They created an HIV resistant cell →

Researchers at Stanford University have created HIV-resistant T-cells, a breakthrough that, if proven successful in humans, could potentially stop the virus from developing into AIDS.

The discovery was announced in Tuesday’s issue of Molecular Therapy, and according to researchers, could replace lifelong drug treatments and protect the immune systems of those infected.

A Stanford press release explained the process:

A new study describes the use of a kind of molecular scissors to cut and paste a series of HIV-resistant genes into T-cells. […] By inactivating a receptor gene and inserting additional anti-HIV genes, the virus was blocked from entering the cells, thus preventing it from destroying the immune system.

HIV works by entering and ultimately killing an individual’s T-cells, leading to a collapse of the immune system. Researchers were quick to point out that the therapy is not a cure for HIV, but rather a method to make patients immune to it.

“Once [a person contracts HIV], they become susceptible to all sorts of infections and cancers, and that’s what kills the patient ultimately–not the virus,” explained the study’s principal researcher, Dr. Matthew Porteus, to The Huffington Post. “So our goal is to build an immune system that is resistant to the virus.”

In theory, Porteus and his team could replace a percentage of a patient’s T-cells with the HIV-resistant cells. As the HIV-sensitive cells would die off, the resistant cells would reproduce, eventually creating an immune system of entirely HIV-resistant cells.

“The body has an incredible way of balancing itself,” explained Porteus. “The virus would have no more cells to infect.”

Currently, doctors use drug therapy to help achieve this affect. But because the HIV virus is notorious for mutating, many patients must take dozens of pills a day for the rest of their lives. Should the gene therapy prove successful, the pills–and their sometimes unbearable side effects–would no longer be necessary.

“If you put one roadblock in front of HIV, it is very good about getting around that,” said Porteus. “What we’ve done in our study is shown that we can add multiple layers of protection, creating what is essentially a complete resistance to HIV.”

The Stanford breakthrough is one of several increasingly positive studies in the fight against HIV. In 2007, researchers in Berlin completed a stem cell transplant on an HIV-positive man that appeared to cure him of the virus. Dubbed the “Berlin Patient,” Timothy Ray Brown is still HIV-free four years later.

“The obvious question is why we don’t we do that for everyone,” said Porteus. He explained that the conditions for such a phenomenon are so rare, that a stem cell cure might not be practical on a large scale.

“But if we can create immune systems that are protected against HIV, you could reach a state where you had a fully-functioning immune system with a low level of HIV infection that wouldn’t cause any problems,” he added.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, researchers plan to conduct more lab work before starting animal testing. The team hopes to begin testing on humans within the next five years.

Huge Breakthrough In HIV Research Brings Us Closer To A Vaccine →

By Tara Culp-Ressler on Jan 4, 2013 at 2:00 pm

A team of Spanish researchers say they have made an important breakthrough in HIV research, developing a new vaccine against the virus that is significantly more effective than earlier attempts. Advancing vaccine research could eventually eliminate the need for the expensive methods currently used to treat HIV-positive individuals.

Researchers tested the vaccine on randomly selected HIV-positive individuals who were already taking highly active antiretroviral of treatment currently available to combat the virus. They wanted to see if, rather than simply suppressing the effects of the virus with outside treatment, their vaccine could lead the human immune system to coordinate its own defense against HIV — and they succeeded, seeing some subjects’ HIV viral loads drop more than 90 percent after 12 weeks of the trial:

“What we did was give instructions to the immune system so it could learn to destroy the virus, which it does not do naturally,” said Felipe Garcia, one of the scientists in the team at Barcelona University’s Hospital Clinic.

The therapeutic vaccine, a shot that treats an existing disease rather than preventing it, was safe and led to a dramatic drop in the amount of HIV virus detected in some patients, said the study, published Wednesday in Science Translation Medicine. […]

The vaccine allowed patients temporarily to live without taking multiple medicines on a daily basis, which created hardship for patients, could have toxic side-effects over the long term and had a high financial price, the team said.

