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New saliva-based HIV test gives results in 20 minutes!

The usual waiting period for the results of a HIV test can seem like an eternity, especially in emergency situations where results are needed immediately. Also it requires a blood sample, which is invasive and often painful. Recognizing the urgent need for a faster and less invasive diagnostic method, Dr. Nitika Pant Pai, from Marina Klein's research team at the MUHC has just finished testing a new saliva-based test that gives results in approximately 20 minutes! She describes her findings in an article that will appear in the May 6th, 2008 issue of PLoS Medicine.

6 May 2008

HIV/AIDS cases decline in Malawi; testing, counseling sites increase, health official says

HIV prevalence among people ages 15 to 49 in Malawi declined to 12% in 2007, and there are now 410 sites offering HIV testing and counseling, National AIDS Commission Board Chair Nicholas Chitimba said recently, Malawi's National News reports.

6 May 2008

More women than men sought services at Uganda's AIDS support organization in 2007

More women than men in Uganda sought services of the AIDS Support Organization, or TASO, according to a recently released TASO report, Uganda's Weekly Observer reports. TASO provides HIV testing and counseling, as well as antiretroviral drugs and other HIV/AIDS-related services.

6 May 2008

Rate of voluntary HIV testing unchanged in Singapore despite expanded access to rapid HIV tests

The number of people who voluntarily took HIV tests in Singapore in 2007 did not improve despite increased access of rapid HIV testing kits to more than 60 clinics, Singapore's Today reports.

5 May 2008

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette profiles founder of Children Affected by AIDS Foundation

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Thursday profiled Joe Cristina, founder of the Los Angeles-based Children Affected by AIDS Foundation. According to the Post-Gazette, Cristina founded CAAF in 1993 with the support of the toy company Mattel, where he was an executive, as a way to "channel" the "energy and support" he received after being diagnosed with HIV.

5 May 2008

New York lawmakers, HIV/AIDS advocates working to address HIV/AIDS funds for counties

New York state lawmakers and HIV/AIDS advocates are working to address federal HIV/AIDS funding for Nassau and Suffolk counties following a recent ruling that HHS should restore more than $1 million in Ryan White Program funding, the New York Times reports (Saslow, New York Times, 5/4).

5 May 2008

Anti-HIV NanoViricide drug candidate shows promise in animal trials

NanoViricides, Inc said that its anti-HIV drug candidates demonstrated significant therapeutic efficacy in the recently completed preliminary animal studies.

5 May 2008

New OPAL therapy presents simple, cost-effective method of treating HIV infection

Australian researchers have unveiled a new immunotherapy technique to help prevent the progression from HIV infection to AIDS. Details of the simple, cost-effective technique are published May 2nd in the open-access journal PLoS Pathogens.

2 May 2008

The HIV epidemic in Eastern Europe and Central Asia examined at EECAAC II

Starting tomorrow, the second Eastern Europe and Central Asia AIDS Conference (EECAAC II), the largest AIDS-focused event to date in the region, will bring together a wide range of private and public groups at a critical time in the fight against AIDS.

2 May 2008

Poor nighttime sleep associated with daytime napping in older adults

Deficiencies in nighttime sleep are associated with daytime napping in older adults, according to a study published in the May 1 issue of the journal SLEEP.

1 May 2008

Stanford researchers synthesize new agents to flush HIV out of hiding

Any hunter will tell you that when your quarry goes into hiding, you have to flush it out to get a good shot at it. Such is the case with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

1 May 2008

New discoveries in hearing health

Three studies published in the May 2008 edition of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery reveal substantial new findings in several areas of hearing health, including research that indicates that patients with profound hearing loss benefit substantially from having cochlear implants placed in both ears, rather than one, as is the common practice.

1 May 2008

Philippine lawmaker introduces bill to bolster HIV/AIDS prevention, services

Philippine Rep. Nerissa Corazon Soon Ruiz recently introduced a measure that would amend the country's 1998 AIDS Prevention and Control Act in an effort to strengthen prevention and care services, the Manila Standard reports.

