Expanding HIV treatment for discordant couples could significantly reduce global HIV epidemic
2011-10-19
(Press-News.org) October 17, 2011—A new study uses a mathematical model to predict the potential impact of expanding treatment to discordant couples on controlling the global HIV epidemic-- in these couples one partner has HIV infection and the other does not. The research conducted at ICAP at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health and the Semel Institute of Neuroscience and Human Behavior at University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) is the first to predict the effect of the expansion of such treatment in couples on the HIV epidemic in certain African countries.
In "Modeling the Impact on the HIV Epidemic of Treating Discordant Couples with Antiretrovirals to Prevent Transmission," authors Wafaa El-Sadr, MD, MPH, MPA, director of ICAP at the Mailman School, and Brian Coburn, PhD and Sally Blower, PhD at UCLA's Center for Biomedical Modeling, designed a mathematical model that was able to determine the number of infections prevented as a result of treating discordant couples. They used their model to make predictions for Ghana, Lesotho, Malawi and Rwanda. Full study findings were e-published on October 11, 2011 in the Journal, AIDS.
The authors use data for their modeling from a recent clinical study, HPTN 052, that showed that treatment of the HIV infected individuals in couples where the other partner was not HIV infected was successful in reducing transmission by 96 percent. "The findings from the modeling study provide insights into what to expect at a country level of expanding such a prevention strategy", noted Dr. El-Sadr, "Getting information to countries with regards to what they can expect from scale up of treatment for discordant couples on their epidemics is critical to their decision making".
"The most important aspect of our study is that by using a model to scale up the results of a clinical trial, we were able to predict the effectiveness of the intervention in controlling HIV epidemics," said Dr. Coburn. "It was very exciting to find that this couples-based intervention could be extremely effective." Dr. Blower added, "Our findings are very important as they show the intervention may be very successful in certain countries but not in others. This means we can use our model to identify which specific countries should begin to rollout this intervention."
The authors also demonstrate a practical approach for identifying countries where the expansion of HIV treatment in discordant couples is likely to have a strong effect in terms of preventing further spread of HIV. Such information is of great value as policy makers and public health leaders tackle tough decision in terms of determining their HIV control programs.
INFORMATION:
About ICAP
ICAP at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health is a global leader in public health, with a broad portfolio of research, training, health system strengthening, and service delivery programs in the United States and around the world. Founded in 2004, ICAP is committed to addressing critical health issues and to improving lives by improving access to high-quality, equitable, and affordable health services. Working hand-in-hand with in-country partners, ICAP has supported more than 1,200 health facilities across 21 countries. More than one million people have received HIV services through ICAP-supported programs. For more information about ICAP, visit http://www.columbia-icap.org. For information about the Mailman School of Public Health, visit http://www.mailman.columbia.edu
For information about the Semel Institute of Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA,
visit http://www.semel.ucla.edu.
END
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
2011-10-19
Boots Treat Street shoppers can now download the new fun, free Trolley Dash app game, available to download from the Apple Store and the Android Market.
Dave Robinson, Head of Partnership Marketing at Boots UK, commented: "We're delighted to launch Boots first web app and provide Advantage Card holders with a fun way to find out more about the Boots Treat Street shopping portal. We know our customers enjoy shopping and we're sure they'll enjoying playing with our app too."
Users can take a stroll down the pretty pastel coloured street, passing favourite ...
2011-10-19
Canadian parents today are raising families with less money and time than the Baby Boomer generation even though the country's economy has doubled in size since 1976, says a new study released at the University of Saskatchewan today by Paul Kershaw, a family policy expert from the University of British Columbia.
"What we're seeing is something I call 'Generation Squeeze,'" Kershaw says. "The generation raising young kids today is squeezed for time at home, squeezed for income because of the high cost of housing, and squeezed for services like child care that would help ...
2011-10-19
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Researchers at The Miriam Hospital demonstrated a practical strategy for regularly screening HIV-infected patients for acute hepatitis C virus infection (HCV), a "silent epidemic" that is rising undetected in this population and can lead to serious health complications.
"Acute HCV outbreaks have led to calls for ongoing screenings for HIV-infected individuals, but it has been unclear how best to implement this," says lead author Lynn E. Taylor, M.D., an HIV/AIDS physician at The Miriam Hospital. "Detecting HCV in the acute stage is important because ...
2011-10-19
Regenerative medicine in spinal cord injuries (SCI) is proving to help the human body create new cell and nerve connections that are severed during this type of injury. In a review of current scientific research for stem cell treatment in SCI published this month in the Springer journal Neurotheraputics, Dr. Michael Fehlings and Dr. Reaz Vawda from the Krembil Neuroscience Centre, Toronto Western Hospital in Ontario, Canada, provide evidence that supports researchers moving beyond the lab to conduct human clinical trials for stem cells.
Spinal cord injuries remain one ...
2011-10-19
Athens, Ga. – If genes provide the blueprint for life and proteins are the machines that do much of the work for cells, then carbohydrates that are linked to proteins are among the tools that enable cells to communicate with the outside world and each other. But until now, scientists have been unable to determine the structure of a biologically important so-called GAG proteoglycan—or even to agree whether these remarkably complex molecules have well-defined structures.
In a paper published in the early online edition of the journal Nature Chemical Biology, however, a ...
2011-10-19
(Baltimore, MD) — Learning from one's mistakes may be better than practicing to perfection, according to a new study appearing in the October 19 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience. Researchers from the Kennedy Krieger Institute found that forcing people to switch from a normal walking pattern to an unusual one — and back again — made them better able to adjust to the unusual pattern the following day. The findings may help improve therapy for people relearning how to walk following stroke or other injury.
Previous studies in the lab of Amy Bastian, PhD, Director of ...
2011-10-19
A new analysis has found that coughing may signal trouble for patients with the lung-scarring disease known as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. The study, published in the journal Respirology, found that patients with the condition who also cough are more likely to develop advanced forms of the disease that may be life threatening.
When idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis develops, tissue deep in the lungs becomes thick and scarred, likely due to a response to an unknown substance. The condition affects approximately 100,000 individuals in the United States, and up to half die ...
2011-10-19
Global digital marketing company bigmouthmedia has announced the results of its annual affiliate marketing survey. Titled 'Exploring Online Affiliate Marketing Trends', the survey of UK based affiliates took in the views and opinions of a number of affiliate marketers to reveal insights on how this market is performing and indicates key technology and operational trends on where it is going.
In particular the survey analyses and identifies key insights in to the relationships between affiliate marketers and agencies, the impact of Google (as an affiliate) and Google's ...
2011-10-19
For better and for worse, human health depends on a cell's motility –– the ability to crawl from place to place. In every human body, millions of cells –are crawling around doing mostly good deeds ––– though if any of those crawlers are cancerous, watch out.
"This is not some horrible sci-fi movie come true but, instead, normal cells carrying out their daily duties," said Florida State University cell biologist Tom Roberts. For 35 years he has studied the mechanical and molecular means by which amorphous single cells purposefully propel themselves throughout the body ...
2011-10-19
Scientists have increased the estimate on the number of humpback whales in the North Pacific Ocean in a paper published in the journal Marine Mammal Science. The increase follows a refined statistical analysis of data compiled in 2008 from the largest whale survey ever undertaken to assess humpback whale populations throughout the North Pacific.
The number of North Pacific Humpback Whales in the 2008 study known as the Structure of Populations, Levels of Abundance and Status of Humpbacks, or SPLASH, was estimated at just under 20,000 based on a preliminary look at the ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
[Press-News.org] Expanding HIV treatment for discordant couples could significantly reduce global HIV epidemic