“This investigation opens the path to additional studies with the final goal of achieving a functional cure — the control of HIV replication for long periods or an entire life without anti-retroviral treatment,” the researchers said in a statement.

The researchers did find that the effectiveness of the vaccination declined after the first year, when patients had to return to their previous HAART treatment. Still, though, they noted this breakthrough is the culmination of seven years of research — and they will spend the next several years working to improve the vaccine even further.

Over the past year, the global community has made significant strides forward in its mission to eradicate the HIV/AIDS epidemic. This latest scientific progress builds upon previous research and policy advances that have contributed to better tests and treatments for HIV, better health care for HIV-positive individuals, and ever-increasinglife expectancy rates for those living with the virus.therapy (HAART) medications, the most scientifically advanced form 

Talking to Your Partner about Condoms →

holisticsexualhealth:

It’s much smarter to talk about condoms before having sex, but that doesn’t make it easy. Some people — even those who are already having sex — are embarrassed by the topic of condoms. But not talking about condoms affects a person’s safety. Using condoms properly every time is the best protection against sexually transmitted disease (STDs) — even if you’re using another form of birth control like the Pill.

So how can you overcome your embarrassment about talking about condoms? Well, for starters it can help to know what a condom looks like, how it works, and what it’s like to handle one. Buy a box of condoms so you can familiarize yourself.

The next thing to get comfortable with is bringing up the topic of condoms with a partner. Practice opening lines. If you think your partner will object, work out your response ahead of time. Here are some possibilities:

Your partner says: “It’s uncomfortable.”
You might answer this by suggesting a different brand or size. Wearing a condom also may take some getting used to.

Your partner says: “It puts me right out of the mood.”
Say that having unsafe sex puts you right out of the mood. Permanently.

Your partner says: “If we really love each other, we should trust each other.”
Say that it’s because you love each other so much that you want to be sure you’re both safe and protect each other.

Your partner says: “Are you nervous about catching something?”
The natural response: “Sometimes people don’t even know when they have infections, so it’s better to be safe.”

Your partner says: “I won’t enjoy sex if we use a condom.”
Say you can’t enjoy sex unless it’s safe.

Your partner says: “I don’t know how to put it on.”
This one’s easy: “Here, let me show you.”

Timing

After you’ve familiarized yourself with condoms and practiced your routine, you’ll want to pick the right time to bring up the subject with your partner. A good time to do this is long before you’re in a situation where you might need a condom. When people are caught up in the heat of the moment, they may find they’re more likely to be pressured into doing something they regret later.

Try bringing up the topic in a matter-of-fact way. You might mention that you’ve bought some condoms and checked them out. Offer to bring the unopened condoms along. Or suggest that your partner buy his or her favorite brand (and then bring some of yours with you, just to be on the safe side). Offer to try different types of condoms to find which works best for both of you.

Make it clear that you won’t have sex without a condom. If someone threatens you or says they’d rather break up than wear a condom, it’s time for you to say good-bye. Tell the person you won’t have sex with someone who doesn’t respect you or themselves enough to use protection.

Here are some tips for using condoms:

• Check the expiration date (condoms can dry and crack if they’re old). Don’t use a condom if it seems brittle or sticky — throw it away and get another one.
• Choose condoms made of latex, which is thought to be more effective in preventing STDs. (If one of you has an allergy to latex, use polyurethane condoms instead.)
• If you use lubricants with condoms, always use water-based ones. Shortening, lotion, petroleum jelly, or baby oil can break down the condom.
• Open the condom packet with your hands, not your teeth, and open it carefully so you don’t tear the condom.
• Choose a condom with a reservoir tip to catch semen after ejaculation. Lightly pinch the top of the condom and place it at the top of your (or your partner’s) penis. This gets rid of trapped air, which can cause a condom to burst.
• Roll the condom down until it’s completely rolled out — if it’s inside out, throw it away and start over with a new condom.
• Remove the condom immediately after ejaculation, before the penis softens. You or your partner should hold the condom at the base of the penis (the part nearest the guy’s body) while he withdraws to prevent the condom from slipping off.
• Slide the condom off the penis, keeping the semen inside. Since condoms can clog the toilet if they are flushed, tie it off or put in a plastic bag (so it’s not a health risk for others) and throw it out.

