HIV gene therapy treatment and Berlin Patient

Researchers like what they've seen so far from a new HIV gene therapy treatment.
From Reuters:

An early stage trial of Sangamo BioSciences Inc's HIV treatment found that the gene therapy reduced levels of the virus and even eliminated it in one patient with a naturally occurring gene mutation.

Reuters notes that the trial only consisted of 10 patients, but if the treatment is shown to be safe and effective in further tests, it could eliminate the need for antiretroviral drugs now used to fight HIV.
Last year a Berlin man made headlines when he was cured of HIV after receiving a blood transfusion. Science Now notes that the blood donor had a mutated version of a receptor the virus uses to enter cells. The latest research builds on this discovery by employing gene therapy that uses the same strategy for thwarting HIV.
Science Now writes that researchers don't expect the new treatment to completely eliminate HIV. They hope it can contain the virus "to such a powerful extent that people no longer need antiretrovirals."
Bloomberg reports the most common side effect cited in the gene therapy study was a persistent smell of garlic.
Background on the Berlin Patient:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mu-Yj7k0ToI]
On the heels of World AIDS Day comes a stunning medical breakthrough: Doctors believe an HIV-positive man who underwent a stem cell transplant has been cured as a result of the procedure.
Timothy Ray Brown, also known as the "Berlin Patient," received the transplant in 2007 as part of a lengthy treatment course for leukemia. His doctors recently published a report in the journal Blood affirming that the results of extensive testing "strongly suggest that cure of HIV infection has been achieved."
Brown's case paves a path for constructing a permanent cure for HIV through genetically-engineered stem cells.
Time named another AIDS-related discovery to its list of the Top 10 Medical Breakthroughs of 2010. Recent studies show that healthy individuals who take antiretrovirals, medicine commonly prescribed for treating HIV, can reduce their risk of contracting the disease by up to 73 percent.
While these developments by no means prove a cure for the virus has been found, they can certainly provide hope for the more than 33 million people living with HIV worldwide. Alongside such findings, global efforts to combat the epidemic have accelerated as of late, with new initiatives emerging in the Philippines and South Africa this week.

Decriminalize Homosexuality

NEWS

Pushing Cameroon to Decriminalize Homosexuality

byMichael Jones· August 19, 2010

Topics:

• International Gay Rights

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Ever wonder how the Cameroon government treats its LGBT citizens? The United Nations Human Rights Committee has an answer for you. And it's not pretty.
The UN Human Rights Committee recently issued a report detailing the conditions faced by LGBT people in the country of Cameroon, and what they found was that systematically and across the board, LGBT people in Cameroon face police brutality, institutionalized homophobia, and a culture of fear and persecution. And it's time for the Cameroon government to own up and take responsibility for this.
The report was cited by Human Rights Watch today, in a release that called on Cameroon to decriminalize same-sex acts.
"Cameroonian and international organizations have documented abuses and violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Cameroon. Suspected homosexual men have been arrested and beaten on their bodies, heads, and even the soles of their feet while in custody. Women suffer violence in their families if they are suspected of being lesbians. In some cases, they have been forced to leave their homes or their children have been taken away from them," Human Rights Watch argued.
Is that anyway for a country, let alone one like Cameroon that is a State Party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to act? It's not. And it's time to urge the government of Cameroon to follow the lead of the UN Human Rights Committee and work to end laws that criminalize homosexuality and same-sex acts.
Cameroon's anti-gay reputation is starting to catch hold in other parts of the globe, too. In July 2010, a court in the United Kingdom ruled that a gay Cameroon citizen should be granted asylum in the UK, due to fear of persecution and violence back home. That ruffled the feathers of the government of Cameroon, which continues to insist that the country is a perfectly safe space for LGBT individuals. But tell that to the facts on the ground.
As Human Rights Watch notes, with the help of international LGBT organizations (as well as the Cameroon organization, Alternatives-Cameroun), Cameroon has a disturbing history of persecuting LGBT people, and denying LGBT certain basic services, like health care. These groups found that Cameroon refuses public health services to men who have sex with men and women who have sex with women -- including HIV treatment -- and that police in Cameroon regularly try to bar LGBT people from hospitals, and from medical treatment and care.
As a State Party to the ICCPR, Cameroon has international legal responsibilities to uphold the right to equal protection and equal treatment for all citizens, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. At the moment, Cameroon is failing. Big time.
That's why it's worth sending a message to the Cameroon government, imploring them to follow the lead of the UN Human Rights Committee, and work in whatever parameter they can to create laws and policies that take the stigma off of homosexuality, and end a culture of violence and persecution toward LGBT people in the country.
Photo credit: Manu2573

