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- Updated: July 20, 2010
Team Athens
Microbicide gel reduces transmission of HIV
Microbicide gel that reduces transmission of HIV awakened great expectations in Vienna
By Christine Courcol
In Vienna, Austria
The reactions were enthusiastic on Tuesday in Vienna, the announcement of the results of a study of a vaginal gel containing an antiretroviral microbicide capable of causing a reduction of up to 54% higher risk of HIV infection among women.
Well used, the gel can halve the risk, according to a survey conducted among more than 800 women in Africa and made public during the International Conference on AIDS.
Microbicides are products that can be applied in the vagina or rectum, but the study in question specifies only the use vaginally.
The participants of the plenary session applauded the announcement on the morning of Tuesday, the point of the conference to be given by the authors of the study have been moved to a larger room, this afternoon, due to the interest aroused.
Concerns about the funding of research, prevention and treatment of AIDS appear to have been forgotten in the huge auditorium that hosts up to Friday between 20,000 and 25,000 people.
The study, published in the journal Science, shows a remarkable effect considered the vaginal gel which was included in a well known antiretroviral, Tenofovir, 1%.
When properly used, it is once 12h before sexual intercourse and once 12 hours later, in all relationships, reduces by 54% the risk of contamination.
The study, CAPRISA 4, was held for three years with more than 800 Zulu women (who had not developed the disease) from Natal, the region of South Africa "where the prevalence of HIV-positive is the highest in the world," According to Professor Dr. Jean-François Delfraissy, director of the National Agency for AIDS Research (ANRS).
There, circumcision is rare (5% of men) and the contamination is 50% among women over 24 years. Among the partners of the study group, condom use was less than 20%.
African women represent 60% of the total contamination in the continent and the new gel will help to decide their own destiny, without relying on the uncertain will of the partner.
"We hope to women. For the first time we see results on a prevention trial initiated and controlled by women. If confirmed, a microbicide could be a powerful option for the prevention revolution and help us break the course of the disease of AIDS, "a statement said Michel Sidibe, executive director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) .
"This study marks a significant step for both the research community as microbicides for any AIDS prevention. Since women constitute the majority of new infections worldwide, this discovery is an important step for a population at risk have access to a prevention tool safely and effectively. But as one way (prevention) is not appropriate or acceptable for all, we must continue to investigate a range of media, including microbicides, the PrEP (antiretrovirals taken before exposure, Editor's note), vaccines, "he said, in Instead, Anthony Fauci, director of the Institute of Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health U.S..
Numerous issues are raised, however, especially on the need to continue the study on a larger scale.
Source: YouTube
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