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  • Nancy Reagan Erroneously Credited By Hillary Clinton For H.I.V./AIDS Activism, Gets Backlash From Gay Community

    Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is being criticized after stating that former first lady Nancy Reagan “started a national conversation” on HIV/AIDS in the 1980s.

    “It may be hard for your viewers to remember how difficult it was for people to talk about H.I.V./AIDS back in the 1980s,” Clinton told MSNBC host. “And because of both President and Mrs. Reagan – in particular, Mrs. Reagan – we started a national conversation, when before nobody would talk about it. Nobody wanted anything to do with it.”

    Critics and gay rights activists pointed out that the Reagans did not address the issue until the Reagan administration ended. Even Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders spoke out about his rival’s claims.

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identified the deadly sexually transmitted disease in 1981 but President Ronald Reagan addressed the health crisis in 1987 and during that time, more than 40,000 Americans had died, and 36,000 more had been diagnosed with HIV/AIDS.

    Nancy was praised for her contribution in the fight against drug abuse with her “Just Say No” campaign and later on for supporting stem cell treatment to cure Alzheimer’s disease, but she and her husband kept mum on the issue of AIDS.

    When her friend, actor Rock Hudson, was dying of the disease in 1985, the White House allegedly ignored his request for medical help. Nancy did eventually convince the President to address the crisis several years after health officials warned them of the epidemic.

    After her statement sparked conversation on social media, Clinton apologized on Twitter and on Medium.

    “While the Reagans were strong advocates for stem cell research and finding a cure for Alzheimer’s disease, I misspoke about their record on H.I.V. and AIDS,” she said in a statement, which she posted on Twitter.

  • Brooke Mueller Abused Drugs Over Ex-Husband Charlie Sheen’s HIV Admission

    Since The National Enquirer’s explosive Monday revelation that Hollywood actor Charlie Sheen has HIV, many of his former lovers and partners have scrambled to find out if they have the virus, too. His latest ex-wife Brooke Mueller was one of the first to react to the news and express concern about her health.

    Sheen appeared on The Today Show on Tuesday for an exclusive one-on-one interview with Matt Lauer to address rumors about his HIV status. Apart from admitting that he is, indeed, HIV-positive, he also talked about the implications of his condition, including its impact on his family.

    Charlie Sheen Says He Informed Ex-Wives Denise Richards and Brooke Mueller About HIV Status

    According to Sheen, he found out that he was carrying the virus in 2011, after which he immediately informed his ex-wife Denise Richards and his current wife at the time, Brooke Mueller, about his diagnosis.

    A source has told gossip publication Radar Online that Brooke Mueller was shocked when she got the news from Sheen, who had also advised her to get herself and their twin sons tested.

    Several text messages that Brooke Mueller sent to Sheen’s former manager reveal that she went into a state of near-panic when she realized that she may have contracted the virus as well.

    “I couldn’t handle the HIV news,” said Mueller in one of the text messages. “…Charlie potentially giving me HIV. I started doing heavy drugs with Charlie, staying up for days and it made my brain misfire. I snapped.” Following Sheen’s huge interview on The Today Show, Brooke Mueller was reported to have been inundated with calls concerned from friends and family members. Her representative Steve Honig had released an official statement to Us Weekly that Mueller and the twin boys, Bob and Max, all tested negative for HIV.

    Brooke Mueller and Charlie Sheen met in 2006 through mutual friend, actress Rebecca Gayheart. They got engaged in 2007 and tied the knot a year later. They both file divorce papers in November 2010, which were finalized the following year.

  • Natalie Kenly: Former Charlie Sheen ‘Goddess’ Defends HIV-Positive Actor

    In 2011, Charlie Sheen had just introduced Charlie Sheen 2.0 to the world. Sheen called himself a “warlock” with “tiger blood.” This was when Charlie Sheen broadcast that he was “winning.”

