HIV Drug Cuts Infection Risk

Per The Financial Times, July 14th 2011 by, Andrew Jack in London:
"A medicine used to treat patients with HIV can cut the risk of transmission to their unifected heterosexual partners by at least three-fifths, according to ...a clinical trial by the University of Washington...showed those who took a daily prophylactic dose of the drug tenofovir had 62% fewer infections than those on a placebo.  Those taking a combination of tenofovir and emtricitabine had 73% fewer infections....will reinforce the findings of other recent studies showing the effectiveness of the drug in cutting the risk of infections in gay men, and in women who use it as a vaginal microbicide gel....2.6million people newly infected with HIV each year, 33.3m living with the virus, but only 7m receiving treatment....Gilead...is the U.S. pharmaceutical company that developed tenofovir, which is now used in one of the most widely adopted drug regimes to treat HIV around the world."

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  Acupuncture can greatly boost the body's immune system.  If you or someone you know has HIV or AIDS, turn them on to acupuncture to help them live their lives fully and with gusto!

Acupuncture Eases Side Effects of AIDS Drugs

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  Acupuncture may help relieve bloating, cramping, and appetite loss among HIV-infected people taking potent drug cocktails to keep the virus in check. Since they feel better after acupuncture, people are more likely to take their drugs properly, resulting in better disease control, says researcher Elizabeth Sommers, MPH, research director of the AIDS Care Project/Pathways to Wellness in Boston.
While powerful AIDS drugs are credited with helping HIV-infected people live longer, the drugs often cause a host of digestive problems.
Sommers says that acupuncture is already used to curb digestive side effects in people taking cancer drugs.
None of the participants complained of side effects from the acupuncture.

SOURCES: 3rd IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis and Treatment, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 24-27, 2005. Elizabeth Sommers, MPH, research director, AIDS Care Project/Pathways to Wellness, Boston. Hal Huff, ND, Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine, Toronto.