Saturday, December 22, 2007
HIV infections
HIV infections
Health worker examining a child
The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that infects cells of the human immune system, destroying or impairing their function. In the early stages of infection, the person has no symptoms. However, as the infection progresses, the immune system becomes weaker, and the person becomes more susceptible to so-called opportunistic infections.
The most advanced stage of HIV infection is acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It can take 10-15 years for an HIV-infected person to develop AIDS; antiretroviral drugs can slow down the process even further.
HIV is transmitted through unprotected sexual intercourse (anal or vaginal), transfusion of contaminated blood, sharing of contaminated needles, and between a mother and her infant during pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding.
Health worker examining a child
The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that infects cells of the human immune system, destroying or impairing their function. In the early stages of infection, the person has no symptoms. However, as the infection progresses, the immune system becomes weaker, and the person becomes more susceptible to so-called opportunistic infections.
The most advanced stage of HIV infection is acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It can take 10-15 years for an HIV-infected person to develop AIDS; antiretroviral drugs can slow down the process even further.
HIV is transmitted through unprotected sexual intercourse (anal or vaginal), transfusion of contaminated blood, sharing of contaminated needles, and between a mother and her infant during pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding.
About WHO who fights against health in the world
About WHO
"Our greatest concern must always rest with disadvantaged and vulnerable groups. These groups are often hidden, live in remote rural areas or shantytowns and have little political voice."
Dr Margaret Chan
WHO Director-General
WHO is the directing and coordinating authority for health within the United Nations system. It is responsible for providing leadership on global health matters, shaping the health research agenda, setting norms and standards, articulating evidence-based policy options, providing technical support to countries and monitoring and assessing health trends.
In the 21st century, health is a shared responsibility, involving equitable access to essential care and collective defence against transnational threats.
"Our greatest concern must always rest with disadvantaged and vulnerable groups. These groups are often hidden, live in remote rural areas or shantytowns and have little political voice."
Dr Margaret Chan
WHO Director-General
WHO is the directing and coordinating authority for health within the United Nations system. It is responsible for providing leadership on global health matters, shaping the health research agenda, setting norms and standards, articulating evidence-based policy options, providing technical support to countries and monitoring and assessing health trends.
In the 21st century, health is a shared responsibility, involving equitable access to essential care and collective defence against transnational threats.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
AIDS Research Alliance Community Advisory Board (CAB)
AIDS Research Alliance Community Advisory Board (CAB)
CAB application form
FAQ
AIDS Research Alliance (ARA) exists to develop a cure for HIV/AIDS, medical modalities to prevent new infections, and better treatments for those living with HIV.
Does this sound of interest to you?
ARA is recruiting individuals who are affected or infected, medical providers, social service providers, and other concerned members of the community to join the ARA Community Advisory Board (CAB). The ARA CAB is a forum in which various stakeholders in the fight against the HIV/AIDS pandemic come together to help shape how ARA, a community–based research non-profit organization, approaches this challenge.
Since 1989, ARA has been at the forefront of the fight against HIV/AIDS by participating in HIV treatment research that has led to the development of 11 drugs currently used in combination therapy and HAART. ARA has also conducted trials with the aim of advancing therapeutic options for the treatment of HAART-associated conditions including neuropathy, lipodystrophy, and associated metabolic disorders. We are also currently involved in preventative and therapeutic vaccine trials. And there are a number more exciting potential strategies coming down the pipeline.
Another part of ARA’s strategy against HIV/AIDS is its growing community education and outreach component. Outreach activities and educational programming targeting the general public, the at-risk population, those infected and living with the virus, as well as prospective study volunteers are being upgraded and refined as well with the goal of increasing clinical trial participation among communities of color and women. ARA is developing new approaches to best deliver information about HIV/AIDS-related research and how to get involved. Delivering a clear and effective message is key.
The ARA CAB is essential in ensuring that ARA achieves its goals in a way that is relevant to the community we serve. Not only does ARA need the assistance of the CAB to make certain that our messages are on target, relevant, and heard, but ARA will also provide:
* Up-to-date information to CAB members on HIV/AIDS research activities to raise awareness and understanding of key achievements and challenges that lie in this arena;
* Access to trainings to speak on behalf of ARA in educational settings;
* Impact recruitment strategies for potentially life-saving treatments; and
* Networking opportunities among other individuals fighting in their own ways against the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
CAB application form
FAQ
AIDS Research Alliance (ARA) exists to develop a cure for HIV/AIDS, medical modalities to prevent new infections, and better treatments for those living with HIV.
Does this sound of interest to you?
ARA is recruiting individuals who are affected or infected, medical providers, social service providers, and other concerned members of the community to join the ARA Community Advisory Board (CAB). The ARA CAB is a forum in which various stakeholders in the fight against the HIV/AIDS pandemic come together to help shape how ARA, a community–based research non-profit organization, approaches this challenge.