    This was also the time that Sheen was with a bunch of live-in girlfriends, whom he called his “goddesses”.

    Now, one of those goddesses is speaking out about Sheen, in light of his recent revelation that he is HIV-positive.

    “He is not a monster,” Natalie Kenly, 29, one of Sheen’s “goddesses”, told People.

    “He has regard for human beings and cares about people. I do not see him knowingly putting women at risk.”

    Sheen said he was diagnosed around four years ago, so that would put it sometime in 2011.

    “He’s a good man and I feel very fortunate to have spent the time with him that I did, and I’m so sad to hear of his health troubles,” she said. “I hope he’s okay.”

    Kenly said she never discussed the HIV diagnosis with Sheen, although Bree Olsen, adult film star and other Sheen goddess, says that “she was there with Natalie when Charlie was having closed door meetings with his doctors,” reports TMZ.

    Kenly says she’s HIV-negative and will not sue Charlie Sheen. Some former sex partners are suing.

  • Denise Richards Kept Charlie Sheen’s HIV Status A Secret, Says Daughters Are Virus-Free

    Apart from confirming his HIV-positive status on The Today Show, actor Charlie Sheen also revealed that his ex-wife Denise Richards had been privy to the whole situation for quite some time.

    Unlike many of Sheen’s former lovers and sexual partners who have expressed surprise over his confession, Richards looked unfazed and calm when she addressed the issue on Access Hollywood.

    A source close to Richards told the gossip show that Sheen had contracted the virus a few years after their divorce in 2006. Denise Richards went on to confirm that neither she nor their daughters – 11-year-old Sam and 10-year-old Lola – have the virus and that she hasn’t been “intimate” with her ex-husband since they separated.

    On the day of The National Enquirer’s big reveal, Denise Richards was spotted running errands in Los Angeles, smiling to photographers and looking in good spirits.

    Denise Richards and Charlie Sheen met for the first time in 2000, and started dating a year later after a guest appearance on his hit sitcom, Spin City. They tied the knot in June 2002 after a six-month engagement, and divorced in 2006.

    Denise Richards Dated Charlie Sheen After Starring In This Episode Of Spin City

    Their four-year marriage as well as the years following their divorce were wrought with ups and downs, including Sheen’s infamous meltdown and My Violent Torpedo of Truth/Defeat is Not An Option tour in 2011. Denise Richards endured her ex-husband’s random tirades, some of which were directed at her.

    Unlike Denise Richards, some of Sheen’s former lovers were not as composed upon learning about his HIV status. Ex-fiancée Scottine Ross was reported to be hysterical, burning all of Sheen’s belongings and memorabilia. Former adult star and “goddess” Bree Olson took to social media a couple of days ago to inform the public that she does not have the virus.

  • Heather Locklear Expresses Support For HIV-Stricken Friend Charlie Sheen

    Everyone deserves a friend like Heather Locklear.

    The 50-year-old actress didn’t hesitate to send her support to her close friend, Charlie Sheen, who just admitted on live TV that he is, indeed, HIV-positive.

    Prior to the admission, rumors had been swirling about a high-profile Hollywood actor living secretly with the virus. Eventually, gossip website The National Enquirer claimed that the said actor was Charlie Sheen, but before their revelation, Heather Locklear posted a tender message on her Instagram page.

    She posted a lovely photo of herself and Sheen in their younger years along with a caption read: “My heart hurts. Prayers for Charlie and his family.”

    My heart hurts. Prayers for Charlie and his family

    A photo posted by Heather Locklear (@heatherlocklear) on

    On Tuesday, people tuned in as Sheen finally confirmed what the rumors and reports had been claiming – that he was, “in fact, HIV-positive” on The Today Show. Host Matt Lauer asked a series of questions regarding the people who have known about this condition, the payments he allegedly made to keep them quiet, his current financial situation, and his career plans following this admission.

