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Study reveals potential strength of different anti-HIV combination drugs

Using a mathematical formula that carefully measures the degree to which HIV infection of immune system cells is stalled by antiretroviral therapy, AIDS experts at Johns Hopkins have calculated precisely how well dozens of such anti-HIV drugs work, alone or in any of 857 likely combinations, in suppressing the virus. Results of the team's latest research reveal how some combinations work better than others at impeding viral replication, and keeping the disease in check.

19 Feb 2012

Shah says 'difficult choices' made in FY13 International Affairs budget request

In this post on USAID's "IMPACTblog," USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah says the FY 2013 International Affairs budget request "showcases President Obama's commitment to making smart, efficient investments to help those in the greatest need while helping to create economic opportunity and safeguarding American security." Despite

18 Feb 2012

WHO confirms recommendations regarding HIV, female hormonal contraceptives after review of studies

"A stakeholder consultation convened by the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva has reviewed recent epidemiological studies related to HIV transmission and acquisition by women using hormonal contraceptives," a UNAIDS press statement reports.

18 Feb 2012

AHF criticizes Obama administration for global AIDS budget

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) today criticized the Obama administration, which—in a shocking repudiation of nearly thirty years of progress against the global AIDS pandemic—last Monday unveiled a global AIDS budget that takes the unprecedented step of reducing AIDS funding by approximately $214 million in fiscal year 2013. Never before has a President sought to actually reduce America's commitment to fighting the AIDS epidemic globally.

18 Feb 2012

Study reveals immune mechanism for surveillance over EBV infection

Some 90 percent of people are exposed to the Epstein Barr virus (EBV) at some point in their life. Even though it is quickly cleared from the body, the virus can linger silently for years in small numbers of infected B cells.

18 Feb 2012

Russian NGOs fear fate of HIV harm-reduction programs as planned exit of Global Fund occurs

The Moscow Times examines a potential shift in Russia's public health priorities as programs funded by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria begin to phase out.

17 Feb 2012

State roundup: Settlements for mental health facilities lawsuits; Minn., Oregon insurers face scrutiny

But the survey underway in Prince George's County is intended to address a complex problem. Officials expect the data to give them a detailed look at the state of health and health care in the county, where conditions such as diabetes and heart disease are much more common than in the rest of the region and most of the state.

17 Feb 2012

U of A researcher discovers new vaccine against HCV

A University of Alberta researcher and Canada Excellence Research Chair in Virology has made the discovery of a vaccine that will potentially help combat hepatitis C. Michael Houghton, who led the team that discovered the hepatitis C virus in 1989, announced his findings at the Canada Excellence Research Chairs Summit in Vancouver this afternoon. Currently, there are no vaccines against the disease available.

17 Feb 2012

Brandeis professor investigates wallpaper-like liner technology for tackling malaria

Can an innovative wallpaper-like liner help reduce the number of cases of malaria, and if so, will it be cost effective? Donald S. Shepard, a professor at the Schneider Institutes for Health Policy at the Heller School wants to know. And he has gotten the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to help. A grant, totaling nearly $500,000 over the next three years, will allow Shepard and collaborators to pursue their research in Kenya and Tanzania.

17 Feb 2012

New way to improve vaccines against cancer and infectious diseases

Research groups from Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin and the University of Geneva have discovered a new way of improving vaccines against infectious diseases and for use in cancer therapies. Scientists have shown a basic new mechanism that stimulates the body's own alarm signals in case of viral infection to animate the immune system to maximum performance.

17 Feb 2012

Examining CDC's role in Global HIV, TB research and development

In "the first in a series of conversations with officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) discussing the CDC's role in global HIV and tuberculosis (TB) research and development," the Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog interviews Kayla Laserson, director of the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI)/CDC Field Research Station in Kisumu, Kenya.

16 Feb 2012

AHF dismayed at FDA decision to expedite review for expanded use of Gilead's AIDS drug, Truvada

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the nation's largest HIV/AIDS nonprofit medical provider, today expressed its disappointment and dismay at the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) decision to grant an expedited review for Gilead Sciences' application for expanded use of its blockbuster AIDS drug, Truvada, as a means of preventing HIV infection in non-infected people.

16 Feb 2012

Small cash transfers to young women may help them avoid HIV infection, study suggests

Cash transfer programs involving small amounts of money paid to schoolgirls and their families who live in low-income settings can help the young women "resist the attentions of older men and avoid HIV infection, according to a new study" published online Wednesday in the Lancet, the Guardian reports.

16 Feb 2012

Chemists create new molecule that can tangle inside the DNA for up to 16 days

Chemists at The University of Texas at Austin have created a molecule that's so good at tangling itself inside the double helix of a DNA sequence that it can stay there for up to 16 days before the DNA liberates itself, much longer than any other molecule reported.

15 Feb 2012

Chemists adapt natural strategies to improve performance of DNA detectors

Over their 3.8 billion years of evolution, living organisms have developed countless strategies for monitoring their surroundings. Chemists at UC Santa Barbara and University of Rome Tor Vergata have adapted some of these strategies to improve the performance of DNA detectors. Their findings may aid efforts to build better medical diagnostics, such as improved HIV or cancer tests.

15 Feb 2012

Critics find much to fault in Obama budget

Republicans say the budget doesn't do enough to restrain entitlement spending. Health care industry groups, meanwhile, call proposed payment cuts unfair and unworkable.

15 Feb 2012

President Obama releases FY13 budget proposal with overall decrease for GHI

"President Barack Obama on Monday proposed a $3.8 trillion budget for fiscal 2013 that aims to slash the deficit by $4 trillion over 10 years," the Associated Press reports, and provides an agency-by-agency breakdown of the proposed budget.

15 Feb 2012

Tissues in SIV-infected monkeys can ramp up production of Tregs

Tissue in monkeys infected with a close relative of HIV can ramp up production of a type of T cell that actually weakens the body's attack against the invading virus. The discovery, in lymph nodes draining the intestinal tract, could help explain how the HIV virus evades the body's immune defenses.

15 Feb 2012

Legislation in Chinese autonomous region would eliminate anonymous HIV testing, require names

"Health officials in southern China are proposing new legislation to require real-name registration for HIV testing, a move aimed at lowering infection rates that has sparked controversy over personal privacy," the Wall Street Journal's "China Real Time Report" blog reports.

15 Feb 2012

First study to look at suicide ideation and self-harm in LGBT youths

What protects lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youths from considering suicide and, conversely, what makes them most vulnerable to it? The question is of paramount concern because these youths are at least twice as likely to attempt suicide than heterosexual youths, prompting the national "It Gets Better Project" with encouraging video messages from such public figures as Lady Gaga and President Barack Obama.

15 Feb 2012