Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) is an infectious disease caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). It was first recognized in the United States in 1981. AIDS is the advanced form of infection with the HIV virus, which may not cause recognizable disease for a long period after the initial exposure (latency). No vaccine is currently available to prevent HIV infection.
SA HIV epidemic has stabilised – Third national HIV survey shows SA’s epidemic has stabilised, with promising signs of a declining epidemic among children and teenagers. – South Africa’s HIV epidemic has levelled off at a prevalence of 10.9% for people aged two years and older, with 5.2 million people estimated to be living with HIV in 2008.
Exercise improves functional and psychological ability and reduces steroid need in rheumatoid arthritis – Undertaking a supervised exercise programme can have beneficial effects on functional status and physical function, reduce the need for daily corticosteroid and anti-inflammatory intake and improve levels of depression and anxiety in people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
Blair Underwood to Kick off AHF’s US HIV Testing Caravan – In an effort to boost AIDS awareness and HIV prevention and testing efforts in some of the hardest hit regions of the United States, AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) will kick off a three week, fourteen-city cross country HIV testing tour in one of its popular AHF/Magic Johnson Mobile HIV Testing Units.
AIDS Action Statement on HIV Vaccine Awareness Day: Reason to Hope. – Every nine and a half minutes someone in the United States is infected with HIV. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that approximately 56,300 individuals became infected with HIV in 2006 alone.
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) to Award $1.79 Billion to Help People Living with HIV/AIDS – The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the release of $1.79 billion to ensure that people living with HIV/AIDS continue to have access to life-saving health care and medications.
Novel vaccine approach offers hope in fight against HIV – Gene transfer technology may lead to an HIV vaccine. – A research team may have broken the stubborn impasse that has frustrated the invention of an effective HIV vaccine, by using an approach that bypasses the usual path followed by vaccine developers.
AIDS patients with serious complications benefit from early retroviral use, Stanford study shows – HIV-positive patients who don’t seek medical attention until they have a serious AIDS-related condition can reduce their risk of death or other complications by half if they get antiretroviral treatment early on, according to a new multicenter trial led by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
FDA Warns Consumers to Stop Using Hydroxycut Products Dietary Supplements; Pose Risk of Liver Injury. – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers to immediately stop using Hydroxycut products by Iovate Health Sciences Inc., of Oakville, Ontario and distributed by Iovate Health Sciences USA Inc. of Blasdell, N.Y. Some Hydroxycut products are associated with a number of serious liver injuries. Iovate has agreed to recall Hydroxycut products from the market.
On World Malaria Day, UNICEF highlights successes but calls for greater effort. – Progress has been made in combating malaria, particularly in Africa where the disease is most prevalent, but more must be done to address the global scourge, UNICEF said, as it released a new joint report on the eve of World Malaria Day.
Zambia is the latest African country to reach the Roll Back Malaria target of a more than 50% reduction of mortality from malaria compared to 2000. – Malaria deaths reported from health facilities in Zambia have declined by 66%. This result along with other supporting data indicates that Zambia has reached the 2010 Roll Back Malaria target of a more than 50% reduction in malaria mortality compared to 2000.
Pain relievers ibuprofen and naproxen may delay — not prevent — Alzheimer’s disease – A new study shows that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as the pain relievers ibuprofen and naproxen do not prevent Alzheimer’s disease, but they may instead delay its onset.
GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer announce innovative agreement to create a new world-leading, specialist HIV company – GlaxoSmithKline plc (GSK) and Pfizer Inc (PFE) announced they have entered into an agreement to create a new world-leading HIV company focused solely on research, development and commercialisation of HIV medicines.