    Charlie Sheen Admits To Having The HIV Virus

    Sheen’s doctor later appeared on the show to explain the status of the HIV virus in the actor’s system. Dr. Robert Huizenga, who is also an assistant professor of clinical medicine at UCLA, emphasized that the former Two & A Half Men star does not have AIDS. Sheen is said to have been taking strong anti-viral medication that suppresses the virus to the point of being “undetectable.” At one point during the interview, Lauer read uplifting tweets from several viewers who had been watching the show. Aside from Heather Locklear, other celebrities have also come forward to cheer on the Anger Management star. Singer and actress Lady Gaga took to Twitter just hours after the announcement to praise Sheen for being “brave.”

    Today Show weather anchor Al Roker also posted a message of encouragement for Sheen.

    Heather Locklear and Charlie Sheen go way back, co-starring in the award-winning sitcom Spin City in 2000 and box office hit Money Talks in 1997.

  • Charlie Sheen Reveals HIV Diagnosis, Claims Extortion

    As expected, Charlie Sheen made a big announcement this morning concerning his health.

    According to the 50-year-old actor, he is HIV-positive and has known this for about four years.

    He says he doesn’t know how he contracted the virus.

    “I’m here to admit that I am in fact HIV-positive,” Sheen told Matt Lauer in an interview on Tuesday’s TODAY show. “And I have to put a stop to this onslaught, this barrage of attacks and of sub-truths and very harmful and mercurial stories that are about the (alleged) threatening the health of so many others, which couldn’t be farther from the truth.”

    Sheen’s doctor was with him on set, and he said that Sheen does not have AIDS.

    Check out the reveal:

    Sheen claims that he was extorted for “millions” by people he trusted with the news of his diagnosis, who then demanded large sums of money to keep the information private.

    “What people forget is that it’s money taken from my children,” he said. “I trusted them and they were deep in my inner circle, and I thought they could be helpful. My trust turned to their treason.”

    Sheen says one of the goals of going public with his illness is to “release himself from this prison” and stop the payouts.

  • Bree Olsen: Porn Star Worried About Getting HIV From Charlie Sheen

    Adult star Bree Olson is back in the limelight following reports that her former lover, actor Charlie Sheen, might be HIV-positive.

    Rumors of a high-profile Hollywood actor has been secretly living with the virus have been circulating for months, and on Monday, gossip website National Enquirer finally revealed the star’s identity – Charlie Sheen.

    The controversial actor is reported to be appearing on The Today Show tomorrow to address the rumors, confirmed the show’s official Twitter account.

    Meanwhile, Bree Olson has been quite busy informing the public that she did not contract the virus. In a message she posted on her Facebook page, the 29-year-old former porn actress claims to know nothing about Sheen’s HIV status.

    Bree Olson Facebook

    A few days later, she took to Twitter to let everyone know that she underwent the “stressful” procedure of HIV testing, which she recorded for – presumably – the public to view later on. “Recorded myself for half an hour being tested for HIV and getting the results. This is so stressful,” said the post.

    The public became familiar with Bree Olson in 2011, when she started living with Sheen as one of his many “goddesses.”

    At the time, the Two & A Half Men actor had been wildly promiscuous, claiming to have slept with more than 5,000 women besides Bree Olson. He had also been experimenting with various legal and illegal drugs for recreation.

    After retiring from the adult film industry in 2015, Bree Olson published an open letter on her Twitter page, advising young women against pursuing a career in pornography.

    [Image via Facebook]

  • Charlie Sheen Is HIV Positive, Will Reveal on TODAY Show Says Report

    Charlie Sheen is set to talk to Matt Lauer on the TODAY show Tuesday morning, and the subject matter will reportedly be very serious.

    TMZ is quoting sources close to the NBC show in saying that Sheen will reveal that he is HIV positive.

    NBC has said that Sheen will make a “revealing personal announcement,” so that would definitely qualify.

