September 8, 2005

•  KATRINA'S IMPACT ON THE AIDS COMMUNITY

AIDS Services Strive to Reach HIVers in Hurricane's Aftermath
Through this collection of profiles and interviews, The Body has tried to convey a sense of the challenges that face the Gulf Coast HIV community in Katrina's aftermath. If these snapshots of the efforts being made in Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and our nation's capital are any indication, it's only a matter of time before the dedicated people who provide HIV services in the region are able to reestablish care for thousands of displaced HIVers in need.

For a more complete picture of HIV care in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, as well as information on what you can do to lend -- or receive -- a hand, click here to browse The Body's listing of articles.

•  HIV DRUGS IN DEVELOPMENT

Questioning a "Cure": A Closer Look at Valproic Acid
Last month, newspapers around the United States and Europe reported on a newly published study that one researcher said could lead to a cure for HIV. The supposed miracle elixir? A substance called valproic acid, which is used to help prevent seizures in people with conditions like epilepsy. The thing is, the idea of using valproic acid to treat HIV isn't all that new -- and as the HIV education organization Project Inform explains, calling it a "cure" may not be all that realistic.

For more on this story, read through The Body's collection of articles and expert opinions on valproic acid and its role in HIV treatment.

•  COMPLICATIONS OF HIV & HIV TREATMENT

The Basics on Hyperlipidemia (High Cholesterol/Triglycerides)
There's a single, nearly incomprehensible word that doctors use to describe health problems like high cholesterol and high triglycerides: "hyperlipidemia," which means a high amount of fat in the blood. If it isn't treated, it could potentially lead to health problems like heart disease or damage to your pancreas. Hyperlipidemia can have all sorts of causes -- some of them lifestyle-related, like a lack of exercise or poor diet, and others medication-related, like taking some protease inhibitors. This fact sheet from the U.S. health department further explains the causes of hyperlipidemia, and talks about some of the key steps people can take to treat it.


An Update on Lipodystrophy and Possible Treatments
Not to be confused with "hyperlipidemia" is another fat-related problem that many HIVers face: lipodystrophy. Where hyperlipidemia has to do with the amount of fat in a person’s blood, lipodystrophy is about the amount of fat outside the bloodstream -- in the face, arms, legs, stomach and so on. Researchers still don't know how to treat lipodystrophy, or even what causes it, although some HIV meds are known to be culprits, and in some cases HIV itself may be a cause. In this article, HIV educator Tim Horn reviews what we know of lipodystrophy to date, and what treatments are being developed for it -- particularly for people who have lost fat in their face.


Moderate Weight Loss Increasingly Common for HIVers on HAART
Since combination HIV therapy (HAART) became available nearly a decade ago, the number of HIVers with wasting -- a loss in body weight of 10% or more -- has decreased dramatically. However, a new U.S. study has found that the number of people with moderate weight loss -- 5% or more -- has actually increased steadily since 1995. Oddly, the researchers said, this weight loss seems to have nothing to do with lipodystrophy. (Web highlight from aidsmap.com)

•  U.S. HIV POLICY & LAW

Philadelphia Approves Switch to Names-Based HIV Reporting System
Continuing a nationwide trend that has picked up speed in recent years, the Philadelphia Board of Health unanimously voted to implement a names-based HIV reporting system in the city, switching over from the code-based system it currently uses. The rest of Pennsylvania already uses a names-based HIV reporting system, but Philadelphia had been granted a one-year waiver after Mayor John Street and AIDS and privacy advocates pushed for the code-based system, which they said would protect privacy, prevent discrimination and encourage HIV testing. However, the code-based system "proved cumbersome, expensive and incomplete," according to a report in the Philadelphia Inquirer.


HIV-Positive Utah Man Sues Surgeons for Refusing to Perform Surgery
A Utah man filed a civil rights lawsuit against HealthSouth Provo Surgical Center and two physicians, saying they refused him surgery for an ulcerated toe because of his HIV infection. The suit says that one of the doctors who referred Richardson for surgery said that "no scrub techs would do the surgery and it was the policy of HealthSouth Provo Surgical Center not to accept HIV-positive patients."

•  HIV/STD PREVENTION & TESTING

Many U.S. Lab Tests Often Give False Positives for Genital Herpes
A recent survey of laboratories performing herpes simplex virus (HSV) testing found many used blood tests that often give false results. Labs involved in the survey were sent a blood sample containing antibodies to one type of herpes, HSV-1, which usually infects a person's lips. Although all of the labs correctly spotted the HSV-1 antibodies, more than half of the labs incorrectly said the sample also had antibodies to HSV-2, which is associated with genital herpes and can be a risk factor for HIV.


If You're New to San Francisco, It's Not Easy Being Gay
It may surprise you to know that San Francisco, one of the most gay-friendly cities in the world, has a problem with gay people. Or, more specifically, with newly arrived gay people: A 2001 city survey found that the average gay man leaves San Francisco after only four years; the city estimates that 13.5% of gay men had lived in the city for less than a year. Many say they feel the community is unwelcoming, which can create a sense of alienation that may lead to depression, substance abuse and risky sexual behavior. However, several new programs in San Francisco hope to welcome gay newcomers with a friendly reception -- and, in at least one case, to spread HIV prevention at the same time.

•  HIV OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES

Despite Billions in New Pledges, Global Fund's Funding Gap Remains Huge
In the year's final push to secure international donations for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the fund managed to secure US$3.7 billion in pledges, only slightly more than half of the $7.1 billion needed for 2006 and 2007. Although United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said the pledges "will go a long way towards ensuring the longer-term sustainability of the Global Fund," a member of the fund's board, painted a far bleaker picture. "The current funding gap will have devastating effects," the board member said, "depriving poor women, men and children from the hope of accessing lifesaving prevention and treatment services."


France Plans Global HIV Funding Tax for All Airline Tickets
The French government plans to implement a tax on airline tickets to help fund the global fight against HIV, tuberculosis and malaria, President Jacques Chirac said. Chirac first proposed the idea in January as part of an international program aimed at raising as much as US$12 billion annually worldwide, but then decided to start planning the program in his own country without waiting to see if other countries would take part.


Shifting Condom Policy "Threatens to Undermine" Uganda's Success Against HIV, New York Times Says
Uganda became Africa's leader in reducing the spread of HIV by promoting abstinence, faithfulness and consistent condom use, but now this "balanced approach is tilting, and Ugandans will die as a result," a New York Times editorial says. United Nations Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa Stephen Lewis and other AIDS advocates have recently blamed the Bush administration's policy of emphasizing abstinence-only prevention programs and cutting federal funding for condoms as contributing to an alleged condom shortage in Uganda and undermining the country's HIV fight.


New South African "Anti-Rape" Condom Goes Medieval on Potential Attackers
South African inventor Sonette Ehlers has unveiled a new device that, when worn inside a woman's vagina like a tampon, hooks onto a man's penis during intercourse, and is intended to deter sexual assault and rape, two potential causes of HIV transmission. The device -- which is called Rapex -- is made of latex and attaches to the penis by shafts of sharp barbs. The device can only be removed by surgery, which would identify assailants to hospital staff and police.