via PLoS Medicine, by Gordon Mansergh, Beryl A. Koblin, Patrick S. Sullivan Summary Points: Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) with anti-retroviral (ARV) medications is partially efficacious for preventing HIV infection among men who have sex with men (MSM) and heterosexuals. As PrEP becomes available and prescribed for use among MSM a better understanding of willingness to use PrEP and Read More >>

via Science Speaks, by Antigone Barton When he looks at what biomedical science can do in the next decade to prevent HIV transmission, Jim Turpin of the National Institutes of Health said, he thinks of the lyrics of a Timbuk3 song: “The future’s so bright I gotta wear shades.” By, which, actually, he means — don’t get Read More >>

 via aidsmap, by Gus Cairns How do we stop the hyperepidemic in gay men? A number of presentations at the 19th International AIDS Conference explored the ‘hyperepidemic’ of HIV amongst men who have sex with men, and especially black MSM. A paper presented by Gregorio Millet (pictured above at a White House reception honoring people working in AIDS) showed that, at Read More >>

via Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report In the United States, an estimated 48,100 new human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections occurred in 2009 (1). Of these, 27% were in heterosexual men and women who did not inject drugs, and 64% were in men who have sex with men (MSM), including 3% in MSM who inject drugs. In January Read More >>

via Citizens News Service, by Somya Arora According to the Microbicides Trials Network (MTN), HIV continues to disproportionately affect racial minorities and men who have sex with men (MSM). MTN estimates that 5 to 10 percent of the world’s population engages in anal sex and globally, MSM are 19 times more likely to be infected with HIV Read More >>

via AllAfrica.com, by Michael Carter Older, better-educated gay men who use sexual networking sites and have sex outside the context of committed relationships may be appropriate targets for intermittent pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), US research published in the online edition of the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes suggests. The investigators found that individuals with this profile were Read More >>

via Lancet.com, by Salim S Abdool Karim  and Quarraisha Abdool Karim On May 10, 2012, a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory committee voted in support of the use of tenofovir-emtricitabine for HIV prevention.1 If the FDA, which is scheduled to make its decision by June 15, adopts the committee’s recommendations, tenofovir-emtricitabine will become the first Read More >>

viaFenway Health Pre-exposure chemoprophylaxis (PrEP)—taking antiretroviral medications to prevent HIV transmission—could be a “game changer” for HIV prevention. PrEP has demonstrated partial efficacy with men who have sex with men (MSM), transgender women, and heterosexuals in several recent studies. Recent modeling of PrEP implementation coupled with scaled up treatment predicts that PrEP could significantly reduce HIV incidence Read More >>

via European AIDS Treatment Group, by Michael Carter Viral load in the blood and rectal secretions of HIV-positive gay men are highly correlated, according to US research published in the September 1st edition of the Journal of Infectious Diseases. The study also showed that the presence of sexually transmitted infections did not increase rectal viral load. Individuals Read More >>

Via All Africa. Government’s decision to offer free ARV treatment to people with CD4 counts of 350 or less has been welcomed as a life-saver. The South African government’s announcement that it will give antiretroviral medication to people with HIV who have CD4 counts of below 350 will save lives and prevent infection. This is according to Read More >>