30 Apr 2008

Commercial sex industry booming along Uganda, Sudan border; teachers increasingly joining trade, study says

The commercial sex industry is booming along the border between Uganda and Sudan following a recent increase in jobs and commercial trucking, according to a recently released study about HIV/AIDS in the region, Uganda's Monitor reports.

30 Apr 2008

Global climate change to increase vulnerability to HIV/AIDS of people in developing countries

Climate change is the newest threat to the increasing HIV/AIDS epidemic worldwide, panelists said Wednesday at an HIV forum at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, the AAP/Age reports (McLean, AAP/Age, 4/30).

30 Apr 2008

Mothers and offspring can share cells throughout life - with positive and negative effects

Cutting the umbilical cord doesn't necessarily sever the physical link between mother and child. Many cells pass back and forth between the mother and fetus during pregnancy and can be detected in the tissues and organs of both even decades later. This mixing of cells from two genetically distinct individuals is called microchimerism. The phenomenon is the focus of an increasing number of scientists who wonder what role these cells play in the body.

30 Apr 2008

Discovery of quick method for making human monoclonal antibodies against flu

Human monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) - highly specific, identical, infection-fighting proteins produced in large quantities in the lab in cell lines that are derived from a single antibody-producing cell - against influenza can be rapidly produced in the lab, according to a new report from scientists supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

30 Apr 2008

Clinton Foundation, UNITAID announce new antiretroviral discounts

The Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative and UNITAID on Monday announced that they have negotiated agreements with generic drug companies that will reduce the cost of some antiretroviral drugs and provide new pediatric formulations, the Wall Street Journal reports.

29 Apr 2008

Egyptian actors address HIV/AIDS, recent imprisonment of men living with disease

Egyptian actors Amr Waked and Khaled Abul Naga are speaking out against HIV/AIDS-related stigma in the country after several people who are allegedly living with the disease have been jailed in recent months, AFP/Yahoo! News reports.

29 Apr 2008

Newspapers respond to PEPFAR reauthorization bills

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer and London's Guardian recently published an editorial and an opinion piece about bills (S 2731, HR 5501) that would reauthorize the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.

29 Apr 2008

AIDS News and Research

New saliva-based HIV test gives results in 20 minutes!

HIV/AIDS cases decline in Malawi; testing, counseling sites increase, health official says

More women than men sought services at Uganda's AIDS support organization in 2007

Rate of voluntary HIV testing unchanged in Singapore despite expanded access to rapid HIV tests

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette profiles founder of Children Affected by AIDS Foundation

New York lawmakers, HIV/AIDS advocates working to address HIV/AIDS funds for counties

Anti-HIV NanoViricide drug candidate shows promise in animal trials

New OPAL therapy presents simple, cost-effective method of treating HIV infection

The HIV epidemic in Eastern Europe and Central Asia examined at EECAAC II

Poor nighttime sleep associated with daytime napping in older adults

Stanford researchers synthesize new agents to flush HIV out of hiding

New discoveries in hearing health

Philippine lawmaker introduces bill to bolster HIV/AIDS prevention, services

Commercial sex industry booming along Uganda, Sudan border; teachers increasingly joining trade, study says

Global climate change to increase vulnerability to HIV/AIDS of people in developing countries

Mothers and offspring can share cells throughout life - with positive and negative effects

Discovery of quick method for making human monoclonal antibodies against flu

Clinton Foundation, UNITAID announce new antiretroviral discounts

Egyptian actors address HIV/AIDS, recent imprisonment of men living with disease

Newspapers respond to PEPFAR reauthorization bills

Professor Nancy Ip: Pioneering New Paths in Neurodegenerative Therapy

Utilizing process Raman in optimizing cultivated meat production

Exploring the G:Box and for high-quality imaging

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