http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Results of a major HIV prevention trial suggest that daily use of a product – whether a vaginal gel or an oral tablet – does not appear to be the right approach for preventing HIV in young, unmarried African women. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-tenofovir-vaginal-gel-daily-dosing.html HIV & AIDS Mon, 04 Mar 2013 12:42:56 EST news281623360 A novel head-to-head study looking at differences in how the antiretroviral (ARV) drug tenofovir gets absorbed in the body as either an oral tablet or a vaginal gel found tenofovir gel can achieve substantially higher concentrations of active drug in vaginal tissue than the oral tablet, suggesting that tenofovir gel should be highly effective in protecting women against HIV transmitted through vaginal sex. Yet, as unequivocal as the study's results may be, they have not been borne out in HIV prevention trials to date, leading the researchers to believe that effectiveness of tenofovir-based products depends on factors other than ARV tissue concentrations alone. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-tenofovir-gel-drug-absorption-hiv.html HIV & AIDS Wed, 30 Jan 2013 17:08:15 EST news278788086 Replacing the combination of brand-name, antiretroviral drugs currently recommended for control of HIV infection with soon-to-be-available generic medications could save the U.S. health care system almost $1 billion a year but may diminish the effectiveness of HIV treatment. A study led by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators, appearing in the January 15 Annals of Internal Medicine, examines the potential impact of such a change. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-hiv-treatment-strategy-billion-annually.html HIV & AIDS Mon, 14 Jan 2013 17:00:01 EST news277381002 Several large clinical trials have demonstrated that a daily oral dose of one or two antiretroviral drugs used to treat HIV infection can prevent infection in an approach known as pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP. The level of protection, however, depends on taking the drugs regularly. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-nih-funded-analysis-effective-prep-dosing.html HIV & AIDS Thu, 13 Sep 2012 10:28:18 EST news266750886 The UN agency tasked with fighting AIDS on Tuesday welcomed the decision by the United States to allow the use of an HIV prevention pill for the first time. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-unaids-drug-hiv.html HIV & AIDS Tue, 17 Jul 2012 06:38:40 EST news261725914 (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration on Monday approved the first drug shown to reduce the risk of HIV infection, the latest milestone in the 30-year battle against the virus that causes AIDS. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-truvada-pill-hiv.html HIV & AIDS Mon, 16 Jul 2012 13:08:13 EST news261662862 Various trials examining the use of anti-retroviral drugs in healthy heterosexuals as a way to prevent HIV have shown drastically different results, research showed Wednesday. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-pills-hiv.html HIV & AIDS Wed, 11 Jul 2012 18:28:07 EST news261250077 People at high risk of HIV infection can reduce their risk of acquiring the disease by taking antiretroviral drugs, according to Cochrane researchers. In an update of a systematic review first published in 2009, the researchers found that uninfected people in relationships with HIV-infected partners, men who have sex with men and those in other high risk groups are at a lower risk of becoming infected with the virus if they regularly take drugs that are normally prescribed to treat people with HIV. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-drugs-hiv-infection.html HIV & AIDS Tue, 10 Jul 2012 19:00:02 EST news261160988 A new once-daily pill combining three antiretrovirals and a booster molecule is a safe and effective alternative to two widely used drug regimens for newly diagnosed HIV-positive adults who have had no previous treatment. The findings of two large international randomized trials published in this week's Lancet also indicate that the new "Quad" pill is faster acting, doesn't have the neuropsychiatric side effects associated with other combinations, and could improve compliance with treatment. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-once-daily-quad-pill-hiv-safe.html HIV & AIDS Thu, 28 Jun 2012 18:30:01 EST news260123746 While immediate postexposure treatment for suspected HIV is critical, pre-exposure preventive treatment is a newer method that may be effective for people in high-risk groups, states a review of evidence published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-antiretroviral-treatment-hiv-infection-evidence.html HIV & AIDS Mon, 28 May 2012 12:00:01 EST news257414615 US health advisers on Thursday urged regulators to approve Truvada, made by Gilead Sciences, as the first preventive pill against HIV/AIDS instead of just a treatment for infected people. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-health-advisors-mull-aids-pill.html HIV & AIDS Thu, 10 May 2012 11:29:00 EST news255868134 A once-a-day pill to help prevent HIV infection could significantly reduce the spread of AIDS, but only makes economic sense if used in select, high-risk groups, Stanford University researchers conclude in a new study. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-drug-men-high-hiv-cost-effective.html HIV & AIDS Mon, 16 Apr 2012 17:00:01 EST news253810161 New research from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill schools of medicine and pharmacy may help explain the failure of some recent clinical trials of prevention of HIV infection, compared to the success of others that used the same drugs. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-prophecy-success-hiv-clinical-trials.html HIV & AIDS Wed, 07 Dec 2011 14:25:29 EST news242490246 A large-scale clinical trial evaluating whether daily use of an antiretroviral-containing oral tablet or vaginal gel can prevent HIV infection in women is being modified because an interim review found that the gel, an investigational microbicide, was not effective among study participants. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-nih-discontinues-tenofovir-vaginal-gel.html HIV & AIDS Mon, 28 Nov 2011 13:03:08 EST news241707778 A large-scale clinical trial evaluating whether daily use of an oral tablet or vaginal gel containing antiretroviral drugs can prevent HIV infection in women is being modified because an interim review found that the study cannot show that one of the study products, oral tenofovir, marketed under the trade name Viread, is effective. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-nih-voice-hiv-women.html HIV & AIDS Wed, 28 Sep 2011 13:56:31 EST news236436975 Heterosexuals who take daily AIDS drugs reduce the risk of being infected by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) by nearly two-thirds, ground-breaking studies said on Wednesday. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-aids-hiv-drugs-boost.html HIV & AIDS Wed, 13 Jul 2011 12:46:25 EST news229779969