Michael Jonesis a Change.org Editor. He has worked in the field of human rights communications for a decade, most recently for Harvard Law School.

National HIV/AIDS & Aging Awareness Day

TAI Announces Event Registration Link and Poster Series Release for National HIV/AIDS & Aging Awareness Day

August 3, 2011
The AIDS Institute is pleased to announce that the event registration link is active for the 4th annual National HIV/AIDS and Aging Awareness Day (NHAAAD) scheduled for September 18, 2011. The theme for NHAAAD is "Aging is a part of life; HIV doesn't have to be".
Press Release attached in PDF below, and in text in this page as follows:

National Policy Office- Washington, DC: 202-835-8373

Program and Administrative Office- Tampa, FL: 813-258-5929

For Immediate Release: 8.3.11
Media Contact: Michelle Scavnicky, 813-258-5929, mscavnicky@theaidsinstitute.org

THE AIDS Institute Announces event registration Link and the Release of poster series for
National HIV/AIDS & Aging Awareness DAY

Washington, DC-The AIDS Institute is pleased to announce that the event registration link is active for the 4th annual National HIV/AIDS and Aging Awareness Day (NHAAAD) scheduled for September 18, 2011. The theme for NHAAAD is "Aging is a part of life; HIV doesn't have to be".
NHAAAD focuses on the challenging issues facing the aging population including HIV prevention, care and treatment. The campaign primarily targets 1) People living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs) who are aging with the disease or already over 50 at the time of their initial diagnosis, 2) Increasing use of protection from HIV infection, especially among the baby boomer population, and 3) Increasing number of grandparents becoming the primary guardians for children who have lost their parent(s) to HIV/AIDS.
The AIDS Institute (TAI) invites organizations and community members who plan, implement and participate in awareness activities or events on or around September18, 2011, register their events at 2011 NHAAAD Event Registration.
"We are very excited to launch the registration link for NHAAAD. We strongly encourage those planning events to register them, not only on a local, regional but national level to truly gain support for these events through TAI's ongoing marketing efforts", states Michelle Scavnicky, Director of Education at The AIDS Institute.
In addition, the NHAAAD poster series was recently developed by The AIDS Institute along with its partners to assist individuals or organizations in their outreach, media and marketing efforts. The goal of the poster series is to emphasize the 30 year anniversary of HIV, highlight relevant data regarding the HIV/AIDS and aging population, and use diverse images in the overall messaging resulting in a broader reach among the target population.
To register your event, please visit 2011 NHAAAD Event Registration.
To download the NHAAAD poster series and other campaign materials, please visit www.NHAAAD.org.

# # #

The AIDS Institute is a national nonprofit organization that promotes action for social change through public policy research, advocacy and education.

For more information and to become involved, please contact
The AIDS Institute at: (202) 835-8373, or by email at: Info@theaidsinstitute.org or www.TheAIDSInstitute.org

Information from www.napwa.org :
NAPWA founded NGMHAAD in 2008 to raise gay men's awareness of the HIV epidemic and the role they can play in bringing it to an end.
Too much of what was true in 2008 is still true today:

• At least 1.1 million Americans are living today with HIV.
• Half of them are men who have sex with men.
• One in five doesn't know he is infected.
• At least half, possibly as many as three-quarters of new infections come from people who don't know they are infected themselves.
• There is no cure yet for HIV. "Cocktail" drugs control the virus and keep us alive, but even with the "cocktail, life with HIV is no picnic.

