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Social networking sites could effectively help prevent HIV infection among at-risk groups

Facebook and other social networking technologies could serve as effective tools for preventing HIV infection among at-risk groups, new UCLA research suggests.

9 Feb 2013

HIV prevention: don’t just target serodiscordant couples

A large proportion of heterosexual HIV transmission in sub-Saharan Africa occurs among stable couples who have sexual partners outside of their relationship, shows research published in The Lancet.

8 Feb 2013

First new TB vaccine in century fails initial testing

The first of a series of new vaccines that have been developed to combat tuberculosis failed to show efficacy compared with placebo in South African infants, show results from a phase II trial.

7 Feb 2013

Sangamo BioSciences fourth quarter revenues increase to $8.9 million

Sangamo BioSciences, Inc. today reported fourth quarter and full year 2012 financial results and accomplishments.

7 Feb 2013

Extra-couple relationships one of the main drivers of the HIV epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa

New research suggests that heterosexual couples in long-term relationships who have sexual encounters outside their established partnership (extra-couple relationships) are one of the main drivers of the HIV epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa.

6 Feb 2013

Experimental TB vaccine does not protect infants, study shows

"Hopes that a much needed new tuberculosis [TB] vaccine was on the way, the first for 90 years, have been dashed by trial results showing it did not protect babies against the disease," the Guardian reports.

6 Feb 2013

Boston College biologist to explore connection between peripheral neuropathy and HIV

Boston College biologist Tricia Burdo has been awarded a five-year, $1.9 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to study the role of the body's immune response in a debilitating form of nerve damage suffered by people living with HIV.

6 Feb 2013

South African government should take responsibility for HIV/AIDS treatment

Noting the many successes of PEPFAR, Stuart Rennie, co-principal investigator of NIH/Fogarty bioethics grants for the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Africa, writes in his "Global Bioethics Blog," "HIV requires lifelong treatment, and it is not healthy to have your existence depend on the decisions of a foreign government, especially an economically sputtering and lurching superpower."

6 Feb 2013

World Cancer Day provides opportunity to challenge assumptions that prevent effective action

"For the poor, cancer remains a silent killer. Breaking this silence could save hundreds of thousands and likely even millions of lives each year -- most of them in developing, low- and middle-income countries (LMICs)," Felicia Knaul, secretariat co-director of the Global Task Force on Expanded Access to Cancer Care and Control in Developing Countries, writes in the Huffington Post's "World" blog.

6 Feb 2013

Injection-free vaccination technique shows promise

Study findings show that a new injection-free vaccination technique, applied through a patch on the skin, can induce the same level of immune response as a standard vaccine injection when given to mice.

5 Feb 2013

UCSD receives $3.4M NIMH grant to study successful aging in HIV-infected adults

The National Institute of Mental Health has awarded a $3.4 million grant to a team of researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine to study successful aging in HIV-infected adults. HIV is a serious, chronic, medical disease that affects the lives of more than one million Americans.

5 Feb 2013

Gilead Sciences fourth quarter total revenues increase 18% to $2.59 billion

Gilead Sciences, Inc. announced today its results of operations for the fourth quarter and full year 2012.

5 Feb 2013

Cells lose ability to defend against transposons as they age

Even in our DNA there is no refuge from rogues that prey on the elderly. Parasitic strands of genetic material called transposable elements - transposons - lurk in our chromosomes, poised to wreak genomic havoc. Cells have evolved ways to defend themselves, but in a new study, Brown University researchers describe how cells lose this ability as they age, possibly resulting in a decline in their function and health.

4 Feb 2013

Measles: an interview with Dr. Robert Perry, World Health Organization

Measles is a disease marked by fever, rash, and cold symptoms (red eyes, cough, runny nose) that results in a temporary suppression of the immune system and a drop in vitamin A levels.

4 Feb 2013

Guardian reports on HIV-related employment discrimination case in China

"An aspiring teacher in south-east China has become the country's first person to win compensation for an HIV-related employment discrimination, according to state media reports," the Guardian writes.

2 Feb 2013

DHEA-S may prevent neurocognitive impairment that affects AIDS patients

A team of scientists from Canada, Thailand and Morocco have found that DHEA-S may prevent neurocognitive impairment that affects a significant percentage of AIDS patients. In a report appearing in the February 2013 issue of The FASEB Journal, they describe how a network of steroid molecules found in the brain, termed "neurosteroids," is disrupted during HIV infection leading to brain damage.

2 Feb 2013

HIV infection rate in MSM in England and Wales remains unchanged despite improved prevention measures

The rate of new HIV infections among men who have sex with men (MSM) in England and Wales has remained unchanged over the past decade despite an almost four-fold increase in HIV testing, rising treatment coverage, and a 20% shortening of time-to-diagnosis, according to new research published Online First in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.

1 Feb 2013

Moderate gum disease causes severe infection and inflammation in AIDS animal model

Texas Biomed scientists in San Antonio have found that moderate gum disease in an animal model exposed to an AIDS- like virus had more viral variants causing infection and greater inflammation. Both of these features have potential negative implications in long term disease progression, including other kinds of infections, the researchers say in a new report.

1 Feb 2013

Merck full-year 2012 worldwide sales decrease 2% to $47.3 billion

Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today announced financial results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2012.

1 Feb 2013

Condom use expectations less than 50% for all types of sexual encounters: Study

Researchers have found that African American women exhibit a higher risk for sexually transmitted infections including HIV/Aids. But what motivates this group of women to have sex? And when are they more likely to use protection?

31 Jan 2013