This Tuesday, September 10 at the United States Conference on AIDS in New Orleans join IRMA and friends from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. for this fun workshop on anal health and rectal microbicide research and advocacy. Session 5: Imperial 9, Level 4. See ya there – show your rectal pride! ——————-  *Join IRMA’s robust, highly-active. moderated, Read More >>

As many of our readers  know – in December IRMA, the Microbicide Trials Network, and Population Council launched the video “The Rectal Revolution is Here: An introduction to rectal microbicide clinical trials.” The 14-minute video includes researchers, advocates, and trial participants and discusses the need for rectal microbicides and the role of clinical trials in developing products Read More >>

The AIDS 2012 Rectal Road Map put together by IRMA is a quick guide to rectal microbicide-related research and advocacy content + other selected sessions of interest at the International AIDS Conference in Washington, DC. It’s a big conference – you don’t want to get lost, or miss any of these really great sessions! IRMA’s Rectal Road Read More >>

IRMA members are Turning the Tide Together at AIDS 2012 and beyond. Will you be like the IRMA members pictured above and join us? To get involved in this AIDS 2012 awareness campaign, and to share what “Turning The Tide Together” means to you, download the template here and submit your photos to: photosAIDS2012@gmail.com. Several other IRMA Read More >>

via AIDSmap.com, by Gus Cairns Neither rectal douching nor vaginal washing appear to be as significantly associated with sexually transmitted infections as had been feared, the International Microbicides Conference in Sydney heard yesterday. In the case of women, vaginal washing and other vaginal health practices have been associated with bacterial vaginosis (BV), an imbalance in the types Read More >>

via Citizen News, by Bobby Ramakant For how long will anal health and hygiene be neglected? “It is high time that anal health [and hygiene] comes out of the closet” said Dr Ross Cranston, Assistant Professor, University of Pittsburgh, USA. Dr Cranston was referring to the multitude of anal health complications people practicing receptive anal intercourse are Read More >>

via Australian Federation of AIDS Organisation, by Eric Glare This article describes the biological role of anal mucus and its association with the gastrointestinal immune system, which harbours a persistent reservoir of HIV that potentially leads to infectious anal mucus. ERIC GLARE argues that all HIV prevention discussions should highlight the role anal mucus plays in HIV Read More >>

via AIDSmeds, by Tim Horn Results from a study conducted in the Bronx, New York, serve as an important reminder to HIV care providers: Comprehensive screening for precancerous anal lesions isn’t of importance only to HIV-positive men who have sex with men (MSM). According to the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes report by researchers at Albert Read More >>

REGISTER FOR THIS CALL! Raise your hand if you’ve ever felt uncomfortable talking about anal sex and anal health. Have you noticed that people sometimes tend to cringe from embarrassment when the word “rectal” is uttered? Or that they may laugh a little too much, or try to change the subject too quickly? If you can identify Read More >>

via Aidsmap, by Michael Carter Gay men are not the only group of HIV-positive patients who have an increased risk of anal cancer, according to North American research published in the online edition of Clinical Infectious Diseases. The researchers found that incidence of the cancer was also significantly higher in non-gay HIV-positive men as well as HIV-positive Read More >>