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Scientists discover new flu-fighting role for IL-15 protein

University of Georgia scientists have discovered a new flu-fighting role for a well-known component of the immune system. Kimberly Klonowski, assistant professor of cellular biology in the UGA Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, and her colleagues found that administering a cell-signaling protein known as IL-15 to mice infected with influenza reduces their peak viral load by nearly three times.

27 Jun 2012

U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator discusses lessons learned from U.S. response to HIV/AIDS worldwide

U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Ambassador Eric Goosby "discussed lessons learned from the U.S. response to the global HIV/AIDS epidemic over the past decade at an event hosted by the Brookings Institute Monday morning," the Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog reports.

27 Jun 2012

VA encourages all veterans to be tested for HIV at least once in their life time

The Department of Veterans Affairs is encouraging all Veterans to be tested for HIV at least once in their lives.

27 Jun 2012

Link between bacterial vaginosis and female-to-male HIV transmission risk

An investigation led by UCSF has found that the risk of female-to-male HIV transmission is increased three fold for women with bacterial vaginosis, a common disorder in which the normal balance of bacteria in the vagina is disrupted.

27 Jun 2012

Nanoparticles that can slip through mucus barriers shown to protect against herpes infections

Johns Hopkins researchers say they have demonstrated, for the first time in animals, that nanoparticles can slip through mucus to deliver drugs directly to tissue surfaces in need of protection. The researchers used these mucus-penetrating particles (MPPs) to protect against vaginal herpes infections in mice and the goal is to create similar MPPs to deliver drugs that protect humans against sexually transmitted diseases or even treat cancer.

26 Jun 2012

Vatican official calls on international community to provide 'free, efficient' HIV treatment in Africa

Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican's secretary of state and number two official, "called Friday on the international community to provide 'free and efficient treatment' for AIDS in Africa, starting with pregnant women, mothers and their babies," Agence France-Presse reports.

26 Jun 2012

Beauty N Black Wellness Tour to improve health of African American families

In an effort to improve the health of African American families, the Beauty N Black Wellness Tour will turn beauty salons into centers for health information and screening, starting with a June 30th launch in Los Angeles.

26 Jun 2012

Combination regimens trump monotherapy in fight against HIV transmission

A two- or three-drug combination is more effective at reducing intrapartum HIV acquisition than zidovudine monotherapy in babies who are at high risk for transmission, a study in The New England Journal of Medicine shows.

25 Jun 2012

HIV therapy affects bone mass within 2 years

Young men receiving antiretroviral therapy for recently diagnosed HIV are more likely to have low bone mineral density than are other men of a similar age, US researchers report.

25 Jun 2012

Suicide leading cause of death among young people in India

Suicide has become the second-leading cause of death of young people in India, which has one of the highest suicide rates in the world, according to an Article published as part of the Lancet Series on suicide.

25 Jun 2012

GlobalPost blog series examines PMTCT program in South Africa

In the third of a series of entries in GlobalPost's "Global Pulse" blog, titled "A Daughter's Journey," Tracy Jarrett, a GlobalPost/Kaiser Family Foundation global health reporting fellow, visits a USAID-funded HIV clinic at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital outside of Johannesburg, South Africa.

23 Jun 2012

Zimbabwean lawmakers take public HIV tests in campaign to fight stigma

"Zimbabwean lawmakers started taking public HIV tests on Wednesday in a campaign seeking to raise awareness and fight the stigma associated with AIDS," VOA News reports.

23 Jun 2012

AIDS.gov blog republishes post in which U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator discusses AIDS 2012 conference

In an effort to "raise awareness around the U.S. global response to HIV/AIDS," the AIDS.gov blog has republished a post by U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Ambassador Eric Goosby in which he discusses the XIX International AIDS Conference, taking place in the U.S. for the first time in more than 20 years from July 22-27.

23 Jun 2012

No definitive link between hormonal contraceptives and increased risk of HIV infection among women, CDC says

"There is no clear link between the use of contraceptives such as the birth control pill or Depo-Provera shots and an increased risk that a woman will contract HIV, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday," Reuters reports, noting that the WHO came to the same conclusion in February.

23 Jun 2012

‘Take home’ methadone maintenance therapy has added benefits

Patients who are given “take home” methadone maintenance treatment for opioid dependence are less likely to be admitted to hospital than those who do not, a study shows.

22 Jun 2012

Longer looks: Alzheimer's researcher turns to drug she helped invent

Given her relatively young age, Dr. Rae Lyn Burke didn't think much about her family history of Alzheimer's disease -- a grandmother and an aunt had suffered from it, but they were much older. Ironically, Burke was just in her late 50s when she started having her own symptoms of early onset Alzheimer's. Even more ironic is that Burke had been one of the key developers of the Alzheimer's drug bapineuzumab, which she now takes herself to reduce the progression of the disease in her own brain.

22 Jun 2012

GlobalPost examines investment in community care workers in South Africa as PEPFAR moves toward local implementation of programming

"Nearly a decade after it came into being, the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) ... is moving increasingly to support local leadership and implementation capacity" in South Africa, GlobalPost's "Global Pulse" blog reports.

22 Jun 2012

Report: Sexual orientation still affecting access to health care

The Human Rights Campaign issued its annual evaluation of how hospitals and other health care facilities score on care for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender patients.

21 Jun 2012

India emerging as model for improvement in developing countries

In this NDTV opinion piece, Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, reflects on his recent trip to India, writing, "During my recent visit, I had a chance to see the latest progress on things that matter a lot to us: on eradicating polio and curtailing the spread of infectious diseases like HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis, for example."

21 Jun 2012

VOA News, PlusNews examine tuberculosis in South Africa

Several articles published on Tuesday examine tuberculosis (TB) in South Africa. "According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the country has the highest rate of new TB cases annually," VOA News writes, adding, "Thousands of people in South Africa continue to be infected by a disease that's been virtually eradicated in the developed world."

21 Jun 2012