bioethics.net News Update - AIDS/HIV

Time for a Scientific Code of Ethics

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 03:01:28 EDT

In the light of recent high-profile scandals � one researcher has asked: Just how common is scientific misconduct? And her conclusions are worrying. Daniele Fanelli of the University of Edinburgh conducted the first meta-analysis of surveys questioning scientists about their misbehaviours. The results suggest that altering or making up data is more frequent than previously estimated and might be particularly high in medical research. There have been previous estimates based on indirect data (for example, official retractions of scientific papers or random data audits) which have produced largely discrepant results. Many researchers have asked scientists directly, with surveys conducted in different countries and disciplines. However, they have used different methods and asked different questions, so their results also appeared inconclusive.

New Non-Drug Fix for HIV?

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 10:09:03 EDT

Researchers are slowly establishing a connection between an extremely rare genetic disease and HIV -- and homing in on a safe, non-prescription compound that could treat both. Recently, James Hildreth at the Meharry Medical College School of Medicine in Nashville, Tenn., and his colleagues found that cells affected by Niemann-Pick Type C (NPC), which disrupts cholesterol trafficking, were unable to release HIV, suggesting these cells would not spread the virus. These findings, published May 27 in the Journal of Virology, are rooted in a hypothesis Hildreth has explored for a long time: that "cholesterol is somehow essential" to HIV, he said. For instance, HIV-1 relies on specialized structures known as lipid rafts, which are rich in cholesterol, to infect new cells.

New advances on the long road to the development of an AIDS vaccine

Wed, 20 May 2009 10:22:43 EDT

AIDS Vaccine Day, May 18, marks the occasion in 1997 when U.S. President Bill Clinton challenged researchers to come up with an AIDS vaccine within the following decade, stating that such a vaccine was the only way to eliminate the threat of AIDS. Twelve years later, the goal of an effective HIV vaccine remains unfulfilled, but the need for one remains urgent. AIDS is the number four killer in the world and number one in sub-Saharan Africa. Despite education and prevention campaigns, every day 7,500 people become infected with HIV. Antiretroviral drugs can prolong the lives of those who are infected, but they are not cures, and because of their cost and logistical difficulties, they reach only a minority of those who need them. And for every two individuals who go on antiretroviral treatment, five become HIV infected. As with any major viral pandemic, a vaccine remains the best hope of ending, and not just mitigating, AIDS.

A Policy Cocktail for Fighting HIV

Thu, 16 Apr 2009 04:54:47 EDT

Nearly 30 years after the first cases were recognized in the United States, HIV/AIDS remains an incurable disease that is devastating large swaths of our country and the rest of the world. To understand the magnitude of the destruction, look around our nation's capital. Last month, D.C. health officials announced that 3 percent of city residents had full-blown AIDS or were infected with HIV. Not only is that infection rate on a par with rates in some African countries, but the D.C. data were based only on those who have been tested for HIV; the actual rate is probably much higher.

FDA Approves Inexpensive Female Condom

Wed, 11 Mar 2009 03:09:44 EDT

Female Health Co has won U.S. approval to market its newer, less expensive female condom, which could help it win over American women as well as boost use in developing countries, the company said on Wednesday.

A New Call to Defeat the AIDS Virus

Sat, 07 Mar 2009 05:51:57 EST

Scientists at major medical centers in the United States, the drug industry and AIDS advocates are calling for a new research effort to defeat, once and for all, the viral infections that have caused the global AIDS epidemic that kills more than 2 million people each year worldwide, despite the antiviral drugs that are keeping other millions alive even now.

Man Appears Free of HIV After Stem Cell Transplant

Thu, 12 Feb 2009 02:03:11 EST

A 42-year-old HIV patient with leukemia appears to have no detectable HIV in his blood and no symptoms after a stem cell transplant from a donor carrying a gene mutation that confers natural resistance to the virus that causes AIDS, according to a report published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine.

California Health Agency Ignored Law Helping Impoverished HIV Patients, Judge Rules

Fri, 05 Dec 2008 04:36:15 EST

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's administration flouted a six-year-old state law by failing to enact a program intended to provide medical care to impoverished Californians with HIV, a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge ruled in a decision made public Thursday.

Texts Used to Tackle South Africa HIV Crisis

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 03:00:09 EST

One million free text messages will be sent every day for 12 months from Monday in South Africa in a bid to raise HIV awareness and encourage testing for the disease.

Study Cites Toll of AIDS Policy in South Africa

Fri, 28 Nov 2008 11:55:39 EST

A new study by Harvard researchers estimates that the South African government would have prevented the premature deaths of 365,000 people earlier this decade if it had provided antiretroviral drugs to AIDS patients and widely administered drugs to help prevent pregnant women from infecting their babies.

Model Predicts Halt to Africa's AIDS Epidemic

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 10:35:21 EST

A strategy of testing adults every year for HIV and immediately treating every person found to be infected could virtually end the AIDS epidemic in Africa in about a decade, new research suggests.

Health Economist says New US Administration must Modify HIV AIDS Policy

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 02:44:13 EST

President George W. Bush�s administration has in recent years won widespread international praise for its efforts to prevent AIDS and treat people infected with HIV. Health workers expect the new American president to continue, and even expand, these initiatives.

Despite New Law, HIV-Positive Travelers Still Banned from Entering U.S.

Sun, 21 Sep 2008 01:49:42 EDT

Even though President Bush signed a bill in July that ended a 15-year ban on international travelers with HIV from entering the United States, nothing has changed, the Associated Press reports.

Victims of Britain's tainted blood scandal speak

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 09:24:52 EDT

Robert Mackie trembles with rage when he describes how he and his wife were kept in the dark about his HIV infection � and how doctors published his medical data in journals years before they gave him the devastating news.

Efforts Against AIDS Among Black Americans Criticized

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 12:57:33 EDT

A prominent AIDS organization accused the federal government yesterday of doing too little to fight AIDS among black Americans, in whom the size and scope of the epidemic resembles that seen in many African nations.