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Janssen announces U.S. prescribing information update for EDURANT tablets

Janssen Therapeutics, Division of Janssen Products, LP, announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a prescribing information update for EDURANT (rilpivirine) tablets to include 96-week pooled data from the Phase 3 ECHO and THRIVE studies, which evaluated the efficacy and safety of EDURANT for the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) in antiretroviral treatment-naive adults.

11 Dec 2012

Recognizing reproductive rights as human rights

Noting the recognition of International Human Rights Day on December 9, Purnima Mane, president and CEO of Pathfinder International, writes in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog, "Every person should be able to make decisions about her or his body," making reproductive rights a human rights issue.

11 Dec 2012

GlobalPost series examines HIV/AIDS in European, MENA regions

As part of its ongoing series, titled "The State of AIDS," GlobalPost published two articles examining the epidemic in different regions. In Eastern Europe, rates of HIV/AIDS diagnoses have risen in several countries, including Ukraine and Russia, according to the first article, which discusses some of the potential reasons for the increases.

11 Dec 2012

PEPFAR blueprint relies on science to inform policies, SciDev.Net reports

"Science is at the center of efforts to design and implement more effective preventative and care programs for HIV/AIDS set out in a blueprint published by a U.S. government initiative that fights the disease," SciDev.Net reports, referencing the PEPFAR Blueprint: Creating an AIDS-free Generation that was released November 29.

11 Dec 2012

New hope for leukemia patients

Nine of twelve leukemia patients who received infusions of their own T cells after the cells had been genetically engineered to attack the patients' tumors responded to the therapy, which was pioneered by scientists in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania

10 Dec 2012

IQWiG investigates benefits of rilpivirine for HIV treatment

Since the start of 2012, a new drug called rilpivirine has been available for adult patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). It is marketed by two different pharmaceutical companies, by one as a single agent (trade name Edurant-) and by the other as a fixed combination with other HIV drugs (trade name Eviplera-).

8 Dec 2012

International community should 'not forget' importance of treatment, care for children with HIV

The "progress and momentum" behind stopping mother-to-child HIV transmission is "reason to celebrate," Charles Lyons, president and CEO of the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, and Peter Twyman, CEO of Keep a Child Alive, write in The Hill's "Congress Blog."

8 Dec 2012

Lancet editorial examines possibility of 'AIDS-free generation,' PEPFAR blueprint

"After three decades of global emergency responses and a series of scientific breakthroughs in the fight against HIV/AIDS, it is now tempting to ask if we are marching towards the end of AIDS," an editorial in the Lancet states.

8 Dec 2012

GlobalPost blog interviews reporter Joanne Silberner about PRI series on cancer in developing world

GlobalPost's "Global Pulse" blog features an interview with freelance reporter and artist-in-residence at the University of Washington in Seattle Joanne Silberner, a former NPR correspondent, about her recent series for PRI's "The World," titled "Cancer's New Battleground -- The Developing World."

8 Dec 2012

Cost-benefit analysis of TasP compared with circumcision, ART

In a study published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Till Barnighausen, David Bloom, and Salal Humair of the Harvard School of Public Health examine "whether [HIV treatment as prevention (TasP)] is indeed a game changer or if comparable benefits are obtainable at similar or lower cost by increasing coverage of medical male circumcision (MMC) and antiretroviral treatment (ART)."

8 Dec 2012

Boehner, Obama move to direct talks on budget

As the negotiations shift to the president and House speaker, some Republicans appear to be encouraging their colleagues to abandon staunch opposition to any tax rate hike, The Washington Post reports. But several outlets note that little movement is apparent from either side.

7 Dec 2012

GlobalPost reports on HIV/AIDS in Latin America

In its continuing series titled "The State of AIDS," GlobalPost examines the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Latin America and the Caribbean, where "[m]ajor gains have been made in the fight against the spread of HIV" over the past decade, particularly in stopping mother-to-child transmission (MTCT).

7 Dec 2012

Ultrasound applied to fingertips can stimulate sensory pathways leading to the brain

A century after the world's first ultrasonic detection device - invented in response to the sinking of the Titanic -Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute scientists have provided the first neurophysiological evidence for something that researchers have long suspected: ultrasound applied to the periphery, such as the fingertips, can stimulate different sensory pathways leading to the brain.

7 Dec 2012

IRIN examines exclusive breastfeeding practices in Kenya

IRIN examines exclusive breastfeeding practices in Kenya, writing, "The country's push for exclusive breastfeeding appears to be working; according to the 2009 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey, 32 percent of babies are exclusively breastfed up to the age of six months, up from just 13 percent in 2003." Kenya hopes "a new law banning the promotion of infant formula ... will contribute to the government's push to encourage all mothers to breastfeed exclusively for at least six months," the news service writes.

7 Dec 2012

Blog series examines challenges, solutions in global AIDS response

The Skoll World Forum and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog have co-produced a blog series highlighting key challenges in the global response moving forward and examining how the international community can overcome these challenges.

7 Dec 2012

Al Jazeera examines HIV/AIDS in Persian Gulf

Al Jazeera examines HIV/AIDS in the Persian Gulf, writing, "For much of the past two decades, there has been an information vacuum in the Gulf for epidemiological data on HIV and AIDS.

7 Dec 2012

U.S. must maintain leadership in AIDS fight, bipartisan support of PEPFAR

Through travel to Africa and "as chairman and ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs, we've seen firsthand the enormous toll of HIV/AIDS on families, communities and economies," Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) write in the Huffington Post's "Politics" blog.

7 Dec 2012

U.S. government announces grants for implementation science projects on PMTCT

Last week, the U.S. government announced up to $7.5 million in grants over the next two years to fund "implementation science projects exploring how to achieve the goal of eliminating new pediatric HIV infections while keeping mothers alive," the Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog reports.

7 Dec 2012

IRIN examines WHO's efforts to communicate HIV risk among injectable hormonal contraceptive users

IRIN examines the WHO's ongoing efforts to synthesize and communicate guidance about the risk of HIV infection and transmission for women taking injectable hormonal contraception, including a meeting scheduled for this week in Geneva.

7 Dec 2012

Longer looks: The frustrations of academic medicine; Small business owners fear health law changes; A doctor struggles to save his mother

Like many franchisees, Robert U. Mayfield, who owns five Dairy Queens in and around Austin, Tex., is always eager to expand and -; no surprise -; has had his eyes on opening a sixth DQ. But he said concerns about the new federal health care law had persuaded him to hold off.

7 Dec 2012