via Thomas Kraemer The controversial American practice of circumcising baby boys continues being done despite the fact that health care reform would suggest that this type of unnecessary medical procedure shouldn’t be done. The possible reduction in HIV transmission and other infections is a stupid reason. Cutting off the foreskin off of baby boy’s penises to “prevent Read More >>

Critics question the relevance of the African studies, saying that most of the HIV transmission in the United States occurs among drug addicts and gay men, whose risk would be unaffected by whether they were circumcised. They also worry that it will give circumcised men a false sense of security. And they say it permanently diminishes the Read More >>

via Aidsmap, by Michael Carter Circumcision protects HIV-negative gay men from infection with syphilis, Australian investigators report in the December 15th edition of the Journal of Infectious Diseases. However, circumcision did not affect the risk of acquiring any other sexually transmitted infection. The study was conducted by investigators from the Health in Men (HIM) study. This is Read More >>

IAS Conf on HIV Path, Treatment & Prevention 2009 (07.20.09):: T. Lane; H.F. Raymond; S. Dladla; J. Rasenthe; H. Struthers; W. McFarland; J. McIntyre Male circumcision has been found to reduce female-to-male HIV transmission through vaginal sex in randomized controlled trials. However, one recent meta-analysis of observational data found insufficient evidence of a protective effect with men Read More >>

via Scientistlive New research from UCSF examining HIV among men who have sex with men (MSM) in the township of Soweto in South Africa has found that a third of gay-identified men are infected with HIV. The study’s authors were the first to examine HIV and the community of men who have sex with men in the Read More >>

via New York Times, by Roni Caryn Rabin In the late 19th century, Victorian-era doctors described the male foreskin as a “source of serious mischief.” Convinced that masturbation led to insanity, and that it was the sensitive, responsive foreskin that stimulated masturbation, surgeons started promoting therapeutic circumcision to cure young men of the “sin” of excessive indulgence Read More >>

Previous research has suggested circumcision doesn’t make a difference when anal sex is involved. The latest study, by CDC researchers, looked at nearly 4,900 men who had anal sex with an HIV-infected partner and found the infection rate, about 3.5 percent, was approximately the same whether the men were circumcised or not. via AP, by Mike Stobbe Read More >>

via AIDSmeds.com, by Tim Horn Circumcision may protect men who have sex with men (MSM) against HIV transmission via insertive anal intercourse, according to a cohort study conducted in Soweto, South Africa, and reported Monday, July 20, at the Fifth International AIDS Society (IAS) Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention in Cape Town. Read the rest.

“Circumcision in HIV-infected men and its effect on HIV transmission to female partners in Rakai, Uganda: a randomised controlled trial.” Maria J Wawer, Frederick Makumbi, Godfrey Kigozi, David Serwadda, Stephen Watya, Fred Nalugoda, Dennis Buwembo, Victor Ssempijja, Noah Kiwanuka, Lawrence H Moulton, Nelson K Sewankambo, Steven J Reynolds, Thomas C Quinn, Pius Opendi, Boaz Iga, Renee Ridzon, Read More >>

Does sex in the early period after circumcision increase HIV-seroconversion risk? Pooled analysis of adult male circumcision clinical trials. AIDS, 29 June 2009, epub ahead of print. Mehta SD, et al. (Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA) OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether sexual intercourse soon after adult Read More >>