What's new in 2011?

• If we're positive, we do better medically if we know it early and start treatment early.
• When we're in treatment, we're less likely to infect others. (But don't throw out your condoms!)
• We have tools today to slow the epidemic down: treatment as prevention, PrEP for high-risk groups, and our old friends Safe(r) Sex and Safe(r) drug use. We were here at the epidemic's beginning. Let's be here for its end!

NGMHAAD uses partnerships with many other government and private HIV agencies, this website, and a Twitter campaign to -
• Increase gay men's sense of urgency about the epidemic.
• Help them understand their risks and learn how to protect themselves and others.
• Motivate them to seek testing and treatment if they test positive.
• Enlist them to HIV stigma and homophobia.

Article by Marc Kolman

Top 10 Possible Reasons for the High HIV
Infection Rate in the Southern U.S.
By Marc Kolman, M.S.P.H.June 17, 2010

According to the Southern States Manifesto, more than 36,000 people have died
of AIDS in the South as estimated by the CDC and in 2005 the South was burdened
with half of all deaths from AIDS in the United States. The Southern US is
clearly burdened with HIV to a degree unwarranted by its population size. This
is a concern expressed by many and, to some degree, remains a mystery.

Recently, I was on a panel discussion as part of the Week of Prayer in Durham, NC. The last questioner of the
evening asked, "Why is HIV so prevalent in the South?" We didn't come up with a
scientific list of reasons, and I don't know if there really is such a list, but
here's what we came up with (in no particular order) ...