    It was the National Enquirer which first reported that Sheen was HIV positive. The tabloid said it was able to confirm the news after an “exhaustive 18-month long investigation.”

    The Enquirer also suggested that Sheen has known about this for some time, so he’s been “having sex with multiple partners since learning his HIV status without informing them of his potentially deadly HIV infection.”

    Those are some incredibly serious allegations, and it’s likely that Sheen will address them on TODAY if that is in fact what he plans on revealing.

    TODAY is busy promoting the interview.

    Sheen hasn’t addressed the reports. He’s been quiet on Twitter since October 28th.

  • Charlize Theron’s Shares Emotional Memory of Realization That AIDS Could Be Beaten In Her South African Homeland

    Charlize Theron became overwhelmed with emotion when she recalled the moment she realized AIDS could be beaten in Africa.

    During a panel discussion at the Mashable Social Good Summit, the U.N. Messenger of Peace recounted when she overheard a gay teenager inquiring about using a condom. It was at that moment she realized taboos had been overcome and fear had instead been replaced with positive action against the deadly disease, according to Huffpost Impact.

    Theron noted that she realized the stigma surrounding AIDS had began to subside eight years ago, while she helped out as a volunteer at a workshop. After a volunteer had demonstrated a female condom to the class, a 16-year-old boy asked if he could use it for anal sex.

    “I was so moved because that never happened when I was growing up,” Theron said. “People didn’t feel safe to talk in that manner. I know that that boy is alive, because he felt safe enough in that environment to ask a question.”

    “That’s when I knew we were starting something that was going to turn the needle,” she added.

    And there has been progress. Since 2000, the number of new HIV cases has dropped by 35 percent, from 3.1 million to 2 million, according to UNAIDS.

    But to wipe out the disease,Theron and other activists say that the world needs to lend more resources to grassroots groups.

    “The people who are doing the good work are the small, grassroots organizations who are on the ground that nobody is talking about, nobody is supporting,” Theron said. “It’s the people living in the villages with those young girls, with those adolescents who are at high risk.”

    While Theron is excited by the progress being made in Africa, she still worries about how the world may still be too “complacent” about the virus that is still the leading killer among adolescents in Africa and the second leading cause of death among all adolescents globally.

    Charlize Theron says she hopes that by keeping the conversation going, she’ll be able to keep the momentum going, especially amongst women.

    “That should be something we should all be concerned about,” Theron said of how AIDS disproportionately affects women. “That affects me. That affects you. That’s not just an African problem. That’s not just as Asia problem … that’s all of us.”

  • HIV Baby: Second HIV Positive Baby Cured

    HIV is a serious disease that affects millions of people. While it is spread through blood and other bodily fluids, it can also be spread from a pregnant mother to her unborn child. HIV positive babies are fairly common, and there is no known cure for the disease. Doctors recently discovered that babies that are treated for HIV within hours of their birth can be cured of it.

    Antiretroviral drugs were administered to a newborn baby in California four hours after birth. That baby is now almost a year old and shows no signs of HIV. The California baby is the second baby to be cured of HIV with these drugs. Another HIV positive baby born to a mother in Mississippi was also given the antiretroviral drugs within a few hours of being born and was also cured.

    In order to determine if the babies were really cured of the disease they had to be taken off their treatment medication. While the California baby is still taking her treatments, the Mississippi baby is not and still appears to be HIV free.

    “This is a call to action for us to mobilize and be able to learn from these cases,” Johns Hopkins University pediatrics specialist Dr Deborah Persaud said. “Really the only way we can prove that we have accomplished remission in these kids is by taking them off treatment and that’s not without risk,” she continued.

    Doctors may decide to take the California baby off of her treatments when she turns two if she continues to do well between now and then.

    “She has no detectable viral load, nothing since six days of age. That is the earliest ever,” said Yvonne Bryson, chief of pediatric infectious diseases at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles.

