PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Study finds non-disclosure of HIV serostatus common among India female sex workers

2012-07-24
(Press-News.org) (Boston) - Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) in partnership with Indian researchers and HIV positive networks groups, have found that in India, non-disclosure of HIV serostatus to sex partners among both HIV-infected female sex workers (FSWs) and HIV-infected clients of FSWs is exceedingly common. These findings currently appear online in the journal AIDS and Behavior.

No previous studies in India specifically, and few internationally, have assessed FSWs' and male clients' disclosure of HIV status to sex partners. Disclosure of HIV serostatus to sex partners is viewed as a social and legal responsibility for HIV-infected individuals, particularly in the absence of condom use. In many developing countries, high prevalence of non-disclosure, ranging from 17 to 86 percent, is considered to be an important factor promoting transmission of HIV to sex partners. Disclosure to sex partners, on average, occurs less in developing countries than in the developed world (49 vs. 79 percent respectively).

Results were based on surveys conducted with HIV-infected FSW and infected male clients regarding HIV knowledge, awareness of sex partners' HIV serostatus, alcohol use, transactional sex involvement, post-HIV diagnosis and non-disclosure of HIV serostatus. Non-disclosure of one's serostatus to all sex partners was reported by almost three-fifths of females and two-fifths of males according to the researchers. Predictors of non-disclosure included lack of correct knowledge about HIV and no knowledge of sex partners' HIV serostatus. Among females, recent alcohol consumption also predicted non-disclosure. Among males, having ten (or more) paid sexual partners in the year following HIV diagnosis predicted non-disclosure.

"Disclosure is a complex decision for HIV- infected persons in India as in many other countries in the world and it may be influenced by a fear of losing clients or sex in paid or unpaid relationships," explained lead author Niranjan Saggurti, PhD, Co-Investigator of Alcohol Use and Sexual Risk in HIV-Infected Persons with Transactional Sex study at BUSM.

Saggurti believes that HIV prevention programs in India that seek to increase disclosure of HIV serostatus to sex partners may benefit from several factors including improving basic HIV knowledge, reducing alcohol consumption, reducing the number of different sex partners and seeking knowledge about the serostatus of one's partner as a means to increase disclosure of HIV serostatus to sex partners.

###This study was funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and the Indian Council of Medical Research.


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

New species of ancient rodents hint at what could be world's oldest grasslands

2012-07-24
A paleontological team that includes scientists from the American Museum of Natural History; University of California, Santa Barbara; and Case Western Reserve University has described two ancient species of South American rodents, including the oldest chinchilla, a discovery that substantiates what might be the earliest grasslands in the world. The two new species lived near a chain of volcanoes about 32.5 million years ago in what are now the steep slopes of a river valley in the Chilean Andes. Studies of the teeth of the ancient chinchilla support evidence from other ...

New findings by GW researcher break tanning misconceptions: 'There is no such thing as a safe tan'

2012-07-24
WASHINGTON (July 23, 2012) – A new study conducted by GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) researchers Edward C. De Fabo, Ph.D., Frances P. Noonan, Ph.D., and Anastas Popratiloff, M.D., Ph.D., has been published in the journal Nature Communications. Their paper, entitled "Melanoma induction by ultraviolet A but not ultraviolet B radiation requires melanin pigment," was published in June 2012. "This is the first time that UV-induced melanin formation (tanning), traditionally thought to protect against skin cancer, is shown to be directly involved in melanoma ...

Clemson plant breeders roll out new oat variety

2012-07-24
CLEMSON, S.C. — Clemson University plant breeders announced a new high-yielding variety of oats. Named Graham, the new variety grows to medium height, withstands falling over (lodging), matures earlier and produces more seed than comparable varieties. "Graham has excellent seed yield potential, exceeding the Rodgers variety by 20 bushels per acre at some locations and produces a 32.2-pound bushel compared to 31.9-pound bushel for Rodgers," said Chris Ray, director of the S.C. Crop Improvement Association, which grows certified seed for sale to the public. The new ...

Research shows potential of microneedles to target therapeutics to the back of the eye

2012-07-24
Thanks to tiny microneedles, eye doctors may soon have a better way to treat diseases such as macular degeneration that affect tissues in the back of the eye. That could be important as the population ages and develops more eye-related illnesses – and as pharmaceutical companies develop new drugs that otherwise could only be administered by injecting into the eye with a hypodermic needle. For the first time, researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University have demonstrated that microneedles less than a millimeter in length can deliver drug molecules ...

Bloodstream scavenger inhibits clotting without increased bleeding

2012-07-24
DURHAM, N.C. – A compound that mops up debris of damaged cells from the bloodstream may be the first in a new class of drugs designed to address one of medicine's most difficult challenges -- stopping the formation of blood clots without triggering equally threatening bleeding. In a mouse study published online July 23, 2012, in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Duke University Medical Center scientists report that the experimental compound called PAMAM G-3 actually prevents activation of the process that leads to the formation of dangerous blood ...

