AIDS Drugs May Stop HIV Transmission
Recent studies have shown that the use of two antiretroviral drugs, emtricitabine and tenofovir, could reduce the risk of HIV infection between men. In the study, 2500 men were given a combination of the two drugs or a placebo, and were followed for three years. Those who took drugs reduced their risk of infection by 44 percent, and those who took the drugs more than 90 percent of the year reduced their risk of infection by 73 percent.
The side effects of the drugs were minor, with some participants experiencing nausea. Also, slightly elevated creatinine levels were found but these went down as soon as the participants stopped taking the drug. Finally, there has been no indication of drug resistance.
Some are reluctant to give the drug to uninfected people because of the potential side effects. Instead, they feel it is more important to spend money on finding the 25 percent of people infected with HIV in the US, but who don’t know their status. These 25 percent are responsible for 60 percent of new infections each year.
Further research is needed on the two antiretroviral drugs for them to safely recommend to the uninfected population.
I found this article very interesting because currently, more than a more than a million people in the US are living with HIV, and this trend is continuing to grow worldwide. HIV is also the cause of more than one million deaths each year. A drug that could slow down and eventually stop the growth of AIDS transmission would be a tremendous breakthrough that would positively affect millions of people worldwide.
The side effects of the drugs were minor, with some participants experiencing nausea. Also, slightly elevated creatinine levels were found but these went down as soon as the participants stopped taking the drug. Finally, there has been no indication of drug resistance.
Some are reluctant to give the drug to uninfected people because of the potential side effects. Instead, they feel it is more important to spend money on finding the 25 percent of people infected with HIV in the US, but who don’t know their status. These 25 percent are responsible for 60 percent of new infections each year.
Further research is needed on the two antiretroviral drugs for them to safely recommend to the uninfected population.
I found this article very interesting because currently, more than a more than a million people in the US are living with HIV, and this trend is continuing to grow worldwide. HIV is also the cause of more than one million deaths each year. A drug that could slow down and eventually stop the growth of AIDS transmission would be a tremendous breakthrough that would positively affect millions of people worldwide.
posted by Belen Berdegue at 4:20 PM
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