Researchers Study Potential Microbicide Ingredient
Program Offers Free HIV Tests, Food Vouchers
Judge Dismisses Petition Requiring the Use of Condoms in Porn Films
“HIV in Rural America” Issue of Positively Aware Available Now
Researchers Study Potential Microbicide Ingredient
According to a report on January 4 in the online HealthDay News, researchers have discovered an agent that appears to make sexual transmission of HIV less likely. The molecule, called surfen, has the potential to become an ingredient in topical microbicides that aim to reduce the likelihood of infection through semen, according to the report released online in advance of publication in an upcoming print issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry. Surfen is a small molecule that interferes with the action of a factor in semen called "semen-derived enhancer of viral infection," or SEVI.
"Surprisingly, although HIV readily replicates once inside the body, the virus struggles to establish a beachhead of infection during sexual transmission," Dr. Warner Greene, senior author of the study, explained. "We have been studying SEVI, a naturally occurring factor present in semen that can make HIV thousands of times more infectious. Knowing more about surfen, a SEVI inhibitor, might enable us to lower transmission rates of HIV."
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FDA Tentatively Approves Matrix Labs’ New Drug Application for Pediatric Efavirenz in Developing Countries
Under the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted tentative approval for the New Drug Application (NDA) for efavirenz (Sustiva or Stocrin outside the U.S.) tablets, 50 mg, 100 mg and 200 mg, made by Matrix Laboratories, Limited, a subsidiary of Mylan, Inc. These pediatric dosages in tablet form were developed by Matrix for use in treating pediatric HIV/AIDS outside the U.S.
Efavirenz is a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (nNRTI) that has been found to be effective in many combination regimens for the treatment of HIV infection, both in treatment-naive and in treatment-experienced individuals.
The FDA's tentative approval under PEPFAR means that Matrix's product meets all of the agency's manufacturing quality, safety, and efficacy standards. Although existing patents or exclusivity prevent its marketing in the U.S., the product will be eligible for purchase outside the U.S. in many developing countries.
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Program Offers Free HIV Tests, Food Vouchers
Bernie Hornick reported in the Johnstown, Pennsylvania Tribune-Democrat that a new program offering a $25 grocery voucher will motivate residents to get tested for HIV on several Wednesdays in January and February.
“Up until now, we never provided incentives to test since we assumed people cared about their health,” said Vanka Bonini, director of Community Care Management at Memorial Medical Center.
But her organization secured a $5,000 grant through the federal Ryan White CARE Act and will spend it encouraging HIV/AIDS testing. Bonini said the Obama administration has set a national goal of testing 1.5 million Americans per year.
Bonini said Saturday, “We want to make people aware that HIV is still here and we want them to protect themselves.”
The oral swab tests also are being co-sponsored by the state Department of Health and the nonprofit Keystone Alliance/Gaylife newsletter.
Keystone Alliance President John DeBartola of Johnstown said, “I think people are afraid of the stigma of the disease. It’s not specific to any one group – it’s universal. The only way to dispel fear is to hold awareness events like this. We’d like to raise awareness for a cure one day.”
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Judge Dismisses Petition Requiring the Use of Condoms in Porn Films
On December 22, 2009, a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge dismissed a petition seeking a court order to compel county public health officials to require condom use on porn sets or to take other reasonable steps to stem the spread of disease.
The petition, filed by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), contended that the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has "passively observed an ever-growing epidemic" within the porn industry.
Judge David P. Yaffe rejected the petition, noting that the county has broad discretion in how it oversees public health.
The AIDS advocacy group sued the county in July. The action came weeks after an adult-film actress tested positive for HIV and county health officials released data that showed 18 HIV cases and more than 3,700 cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis had been reported since 2004 by a San Fernando Valley-based clinic that mainly serves the porn industry. Officials from the Adult Industry Medical (AIM) Healthcare Foundation, an organization which tests adult film actors for HIV and STDs, said at the time that the majority of the cases did not involve working adult film performers.
AHF officials plan to appeal the decision and said they would press for change. "We just hope the county will do the right thing without being compelled to do it by a court," foundation President Michael Weinstein said. "This is going to be a years-long battle and it's going to have its ups and downs, but we know in the end that public health is going to win."
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Project Inform and CHAMP Lead Think Tank to Develop Integrated Approach to HIV Testing, Linkage to Care and Treatment
Project Inform and the Community HIV/AIDS Mobilization Project (CHAMP) co-sponsored a Think Tank on December 7 and 8 in Washington, D.C., bringing together 54 leading, multi-disciplinary HIV/AIDS experts to decide whether the United States should implement a “Test & Treat” strategy to further control HIV/AIDS. The Think Tank was held in part to inform the development of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy, a process being led by President Obama’s Office of National AIDS Policy. Project Inform and CHAMP serve as members of the Steering Committee for the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS).
The Think Tank resulted in a recommendation that a new approach called Testing & Linkage to Care Plus (TLC+) become a part of the NHAS to help the nation meet three important goals: to increase the percentage of HIV-positive Americans who know their HIV status, to improve the health outcomes of individuals who are HIV-positive, and to reduce HIV incidence (new cases of HIV infection). Implementation of TLC+ has the potential to further a long-held and partially realized goal of integrating HIV care and treatment with prevention in order to further control the domestic epidemic.
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“HIV in Rural America” Issue of Positively Aware Available Now
The January/February issue of Positively Aware is now available in print and will soon be available online at www.positivelyaware.com.
Included in the issue are articles about HIV care in non-urban settings, interviews with Donna Sweet, M.D. and Agnes Nyamayarwo, an update on the state of AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAPs), an overview of the health care reform effort, and the first of the recurring Wellness Series feature, this time about bone health for those with HIV.
Popular columns “The Wholistic Picture” and “Salient Ramblings” are also included and Keith Green returns to comment on “What’s Goin’ On.”
Pick up a copy at TPAN, your doctor’s office or AIDS service organization, or write distribution@tpan.com for a subscription, free to those living with HIV.
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