These aren’t the only tips on discussing and using condoms. If you want more advice, talk to your friends, siblings, or parents. Yes, parents. Not everyone feels comfortable talking about sex with their parents, but lots of teens do. Parents often have the best tips.

Health professionals are also great sources of advice on sex and sexuality. A doctor or nurse practitioner or someone at a local health or family planning clinic can offer you advice — confidentially if necessary.

Of course, the only way to be 100% protected from pregnancy and STDs is abstinence (not having sex of any kind). But if you do decide to have sex, using a condom allows you to protect yourself.

Head of the Class

My best friend Joseph, interviewed me today for his Speech class final.  His topic is HIV/AIDS and the need for people to get tested (know your status).  I was happy to answer any questions he had for me about living with HIV and the not only the physical toll but the emotional toll it took on me as well.  Of which, my addiction progressed. 

It was also great to be able to catch up with him; we had not seen each other since the summer.  I wish him the best of luck on his final.

Healthy Homos: Swedish HIV Prevention Campaign →

healthyhomos:

Stop Aids is an example of one of the longest running and most carefully evaluated social marketing programs for AIDS prevention in the world. Its initial audience was gay men, but as the epidemic began to expand it reached out to a truly national audience. Its most important difference was to constantly measure not only condom use, but changing attitudes toward the epidemic. Condom use among men between the ages of 17-30 yrs old, for example increased from 8% to almost 50% between ‘87 and ‘90. One product was the condom, but another product was anti-discrimination and later needle exchange. The Swiss were convinced that as long as AIDS was feared, risky sex would remain underground. The price of prevention was lower than the price of high-risk behavior, because the price of prevention no longer included the fear of discovery. In addition to condom promotion and needle exchange being promoted on radio and TV, community groups were organized, a special Hot rubber brand created for gay men, and new distribution points opened throughout the country for condoms and for counseling and testing.

Created by a joint task force of the Swiss AIDS Foundation and the Swiss Federal Office for Public Health, STOP AIDS is the longest running HIV/AIDS prevention program in the world. It was launched in 1987 as a national, multi-media campaign designed to: (1) increase condom use among Switzerland’s general population and targeted risk groups, (2) reduce discrimination against individuals with HIV/AIDS, (3) increase solidarity among those living with HIV/AIDS and with the rest of the population. Through an advertising strategy of persuasive, gradually phased in messages and mainstream imagery, and a system of constant evaluation, the program achieved successful results during the first few, critical years of its operation. The STOP AIDS campaign remains in place as Switzerland’s primary AIDS prevention program, and is one of the hallmark examples of successful social marketing.


The campaign is based on a learning strategy, the aim of which is to reinforce people’s awareness of the risk, to change their behaviour and to encourage them to take effective measures to protect themselves against infection with HIV.

The national Aids prevention campaign has never tried to get its message across with scenarios that transmit fear, threats or horror. The campaign has always sought to draw on scientific facts in order to make a distinction between situations which could potentially lead to infection with HIV and situations which are not associated with a risk.
The campaign supports the belief that it is not the task of the state to pass judgement on the sexual practices adopted by individuals, and has avoided mixing public health aspects with moral values.

Overall, the STOP AIDS campaign has been a remarkable success* as shown by a large number of indicators, some of which have been evaluated in the course of scientific studies.(Source: Social Marketing WIKI)

Check out the campaign website Love Life