New Microbicide Gel That Helps Prevent HIV, STDs in the Offing

At the forthcoming Biennial Conference of the Irish Forum for Global Health (IFGH) in Maynooth, Ireland, one of the two keynote guest lectures - The John Kevany Memorial lecture - will be delivered by Dr Zeda Rosenberg, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the International Partnership for Microbicides (IPM) on "New Science, New Hope: Giving Women Power over HIV/AIDS." The microbicides refer to a new type of product being developed that people could use vaginally or rectally to protect themselves from HIV and possibly other sexually transmitted infections.One of the defining moments in microbicides advocacy was in July 2010 at the XVIII International AIDS Conference (IAC) in Vienna, Austria where successful results of the much awaited tenofovir microbicides clinical trials (CAPRISA 004) were announced: women who used the tenofovir microbicide gel were far less likely to become infected with HIV than women using a placebo gel. The tenofovir microbicide gel users were 39 percent less likely, overall, to become infected with HIV than women who received a placebo gel. More importantly, underlining the significance of adherence and counselling in clinical trials, women who used the tenofovir microbicide gel correctly more than 80 percent of the time, HIV infection was 54 percent less likely. Also as many advocates of new HIV prevention technologies demand – these tenofovir microbicide also showed activity against genital herpes (a sexually transmitted infection), reducing its incidence by half.
Let me put a word of caution here: this is undoubtedly welcome news, but research is not over yet. There is still a long way to go which may span over years through rigorous path of clinical trials and product development, before any microbicide can truly be available to communities.
Source:MedIndia