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Findings emphasize importance of counseling HIV patients on smoking cessation

Among HIV patients receiving well-organized care with free access to antiretroviral therapy, those who smoke lose more years of life to smoking than to HIV, according to a Danish study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases and available online. The findings highlight the importance of smoking cessation efforts in the long-term, integrated care of patients infected with HIV.

19 Dec 2012

Study highlights need for health services and social support for parolees

More than 40% of parolees and releases sent to the Bronx from New York State prisons have two or more major chronic conditions, a study to be released today at a public briefing at Health People: Community Preventive Health Institute in the Bronx shows.

19 Dec 2012

Continued U.S. leadership crucial to building on global progress against TB

Tuberculosis (TB) "is the second leading cause of death due to infectious disease worldwide; taking approximately 1.4 million lives in 2011 alone," Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), a co-chair of the TB Elimination Caucus, writes in an opinion piece in The Hill's "Congress Blog".

19 Dec 2012

Automatic U.S. budget cuts would hurt global health efforts

In a post on the PATH blog, Rachel Wilson, senior director for policy and advocacy at PATH, examines the consequences of budget negotiations and "what enacting billions of dollars in automatic spending cuts could mean for people living in poverty around the world.

19 Dec 2012

MiR-122 plays a critical role in the life cycle of hepatitis C virus

Hepatitis C virus has evolved to invade and hijack the basic machinery of the human liver cell to ensure its survival and spread. Researchers at the University of North have discovered how hepatitis C binds with and repurposes a basic component of cellular metabolism known as a microRNA to help protect and replicate the virus.

19 Dec 2012

Global Fund, Nigeria sign grants for HIV, TB initiatives

"On Thursday (Dec. 14), Nigeria signed five grant agreements with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria," with some of the money going "to provide for antiretroviral therapy treatment and prevention services, particularly on mother-to-child HIV transmission," Devex's "The Development Newswire" blog reports.

18 Dec 2012

Opinions differ on proposed HIV/AIDS levies in Uganda

Writing in DevelopmentEducation.ie, Jamie Hitchen of the Human Rights Centre Uganda explores a proposal in Uganda to create "a fund specifically designated to assist projects for HIV and AIDS prevention and protection" that would "generate cash through levies on bank transactions and interest, air tickets, beer, soft drinks and cigarettes, as well as taxes on goods and services traded within Uganda."

18 Dec 2012

International community must keep fighting to end mother-to-child HIV transmission

"Even with the knowledge and medicines to prevent transmission of HIV from mothers to children, there are still babies being born with HIV in the U.S. and around the world," Jake Glaser, Janice McCall, and Cristina Pena -- all persons living with HIV who contracted the virus through mother-to-child transmission and who work as ambassadors for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation -- write in the Huffington Post's "Global Motherhood" blog.

18 Dec 2012

IRMA, Population Council and MTN release Rectal Revolution video project

International Rectal Microbicide Advocates (IRMA), the Population Council, and the Microbicide Trials Network (MTN) today released a collaborative video project called "The Rectal Revolution Is Here: An Introduction to Rectal Microbicide Clinical Trials." The jointly produced video, the first of its kind, is designed to educate communities affected by HIV about rectal microbicide development and the importance of participating in clinical trials to help speed the search for new HIV prevention options.

18 Dec 2012

Increased life expectancy not benefitting everybody equally: U of T

Global lifespans have risen dramatically in the past 40 years, but the increased life expectancy is not benefitting everybody equally, say University of Toronto researchers. In particular, adult males from low- and middle-income countries are losing ground.

17 Dec 2012

PlusNews reviews AVAC priorities for 2013 HIV prevention agenda

"If the world scales-up HIV treatment and prevention in the next two years, a critical tipping point -- in which those on treatment outnumber those newly infected with the virus -- could be reached, according to the global HIV prevention advocacy organization AVAC," PlusNews reports.

15 Dec 2012

Though progress made, global burden of HIV/AIDS requires greater, 'better' response

"Optimism and momentum has been building around the real possibility that an AIDS-free generation is imminent. Yet, the most recent estimates of HIV prevalence and incidence and of AIDS-related mortality released by UNAIDS, together with data from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010 in the Lancet, make it clear that AIDS is not over," UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibe; Peter Piot, director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine; and Mark Dybul, incoming executive director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, write in a Lancet opinion piece.

15 Dec 2012

Examining developing country contributions to AIDS response

"World AIDS Day 2012 offered numerous personal stories in the global fight against HIV and AIDS, but perhaps the most intriguing story, however, was a policy one: How developing countries are making significant contributions to the fight against AIDS in their own countries,"

15 Dec 2012

WHO releases new guidelines for interventions aimed at protecting sex workers from HIV

The WHO on Wednesday "released new guidelines providing technical recommendations on effective interventions for the prevention and treatment of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among sex workers and their clients," New Europe Online reports.

15 Dec 2012

Study suggests that existing HIV drug could be a potential therapy for Staph infections

A new study by NYU School of Medicine researchers suggests that an existing HIV drug called maraviroc could be a potential therapy for Staphylococcus aureus, a notorious and deadly pathogen linked to hundreds of thousands of hospitalizations each year.

15 Dec 2012

Malaria vaccine trial: an interview with Professor Sir Brian Greenwood

Malaria is an infection caused by a parasite called plasmodium, which is transmitted from person to person by females of some species of mosquito. It is primarily a disease of tropical countries.

14 Dec 2012

IRIN examines HIV/AIDS response in Guinea-Bissau

IRIN reports on the HIV/AIDS response in Guinea-Bissau, writing, "One year after the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria reduced funding to the Guinea-Bissau government body in charge of coordinating HIV prevention and treatment activities, health centers outside the capital are facing medicine shortages, patients are not receiving the treatment they need, and the transport of patients to treatment centers has been cut."

14 Dec 2012

Gender inequality must be addressed to 'get to zero' in AIDS epidemic

"What does it take to get to zero? While reflecting on the theme of this past World AIDS Day (Getting to zero, Zero new infections, Zero discrimination, Zero deaths), I asked myself this question," Lisa MacDonald, project manager at HealthBridge Foundation of Canada, writes in a Huffington Post Canada opinion piece.

14 Dec 2012

Medivir commences cohort 2 simeprevir and sofosbuvir phase II combination trial in HCV GT1

Medivir AB, announced today the initiation of cohort 2 in the interferon-free phase II trial combining simeprevir with sofosbuvir (GS7977) based on a safety and efficacy planned interim analysis of cohort 1 including prior null responder HCV genotype 1 infected patients without advanced hepatic fibrosis.

13 Dec 2012

Reproductive Health Matters' supplement issue focuses on pregnancy decisions of HIV-positive women

Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, announced today publication of Reproductive Health Matters' 2012 supplement issue "Pregnancy decisions of women living with HIV".

13 Dec 2012