Times Live Blog: Promising results in blocking HIV during first days of infection: M2010
Anti-HIV gel well tolerated by women
Birmingham, Alabama (UPI.com) 27 February 2008: A U.S. study of women with the human immunodeficiency virus found an experimental gel, which keeps HIV from replicating, is safe for daily use.
http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2008/02/27/Anti-HIV_gel_well_tolerated_by_women/UPI-67431204157782/
"The gel -- tenofovir -- is safe to use, and well tolerated by
HIV-negative women. That's a key message in our findings," study author
Dr. Craig Hoesley, of the University of Alabama at Birmingham said in a
statement.
"This sets the stage for larger studies to see if tenofovir can prevent
HIV infection."
Hoesley and colleagues at the University of Pittsburgh School of
Medicine study included 200 sexually active HIV-negative women -- ages
19 to 50 -- 64 percent of whom were married.
The active ingredient in tenofovir gel is a class of anti-retroviral
drugs called nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors, which act
against HIV by blocking the virus' ability to replicate and grow inside
the body, Hoesley said.
The study findings were presented at an international microbicides
meeting this week in New Delhi.