Since 1989, ARA has been at the forefront of the fight against HIV/AIDS by participating in HIV treatment research that has led to the development of 11 drugs currently used in combination therapy and HAART. ARA has also conducted trials with the aim of advancing therapeutic options for the treatment of HAART-associated conditions including neuropathy, lipodystrophy, and associated metabolic disorders. We are also currently involved in preventative and therapeutic vaccine trials. And there are a number more exciting potential strategies coming down the pipeline.
Another part of ARA’s strategy against HIV/AIDS is its growing community education and outreach component. Outreach activities and educational programming targeting the general public, the at-risk population, those infected and living with the virus, as well as prospective study volunteers are being upgraded and refined as well with the goal of increasing clinical trial participation among communities of color and women. ARA is developing new approaches to best deliver information about HIV/AIDS-related research and how to get involved. Delivering a clear and effective message is key.
The ARA CAB is essential in ensuring that ARA achieves its goals in a way that is relevant to the community we serve. Not only does ARA need the assistance of the CAB to make certain that our messages are on target, relevant, and heard, but ARA will also provide:
* Up-to-date information to CAB members on HIV/AIDS research activities to raise awareness and understanding of key achievements and challenges that lie in this arena;
* Access to trainings to speak on behalf of ARA in educational settings;
* Impact recruitment strategies for potentially life-saving treatments; and
* Networking opportunities among other individuals fighting in their own ways against the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
Research Projects on HIV AIDS
Research Projects
Prostratin FAQ
Prostratin: A new therapeutic agent targeting viral reservoirs
Microbicides: An essential new HIV prevention strategy
Prostratin: A new therapeutic agent targeting viral reservoirs
The positive impact of current anti-HIV treatments in decreasing the rate of AIDS progression and death among people living with HIV is undeniable. However, several studies show that even in patients with undetectable plasma viremia (<50 copies/ml), virus rebounds after the interruption of Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) due to the presence of pockets – or reservoirs – of latently infected cells. It is now clear that HAART alone cannot cure HIV. And since the long-term use of HAART is associated with metabolic disorders and toxicities, the identification of new anti-HIV agents with novel mechanisms of action is an important therapeutic goal.
Prostratin was initially isolated as the active constituent of extracts of the tropical plant, homalanthus nutans, used in traditional Samoan herbal medicine for the treatment of “yellow fever” (i.e., hepatitis). The potent antiviral activity of prostratin, combined with its ability to activate HIV expression from latently infected cells, indicates that prostratin may be an important candidate for further development in new anti-HIV therapeutic protocols.
In May of 2001, AIDS Research Alliance was granted an exclusive license by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop prostratin as an anti-HIV drug targeting viral reservoirs. In conjunction with this license, ARA announced in November 2001 a landmark agreement to benefit the people of Samoa, whose indigenous healers have used prostratin medically for generations.
AIDS Research Alliance was then awarded an NIH grant under the NIH-Development of AIDS Related Therapeutics Program (NIH-DART) to perform pre-clinical studies for prostratin. AIDS Research Alliance also established collaborations with multiple laboratories to examine in more detail the latent virus-activating property of prostratin. Results from these experiments have been encouraging. In July 2005, AIDS Research Alliance signed an agreement with a major contract research organization to conduct the remaining pharmacokinetic and toxicology studies of prostratin. The results of these experiments are pending.
* Prostratin Review
* Prostratin Update - 2006
* Prostratin FAQ
* Korin et al., J. Virology, 76 (16), 8118-23, 2002
* Witvrouw et al., Antiviral Chemistry & Chemotherapy, 14:321-328, 2003
* Brooks et al., Immunity, 19 (3), 413-23, 2003
* Biancotto et al, J Virology, 78:10507-15, 2004
* Rullas et al., J Antiviral Chemistry & Chemotherapy 9:545-54, 2004
* (PKC) in response to prostratin or PMA. A paper was published in the journal Antiviral Chemistry & Chemotherapy (Hezareh et al., Antiviral Chemistry & Chemotherapy, 15:207-22., 2004).
Microbicides: An essential HIV prevention strategy
There is an urgent need for more methods to prevent HIV infection, especially those that put women in control. Microbicides are synthetic or natural substances – manufactured in the form of a gel, cream, suppository or film – that can neutralize or kill a microbe. Unlike condoms, an HIV microbicide could be used without the cooperation or knowledge of one’s sexual partner, offering women (and men) who lack the power to avoid sex with partners who may be HIV-infected.
Sexual contact now accounts for 95% of all HIV infections worldwide. In North America the most common sexual practice that leads to HIV infection remains anal sex. Far from being limited to men who have sex with men (MSM), more scientific reports and popular media coverage suggest that it is also a widely practiced sexual behavior in the general heterosexual population, particularly in younger people. It is well established that unprotected anal intercourse (UAI) is a risk for the development of Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) and HIV infection in men. However, much less is known about the contribution of anal sex, and unprotected intercourse (UI) in particular, to HIV infection in women.