Synthetic stimulants called 'bath salts' act in the brain like cocaine

2012-07-24
CHAPEL HILL, NC – The use of the synthetic stimulants collectively known as "bath salts" have gained popularity among recreational drug users over the last five years, largely because they were readily available and unrestricted via the Internet and at convenience stores, and were virtually unregulated. Recent studies point to compulsive drug taking among bath salts users, and several deaths have been blamed on the bath salt mephedrone (4-methylmethcathinone or "meow-meow"). This has led several countries to ban the production, possession, and sale of mephedrone and ...

Public health expert David Dausey calls BPA ban 'hollow victory'

2012-07-24
The FDA says baby bottles and sippy cups can no longer contain Bisphenol-A (BPA), an endocrine disruptor that mimics estrogen. But what about the hundreds of other plastic items, from water bottles to dental sealants, containing BPA? The FDA didn't go far enough, said Mercyhurst University Public Health Department Chair Dr. David Dausey. Dausey addresses the FDA's recent BPA ban in his latest vlog, The Dausey File: Public Health News Today. BPA has been associated with a wide range of health problems from metabolic disease to reproductive health defects. Dausey said ...

Rise in temperatures and CO2 follow each other closely in climate change

2012-07-24
The greatest climate change the world has seen in the last 100,000 years was the transition from the ice age to the warm interglacial period. New research from the Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen indicates that, contrary to previous opinion, the rise in temperature and the rise in the atmospheric CO2 follow each other closely in terms of time. The results have been published in the scientific journal, Climate of the Past. In the warmer climate the atmospheric content of CO2 is naturally higher. The gas CO2 (carbon dioxide) is a green-house gas that ...

AMA adopts diagnostic ultrasound utilization and education resolution

2012-07-24
The American Medical Association (AMA) House of Delegates (HOD) recently adopted Resolution 507: Diagnostic Ultrasound Utilization and Education, which was introduced by the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM) and cosponsored by 15 national and state medical societies. Medical societies represented included surgery, sports medicine, emergency medicine, urology, endocrinology, pain medicine, chest physicians, rheumatology, and physical medicine and rehabilitation, among others. The resolution states that the AMA affirms that "ultrasound imaging is a safe, ...

Strobe eyewear training improves visual memory

2012-07-24
DURHAM, N.C. -- Stroboscopic training, performing a physical activity while using eyewear that simulates a strobe-like experience, has been found to increase visual short-term memory retention, and the effects last for 24 hours. Participants in a Duke University study engaged in physical activities, such as playing catch, while using either specialized eyewear that limits vision to only brief snapshots or while using eyewear with clear lenses that provides uninterrupted vision. Participants from the Duke community, including varsity athletes, completed a computer-based ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Scientists create ChatGPT-like AI model for neuroscience to build one of the most detailed mouse brain maps to date

AI and omics unlock personalized drugs and RNA therapies for heart disease

2023 ocean heatwave ‘unprecedented but not unexpected’

Johns Hopkins researchers develop AI to predict risk of US car crashes

New drug combination offers hope for men with advanced prostate cancer

New discovery finds gene converts insulin-producing cells into blood-sugar boosters

Powerful and precise multi-color lasers now fit on a single chip

Scientists agree chemicals can affect behavior, but industry workers more reluctant about safety testing

DNA nanospring measures cellular motor power

Elsevier Foundation and RIKEN launch “Envisioning Futures” report: paving the way for gender equity and women’s leadership in Japanese research

Researchers discover enlarged areas of the spinal cord in fish, previously found only in four-limbed vertebrates

Bipolar disorder heterogeneity decoded: transforming global psychiatric treatment approaches

Catching Alport syndrome through universal age-3 urine screening

Instructions help you remember something better than emotions or a good night’s sleep

Solar energy is now the world’s cheapest source of power, a Surrey study finds

Scientists reverse Alzheimer’s in mice using nanoparticles

‘Good’ gut bacteria boosts placenta for healthier pregnancy

USC team demonstrates first optical device based on “optical thermodynamics”

Microplastics found to change gut microbiome in first human-sample study

Artificially sweetened and sugary drinks are both associated with an increased risk of liver disease, study finds

Plastic in the soil, but not as we know it: Biodegradable microplastics rewire carbon storage in farm fields

Yeast proteins reveal the secrets of drought resistance

Psychiatry, primary care, and OB/GYN subspecialties hit hardest by physician attrition

New Canadian study reveals where HIV hides in different parts of the body

Lidocaine poisonings rise despite overall drop in local anesthetic toxicity

Politics follow you on the road

Scientists blaze new path to fighting viral diseases

The mouse eye as a window to spotting systemic disease

AI and the Future of Cancer Research and Cancer Care to headline October 24 gathering of global oncology leaders at the National Press Club: NFCR Global Summit to feature top scientists, entrepreneurs

FDA clears UCLA heart tissue regeneration drug AD-NP1 for clinical trials

[Press-News.org] Study finds non-disclosure of HIV serostatus common among India female sex workers