    Over 34 million people worldwide are believed to be HIV positive. Doctors hope that they can continue to cure HIV positive babies and possibly develop a cure that can be used on adults as well.

    Do you think medical science will ever find a cure for HIV?

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • HIV Cure For Babies: Success Number Two Raises Optimism

    Doctors at an AIDS conference in Boston revealed on Wednesday that a female baby that was born with the AIDS virus may have possibly been cured after getting treated soon after birth. The baby, born in Los Angeles, California last year, was given treatment four hours after she was born, soon after viral DNA and RNA were found in her blood and spinal fluid. Hers was the second case in which doctors found success after conducting aggressive and immediate postnatal treatment.

    The first case was announced a month earlier. A baby who was born in Mississippi three and a half years ago received treatment just 30 hours after birth. The mother did not receive prenatal care and she was unaware that she was infected with the virus, with doctors only discovering it during labor. This means that she also did not take any drugs to lower her virus levels and protect her unborn child from being infected. It is possible for HIV to be transferred during pregnancy, labor, and birth.

    Doctors suspected that the high-risk baby had been infected, and they transferred it to the University of Mississippi Medical Center. The baby was given aggressive antiretroviral treatment because it was too late to use regular prophylaxis. The baby was treated until she was a year and a half old, when the mother started missing appointments.

    The doctors were able to make contact with the child again ten months later. They feared the worst, but they couldn’t find any signs of infection, even though the mother had been unable to give her child medicines for the last five months. Tests using ultra-sensitive arrays on the child’s tissue samples at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center also came out negative for the virus.

    Mississippi Baby Born With HIV Now Cured

    http://youtu.be/RQwJ8cg_7iw

    The report on the first case was received with skepticism, with scientists saying that the Mississippi child may have never been infected in the first place. Now, with the announcement of the second case, the scientific community has renewed hope that an aggressive treatment done right after birth can actually cure babies born with HIV.

    The pediatricians at Miller Children’s Hospital in Long Beach replicated the treatment done on the Mississippi child by giving the LA baby a mix of three antiretroviral drugs, namely 3TC, nevirapine, and AZT. The baby was given higher doses that are typically used for treatment and not previously recommended for administering to newborns. The mother was also given AIDS drugs during labor to prevent viral transmission.

    According to Johns Hopkins virus specialist Dr. Deborah Persaud who has been involved in both cases, the LA baby is still receiving treatment and it would be inaccurate to say that the baby is in remission or has been completely cured. As of the moment, she describes the second baby as “ser-reverted HIV-negative.”

    The encouraging results of both cases raise hope on the further success of early treatment to cure HIV infection in babies.

    The course of action that led to a possible cure

    Image via YouTube

  • Baby Is HIV Free? Early Treatment May Have Cured

    The news that a second infant may have been cured of HIV has raised possibilities for the early treatment of infected newborns.

    On Wednesday doctors shared that an infant girl born to a high-risk mother in the Los Angeles area was possibly in remission. Doctors aren’t quite ready to say so, but according to Dr. Yvonne Bryson, an infectious disease specialist at Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA, “it looks like that.”

    There is a great deal of cautious optimism surrounding the case, which would be the second of its kind.

    Last April, there was a case of a toddler in Mississippi who had received early treatment for HIV which resulted in the disease going into remission. It continues to be so despite the now three-year-old girl having no treatment for roughly two years. She had been treated until about the age of 18 months. Ten months later, when the girl was brought back to the doctor, there was no sign of infection.

    Despite the Los Angeles infant’s possible remission status, it is noted that she is still receiving treatment for HIV.

    The uncertainty arises from what happens when the girl stops her treatment. There is a possibility that once the infant is taken off treatment, the virus can come back.

    Still, there is a good reason to be hopeful about this long term outcome of this second case.

    Dr. Deborah Persaud, a Johns Hopkins University physician who led the testing on the infected infant, said that the “signs are different from what doctors see in patients whose infections are merely suppressed by successful treatment.”

