Category: Microbicides
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One of the less-discussed factors that influences susceptibility to HIV infection is immune activation, which is interlinked with the availability of potential target cells for the virus. Several recent papers and a poster presentation at CROI 2014 shed additional light on this topic. In an open access review published in Retrovirology last November, Catherine Card and…
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The geographic variation in the risk of HIV acquisition among heterosexuals has prompted extensive speculation and debate as to the underlying causes. The lack of a clear explanation has even fueled conspiracy theories, playing a prominent role in Thabo Mbeki’s disastrous embrace of AIDS denialism in South Africa and driving a campaign that insists—in the face…
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The journal Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives is offering several free review articles on HIV research, see abstracts and links below. doi: 10.1101/cshperspect.a007252 Vaccine Design for CD8 T Lymphocyte Responses Richard A. Koup and Daniel C. Douek Immunology Laboratory, Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892…
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The journal Antiviral Research has just published an open access supplement entitled "Recent Trends in Microbicide Formulations." The articles represent summaries of presentations given at a workshop that took place in Arlington, Virginia, January 25-26, 2010, sponsored by CONRAD.
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The Kaiser Family Foundation has now posted a webcast of the CAPRISA 004 presentations that took place today at the XVIII International AIDS Conference in Vienna.
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Important additional details were presented at the International AIDS Conference today regarding the CAPRISA 004 tenofovir gel microbicide trial. The data provoked an emotional response from the audience, ultimately prompting a prolonged standing ovation. Salim Abdool Karim described the HSV-2 analysis, reporting that the 95% confidence intervals around the 51% efficacy result spanned 30-78% (p=.003).…
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The stubborn persistence and commitment of microbicide researchers, advocates and trial participants has finally seen some reward with positive results from a South African trial of the gel form of the antretroviral drug tenofovir. Originally due to be released on July 20th, the results were disclosed tonight after the UK Financial Times and two unnamed…
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A study just published in the Journal of Biochemistry has generated a great deal of press coverage because it reports that a compound derived from bananas can inhibit HIV in a lab dish. The substance, a banana lectin known as BanLec, was first discovered twenty years ago and shown to be a potent mitogen (a…
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An important goal of animal model studies is to recapitulate HIV infection in humans as closely as possible. For researchers working on strategies to prevent transmission, the priority is to mimic the efficiency of virus transfer across different mucosal surfaces. A study just published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases reports that in macaques, an…
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The levels and distribution of an anti-HIV microbicide in the genital tract are likely to be critical factors in determining potential efficacy. Up until now, research studies have typically assessed microbicide levels in sexually abstinent women, which neglects to consider the potential impact of sexual activity. A new study in PLoS One looks at whether…