• Stigma. Stigma refers to attitudes about how people are different
  for something they're not responsible for such as race, gender, class, sexual
  orientation, or HIV status. Stigma is a leading issue in the struggle against
  the HIV epidemic in the Southern US and elsewhere and until stigma is addressed
  effectively, it will continue to affect how people deal with the epidemic. I've
  written more on this topic before for
  TheBody.com.
• Conservative religious and moral values. The Southern US is sometimes
  referred to as the Bible Belt, meaning the vast majority of people are actively
  religious, primarily Southern Baptist. As a result, to a large degree, churches
  influence what people think about and talk about. There are a lot of churches
  that talk openly about HIV, sex, and substance abuse. Unfortunately, however,
  many keep to the straight and narrow and don't talk about controversial topics,
  including HIV, substance abuse, or mental health. I'm grateful for churches like
  First Calvary Baptist Church in Durham that actively deals with HIV by
  supporting HIV-positive congregants, providing education about HIV, and having
  an AIDS Care Team. If churches, with their key role in influencing behaviors and moral
  beliefs, took an active role in addressing HIV, I think it more likely that
  congregants and parishioners would work towards eliminating HIV as well.
• Intolerance for others. Intolerance can include people who are
  perceived as different (see discussion on stigma, above) including anyone from
  outside of one's immediate social circle. If a community is so insular that
  other behaviors and people are not tolerated, it will be very difficult to
  address any behaviors that are considered outside of the realm of 'normal'. The
  result being that it is once again difficult to address issues that lead to HIV
  infection such as substance abuse and high-risk sexual activities.
• Economic and class oppression. Economic issues underlie a host of
  behaviors that impact risk for HIV infection and the likelihood that those
  already infected will seek treatment. We often talk about HIV, substance abuse,
  mental health, and incarceration as co-morbidities, or conditions that are
  closely connected. Each of these conditions is impacted by economics. There is
  much to say about this, but perhaps one example will serve to illustrate the
  point. One in 100, a report from the Pew Charitable Trust, states
  that 1 of every 100 adults in the US is incarcerated in a jail or prison (1 in 9
  for Black men between the ages of 20 and 34). Those who are incarcerated are
  often from poorer economic backgrounds and their incarceration results in
  adverse economic impact on their families and communities. Chances are, if
  someone has substantial financial assets, they're not in prison and, if they
  are, they're in for a shorter length of time. Incarceration has a detrimental
  effect on one's ability to seek employment upon release thereby impacting their
  economic status and therefore impacting their likelihood of having health
  insurance, access to HIV medications, mental health or substance abuse services,
  and other health resources.
• Racism. There is so much to say about racism. Does racism affect the
  HIV epidemic? As clearly as racism underlies so many oppressions -- I often
  think of racism as the glue that holds all the other oppressions in place -- it
  affects our ability to deal effectively with HIV. Is racism different in the
  Southern US? Racism continues to persist everywhere. As a result of historic
  issues largely stemming from the Civil War, the South is often blamed for
  racism. However, as has been clearly dealt with in the work of many, including
  Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States, the South has
  been treated as a colony of the North, exploited for economic gain, and has in
  effect taken much of the blame for racism although racism, including slavery,
  has been a part of the economic system in place throughout the United States for
  years leading up to the Civil War. Regardless of where blame lies, racism plays
  a significant role in placing people in situations that put them at risk for HIV
  infection and for challenges related to their ability to effectively seek
  treatment once infected. It is debatable as to how this plays out differently in
  the Southern US as compared to anywhere else.
• Lack of jobs. As discussed above, economic oppression places people
  at risk for a host of conditions that do not support HIV prevention and
  treatment efforts, including access to health care, and both substance abuse and
  mental health services. A recent list using data from the Bureau of Labor Standards
  shows that 6 of the 15 states with the highest rates of unemployment are in the
  South. These statistics may be limited in showing the real struggles of
  unemployment. However, there are real challenges posed by the cycle of no work,
  no income, and no hope that are likely to lead to behaviors that stifle HIV
  prevention and treatment efforts.
• Lack of health care resources, including substance abuse and mental
  health. As an example, the substance abuse and mental health system in North
  Carolina was gutted over the past few years in an effort to streamline services
  and save costs. The resulting lack of public resources clearly stresses the
  limits of those without the ability to cope with life's challenges. In addition
  to substance abuse and mental health, many states in the South have fewer health
  care and medical providers, placing additional stress on health care and social
  support systems that struggle to support those with limited resources.
• Rural. Though not as rural as many western states, the Southern US is
  rural in comparison to much of the country. Rural areas generally have fewer
  resources, including health care and social service providers. Distances to
  access existing resources may also pose transportation issues. And finally,
  isolation from others could pose challenges in getting needed supports --
  physical, emotional, and social.
• Transportation and other services. As said several times, lack of
  resources such as transportation are often listed as barriers to getting
  effective care and treatment, and place additional burdens on already challenged
  and over-taxed health and human service providers. Transportation poses an
  additional expense in terms of both time and money. In North Carolina, lack of
  adequate transportation has been continually cited as a problem.
• Hot weather. Someone thought that long, hot summer days (and nights)
  would result in greater sexual activity and, we supposed, more unprotected sex,
  and ultimately, more HIV infections. We didn't agree, but thought it would be an
  interesting addition to this list. What do you think?

This is, of course, a quick summary of a number of very complex issues, each
of which could be dealt with much more extensively. One excellent organization
that works to address this issue is the Southern AIDS
Coalition, whose mission is to promote accessible and high quality systems
of HIV and STD prevention,
care, treatment, and housing throughout the South through a unique partnership
of government, community, people living with HIV disease, and business entities.
The Southern States Manifesto, updated in 2008, discusses HIV in
the South and proposes action steps and plans for addressing the situation.
Thanks again for reading.
Marc

