A study of 200 gay men in Brazil has found that post-exposure prophylaxis
- taking anti-HIV drugs after a sexual exposure to prevent infection - if
used appropriately could prevent at least 70 per cent of sexual infections.
But it wasn’t taken nearly often enough. As a result, there was almost
no difference in the infection rate observed (11 men became HIV positive)
- what would have been expected if PEP had not been available. PEP was not
taken because gay men mistakenly assumed their partner was
faithful and HIV negative; or caught HIV through routes they considered low
risk, such as oral sex.
Three of the men who caught HIV had only had oral sex.
Some brands of herbal remedy marketed as ‘natural’ alternatives to Viagra and other sexual dysfunction drugs may contain the drugs themselves. Others contain herbal products known to cause toxic side effects. Canadian investigators bought seven ‘herbal’ erectile dysfunction products over the internet. Two high levels of Viagra and the longer-lasting erection drug Cialis. Several also contained herbal ingredients, such as yohimbe bark, known to cause serious side effects similar to Viagra but can be more severe, including anxiety attacks, flushing and kidney problems.
Anal cancer in HIV positive gay men is 120 times as common as in the general population. Christina Thirlwell, cancer specialist at London’s Chelsea and Westminster Hospital told the recent British HIV Association conference in Cardiff: “It will become an increasing problem and cause of death.” Even so, it is still uncommon. 26 cases were identified at the C&W’s HIV clinic out of 8,640 HIV positive patients, or about three cases per 1,000. Anal pap smears can detect pre-cancerous conditions and should be offered routinely to patients with HIV, Thirlwell added. The cancer is caused by certain varieties of the genital wart (HPV) virus, which also causes cervical cancer.
A recent surge in new HIV cases among gay men in Brighton is real and cannot be explained by more people coming forward for testing, Dr David Pao of Brighton and Sussex University Hospital told the 10th British HIV Association Conference in Cardiff. The proportion of new diagnoses due to ‘recent’ infections ones acquired in the 18 months before diagnosis had doubled from less than two in 10 diagnoses in 1996 to nearly four in 10 in 2002, he said. And ones very recently acquired in the last four months or so, increased fourfold.
Scientists have discovered that HIV can switch on a human gene inside cells that normally only comes into play as an emergency measure when the body is starved of oxygen. By switching on the HALP gene (which stands for HIV Associated Life Preserver) HIV, far from destroying the immune cells it infects, makes them stay in a resting state. This virtually ‘immortalises’ them by shielding them from attack by the rest of the immune system. “HIV works as both a sword and a shield,” commented researcher Dr Terri Finkel. “It destroys some immune cells, while taking over the genetic machinery of other immune cells and protecting itself inside them.” The discovery may lead to therapies that can disable the HALP gene and make HIV-infected cells easier for the immune system to remove.
Young people in America have a low level of knowledge about STDs, a survey
has found. It also found that fewer use condoms for anal sex than vaginal sex.
The survey looked at a snapshot of the sex lives of 1,155 adults between 3-8
March. It found that there was a big difference between “precautions
people claim to take, and their actual behaviour”. The most startling
finding was only just over half of young Americans use condoms or any other
form of protection during vaginal sex, and only a third use condoms during
anal sex. Between 25 and 50 per cent of young US heterosexuals sometimes have
anal sex.