Vaginal microbicide development is already advanced both in the United States and abroad with several Phase III efficacy trials currently underway in Africa. Rectal microbicide development, by comparison, is in its infancy. There are critical basic questions about anal intercourse that need to be answered first. These questions relate to the behavior before, during and after anal sex, and what happens physically to the anal canal and rectum with penetration. Investigators at AIDS Research Alliance, in collaboration with UCLA, are planning studies to address these important questions. The UCLA/ARA study proposes to investigate how anal sex is commonly practiced, what symptoms individuals who have anal sex experience and how they would prefer to apply a potential rectal microbicide.
The study will recruit approximately 900 subjects in Baltimore and Los Angeles with the aim of reaching a wide range of ethnic groups and age ranges of HIV-positive and HIV-negative men and women.
Prostratin FAQ
Prostratin: A new therapeutic agent targeting viral reservoirs
Microbicides: An essential new HIV prevention strategy
Prostratin: A new therapeutic agent targeting viral reservoirs
The positive impact of current anti-HIV treatments in decreasing the rate of AIDS progression and death among people living with HIV is undeniable. However, several studies show that even in patients with undetectable plasma viremia (<50 copies/ml), virus rebounds after the interruption of Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) due to the presence of pockets – or reservoirs – of latently infected cells. It is now clear that HAART alone cannot cure HIV. And since the long-term use of HAART is associated with metabolic disorders and toxicities, the identification of new anti-HIV agents with novel mechanisms of action is an important therapeutic goal.
Prostratin was initially isolated as the active constituent of extracts of the tropical plant, homalanthus nutans, used in traditional Samoan herbal medicine for the treatment of “yellow fever” (i.e., hepatitis). The potent antiviral activity of prostratin, combined with its ability to activate HIV expression from latently infected cells, indicates that prostratin may be an important candidate for further development in new anti-HIV therapeutic protocols.
In May of 2001, AIDS Research Alliance was granted an exclusive license by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop prostratin as an anti-HIV drug targeting viral reservoirs. In conjunction with this license, ARA announced in November 2001 a landmark agreement to benefit the people of Samoa, whose indigenous healers have used prostratin medically for generations.
AIDS Research Alliance was then awarded an NIH grant under the NIH-Development of AIDS Related Therapeutics Program (NIH-DART) to perform pre-clinical studies for prostratin. AIDS Research Alliance also established collaborations with multiple laboratories to examine in more detail the latent virus-activating property of prostratin. Results from these experiments have been encouraging. In July 2005, AIDS Research Alliance signed an agreement with a major contract research organization to conduct the remaining pharmacokinetic and toxicology studies of prostratin. The results of these experiments are pending.
* Prostratin Review
* Prostratin Update - 2006
* Prostratin FAQ
* Korin et al., J. Virology, 76 (16), 8118-23, 2002
* Witvrouw et al., Antiviral Chemistry & Chemotherapy, 14:321-328, 2003
* Brooks et al., Immunity, 19 (3), 413-23, 2003
* Biancotto et al, J Virology, 78:10507-15, 2004
* Rullas et al., J Antiviral Chemistry & Chemotherapy 9:545-54, 2004
* (PKC) in response to prostratin or PMA. A paper was published in the journal Antiviral Chemistry & Chemotherapy (Hezareh et al., Antiviral Chemistry & Chemotherapy, 15:207-22., 2004).
Microbicides: An essential HIV prevention strategy
There is an urgent need for more methods to prevent HIV infection, especially those that put women in control. Microbicides are synthetic or natural substances – manufactured in the form of a gel, cream, suppository or film – that can neutralize or kill a microbe. Unlike condoms, an HIV microbicide could be used without the cooperation or knowledge of one’s sexual partner, offering women (and men) who lack the power to avoid sex with partners who may be HIV-infected.
Sexual contact now accounts for 95% of all HIV infections worldwide. In North America the most common sexual practice that leads to HIV infection remains anal sex. Far from being limited to men who have sex with men (MSM), more scientific reports and popular media coverage suggest that it is also a widely practiced sexual behavior in the general heterosexual population, particularly in younger people. It is well established that unprotected anal intercourse (UAI) is a risk for the development of Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) and HIV infection in men. However, much less is known about the contribution of anal sex, and unprotected intercourse (UI) in particular, to HIV infection in women.
Vaginal microbicide development is already advanced both in the United States and abroad with several Phase III efficacy trials currently underway in Africa. Rectal microbicide development, by comparison, is in its infancy. There are critical basic questions about anal intercourse that need to be answered first. These questions relate to the behavior before, during and after anal sex, and what happens physically to the anal canal and rectum with penetration. Investigators at AIDS Research Alliance, in collaboration with UCLA, are planning studies to address these important questions. The UCLA/ARA study proposes to investigate how anal sex is commonly practiced, what symptoms individuals who have anal sex experience and how they would prefer to apply a potential rectal microbicide.
The study will recruit approximately 900 subjects in Baltimore and Los Angeles with the aim of reaching a wide range of ethnic groups and age ranges of HIV-positive and HIV-negative men and women.
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