Pills prevent HIV in straight men and women

MIKE STOBBE
The Associated Press

ATLANTA - Two new studies found that daily pills prevented infection with the AIDS virus in heterosexual men and women in Africa, bringing new hope for someday offering a medical shield against HIV infection."This is good news. This is a good day for HIV prevention," said Dr. Lynn Paxton of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who has coordinated the agency's research into HIV prevention.
Earlier this year, another study found the same pills did not prevent the AIDS virus among women in Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa. But researchers now say that study may have been flawed based on the success of the two studies announced Wednesday.
The first of the new studies, run by the CDC, involved more than 1,200 men and women in Botswana. About half got a daily pill, Truvada, an HIV treatment made by Gilead Sciences Inc. The other half got a fake pill.
An analysis of people who were believed to be regularly taking the pills found four of those on Truvada became infected with HIV, compared to 19 on the dummy pill. That means the real drug lowered the risk of infection by roughly 78 percent, researchers said.
The second study was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and run by the University of Washington. It involved more than 4,700 heterosexual couples in Kenya and Uganda. In each couple, one partner had HIV and the other did not. The uninfected were given either daily placebos, Truvada pills, or another Gilead treatment, Viread.
The study found 13 HIV infections among those on Truvada, 18 in those on Viread, and 47 of those on dummy pills. So the medications reduced the risk of HIV infection by 62 percent to 73 percent, the researchers said.
An independent review panel on Sunday said the benefit was clear-cut and stopped giving placebos, instead offering the preventive pills. Essentially, they deemed it unethical to withhold the medications from people who had been on placebo, said Dr. Jared Baeten, the University of Washington researcher who co-chaired the study.
"Our results provide clear evidence that this works in heterosexuals," he said.
In both studies, participants also were offered counseling and free condoms, which may help explain the relatively low overall infection rate.
The studies were to be announced at an AIDS conference in Rome next week. But following the recommendation of the review panel to the University of Washington study, both the CDC and the Washington team made hasty decisions to release the results.
These are the third and fourth widely reported studies of AIDS prevention medications.
The first was announced last year. It was a study of Truvada in gay men in Peru, Ecuador, Brazil, South Africa, Thailand and the United States (San Francisco and Boston). The drug lowered the chances of infection by 44 percent, and by 73 percent or more among men who took their pills most faithfully.
Experts celebrated. The CDC gave advice to doctors on prescribing Truvada along with other prevention services for gay men, based on those encouraging results.
But momentum seemed to stall in April, when an interim analysis of the study of 3,900 women in Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa did not show a benefit from taking Truvada.
Scientists are still piecing together why that study pointed to failure and the two latest indicate success. One theory is that the women in the earlier study did not take the medication as often as they should have, Paxton said.
Gilead Sciences of Foster City, Calif., is a major producer of AIDS drugs. On Tuesday, United Nations health officials announced the company had agreed to allow some of its drugs to be made by generic manufacturers, potentially increasing their availability in poor countries.

Living with Delicate Courage

I have a partner that is not only fun to be with but witty and a good writer as well. While we started to first get our lives intertwined, I found out that Jim had been working on a book for quite some time. It actually took him more than twenty years to complete. I asked more and more questions about it, and finally he gave me a copy of the manuscript to read. It was a very touching and loving story of his life, dealing with many issues and people who had changed they way he looked upon life and all that it offers us. I thought it was very well done.
Finally, after three years of waiting, making excuses of why we couldn't or shouldn't, we finally decided to move in together and share the same living space. Both of us had previous long-term relationships, and neither of us was in a rush to jump back into that situation again. We both brought our own "stuff" into the relationship, me more so than he. But that's another story!
I would stay up late at night watching TV, or working on the computer. He would go to bed at a normal hour. I ran across the manuscript again, and started to re-read it. I decided to prod him a bit to get back to it, and he said he was thinking about it. I kept prodding until he did start to work on it. And he worked really hard on it, getting feedback from friends, re-reading it several times. He got some really good friends to help with editing the manuscript as well, and they were all happy and willing to do so. I think by the time it went to print he had edited it about 12 times or so. But Delicate Courage finally made it to print, and his story was out there.
I helped as much as I could with whatever I could do to make it happen for him. Computer stuff mainly, then helping to promote the book after it was printed. Helping to promote the first book signing, what ever I could do to help. And I did get a little hurt after it went to print, that the dedication did not include me. I probably would have included my current partner in my dedication if I had written a book. But it was written many years before I came into the picture, and most of the book was about his previous partner. I am very happy for him and the life that we have created together, and that does not change.
Now Delicate courage has taken up many of our days together. We are constantly talking about something to do with the book, or an upcoming gig that he has pertaining to the book. Keeping records for the book, finding new ways to promote the book, and how he reacts to the public when he is recognised from the news articles written about him. And now his is off to New York, to be on NBC nightly news with Chuck Scarborough. So, more to talk about surrounding the book. I am very proud of him, and love him dearly. And I love the delicate courage that we share together...........
Jeff Allen

