LA Times: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced Wednesday a $287-million donation to fund AIDS vaccine research and establish an international network focused on vaccine development.The main goal of the 16 grants is to shift the development process from independent efforts in separate laboratories to large-scale collaborative efforts involving many labs and countries."Traditional ways of making vaccines, which have worked well against other diseases, have largely failed for HIV," said Dr. Giuseppe Pantaleo of the Vaudois University Hospital Center in Lausanne, Switzerland, one of the grantees. "Success wil...
Source: THE CHIVE: an archive of HIV and STD news - July 20, 2006 Category: HIV AIDS Source Type: blogs

FDA clears implant for long-term birth controlEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
From the Chicago Tribune: Adding to women's options for birth control, federal drug regulators announced approval Tuesday of a long-acting contraceptive implanted in the upper arm.The new drug, Implanon, is a matchstick-size rod that steadily releases a small amount of the hormone progestin, preventing pregnancy. Tests found it 99 percent effective.Doctors place Implanon just under the skin with a local anesthetic and can remove it at any time. Once it is removed, a woman could regain the fertility necessary to become pregnant within as little as a month, a federal regulator said.The new drug will be the first implanted in...
Source: THE CHIVE: an archive of HIV and STD news - July 20, 2006 Category: HIV AIDS Source Type: blogs

US clears 3-drug AIDS pill for global relief planEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
From Reuters: A three-in-one AIDS pill officials hope will make it easier for patients to stick with their treatments won U.S. clearance on Friday for use in a global relief plan.The drug, made by India's Aurobindo Pharma Ltd., received tentative Food and Drug Administration approval. The FDA endorsement makes the product available for purchase under President George W. Bush's effort to provide AIDS-fighting medicines in 15 countries.The new pill contains the active ingredients in the drugs lamivudine, zidovudine and nevirapine. The recommended dosing is one pill twice a day.FDA officials said the pill's availability marke...
Source: THE CHIVE: an archive of HIV and STD news - July 2, 2006 Category: HIV AIDS Source Type: blogs

Young girls should get cancer vaccine, panel saysEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
From Reuters: Girls as young as nine and young women up to age 26 should be able to get Merck and Co.'s Gardasil vaccine aimed at preventing a sexually transmitted virus that can cause cancer, a panel of U.S. experts said on Thursday.In a complicated vote, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices agreed to recommend the vaccine for three groups -- all young girls aged 11 and 12; girls and women aged 13 to 26 who have not received the vaccine yet; and women who have had abnormal pap smears, genital warts, or certain other conditions.At their discretion, physicians could vaccinate as young as nine, the panel decided....
Source: THE CHIVE: an archive of HIV and STD news - June 30, 2006 Category: HIV AIDS Source Type: blogs

D.C. Wants HIV Testing for All Residents 14 to 84Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
From the Washington Post: The District will launch a campaign next week urging every resident between the ages of 14 and 84 to be tested for HIV, an ambitious undertaking that public health officials say is critical to reversing rates of infection that are among the worst in the country.The citywide campaign, which appears to be unprecedented in its breadth, will target 400,000 men, women and teenagers and encourage them to learn their HIV status through an oral swab that delivers results in 20 minutes.Organizers want the rapid test to become as common a part of any medical exam as blood-pressure monitoring or a cholestero...
Source: THE CHIVE: an archive of HIV and STD news - June 26, 2006 Category: HIV AIDS Source Type: blogs