Being a "positive" mother

There have been great strides concerning women safely having a child while she is HIV positive. Some say why would you, and others say why not. While there is still a risk of transmission, I understand the desire to want a child of your own. I make no judgement one way or the other.......
An HIV positive woman can transmit the virus to her baby during pregnancy, labour and delivery, and through breastfeeding. If she takes no preventive drugs and breastfeeds then the chance of her baby becoming infected is around 20-45%. Modern drugs are highly effective at preventing HIV transmission during pregnancy, labour and delivery. When combined with other interventions, including formula feeding, a complete course of treatment can cut the risk of transmission to below 2%. Even where resources are limited, a single dose of medicine given to mother and baby can cut the risk in half.
A woman who knows that she or her partner is HIV positive before she becomes pregnant is better able to plan ahead. If she does not want to have a child then she should consider effective contraception. If she decides to become pregnant then early interventions may be able to help protect her, her partner and her baby. Doctors will be able to advise which interventions are best suited to her situation, and whether she should adjust any treatment she is already receiving.
Pregnancy does not make a woman's own health worse in respect of HIV. Being pregnant may cause her CD4 count to drop slightly, but it should return to its pre-pregnancy level soon after her baby is born.
An HIV positive woman with an HIV negative partner can become pregnant without endangering her partner, by using artificial insemination (the process by which sperm is placed into a female's genital tract using artificial means rather than by natural sexual intercourse). This simple technique provides total protection for the man, but does nothing to reduce the risk of HIV transmission to the baby.
If the man has HIV then the only effective way to prevent transmission is sperm washing. This involves separating sperm cells from seminal fluid, and then testing these for HIV before artificial insemination or in vitro fertilisation. Sperm washing is a very effective way to protect both the mother and her baby, but it is only available at a few clinics and can be difficult to access, even in well resourced countries.
When both partners are HIV positive, it might still be sensible for them not to engage in frequent unprotected sex, because there might be a small risk of one re-infecting the other with a different strain of HIV.
If a couple do decide to try conceiving a child by unprotected sex then they should seek advice on how to limit the risk to each other and to their baby. It is worth noting that someone is less likely to transmit HIV if they are receiving effective antiretroviral treatment, and also if neither they nor their partner has any other sexually transmitted infections. In addition, by limiting unprotected sex to the time of ovulation, a couple can reduce the number of opportunities for HIV to be transmitted between them.
The love between a woman and her child is something we all can relate to in one way or another. If a woman wants to get pregnant while HIV positive, I feel that she should talk to a healthcare proffessional and get some straight-forward advice and guidance prior to making the choice. If a woman becomes pregnant while HIV positive without making the choice, a healthcare proffessional can guide you through the process with the best possible outcome.
If any of this pertains to you, contact me and I will send you in the right direction. Here also are some links you may want to check out.....
http://hivinsite.ucsf.edu/insite?page=ask-05-08-03-02
http://qhr.sagepub.com/content/18/6/786.abstract
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110208163502.htm
namaste'