    The baby was born to a mother that the doctors at Miller Children’s Hospital Long Beach knew through a “previous pregnancy”. Dr. Audra Deveikis, a pediatric infectious disease specialist, said the mother had not taken her AIDS medication during the pregnancy, and the child was tested positive for HIV at birth, despite medication given to the mother while she was in labor.

    The baby is continuing her treatment while in foster care. According to Bryson she is “looking very healthy”.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • HIV Prevention Shot Shows Promise

    HIV Prevention Shot Shows Promise

    An experimental drug to prevent HIV has been showing a lot of promise, according to researchers. At the AIDS conference on Tuesday, AIDS expert Dr. Robert Grant from the Gladstone Institute said that the drug has been tested on two groups of monkeys and studies show that it has protected them from getting the infection.

    If the drug proves to be safe, it will allow prevention of HIV when injected every three months. This may be a solution to the pills that must be taken daily to lower the risk of getting HIV. One of the available drugs today is Truvada – a pill that is shown to reduce the risk of getting HIV by as much as 90%.

    The new study is done on a long-acting drug that is being tested on macaques that were exposed to the human-monkey version of HIV twice for 11 weeks. Of the dozen monkeys, six were given the experimental drug, while the other six were given dummy shots. The results showed the six monkeys who were given the drug remained protected from the virus, while the other six were infected with HIV.

    In another study, eight monkeys were given the experimental drug four weeks apart, and another eight monkeys were given dummy shots. All the monkeys were then exposed to the virus once a week for the duration of eight weeks. Just like the previous study, monkeys who were given the drug were protected and those who got dummy shots were infected.

    A study was also conducted to see how long a single shot of the experimental drug would last. Results indicated that on average, a shot of the drug protected a dozen monkeys for 10 weeks. The dosage used was paralleled to the dosage that would be given to humans every three months.

    The results of the studies showed real promise and according to infectious disease specialist from the University of California, Dr. Judith Currier, the research will be moving forward into testing the drug on humans.

    More about HIV and Flu vaccines

    Image via YouTube

  • HIV Prevention Shot May Replace Pills

    HIV Prevention Shot May Replace Pills

    Two separate HIV studies on macaque monkeys show very promising results.

    Researchers from Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center at Rockefeller University in New York presented their findings on Tuesday at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Boston, Mass.

    They determined that a newly designed shot routinely taken four times a year could possibly protect people from the HIV virus.

    One San Francisco doctor from Gladstone Institute, which is affiliated with the University of California, told the Associated Press that two studies were “showing 100 percent protection” from the virus.

    “This is the most exciting innovation in the field of HIV prevention that I’ve heard recently,” said Dr. Robert Grant. “If it works and proves to be safe, it would allow for HIV to be prevented with periodic injections, perhaps every three months.”

    The GSK1265744 drug was the experimental medicine used in the latest research study. The drug company GlaxoSmithKline makes the potent drug.

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was the first to test the effectiveness of the new drug.

    Two recent studies by the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center provided further validation.

    In the first study, 16 monkeys were exposed to the virus once a week for eight weeks. Eight of the monkeys were given two treatments within that time frame, whereas the remaining was given a placebo shot. In a second study, six out of 12 monkeys were given the shot.

    The end results for both experiments determined that those given GSK1265744 injections were protected from the virus for at least 5 to 10 weeks.

    Watch The Doctors cover a segment on monkeys used as a cure for HIV virus:

    Truvada, a HIV preventive pill already available to the public, may soon be replaced. Experts say that injections may prove to be a better option for people who are reluctant to taking pills.

    According to Bloomberg:

    “If successful, the injection may provide an alternative to Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD)’s Truvada pill, which won U.S. approval in 2012 to lower the chance of infection for people who don’t have the virus but are at risk of catching it.”

    Researchers from the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center have established that the next steps involve testing the shot on humans as a treatment first, and then as a preventive medication.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • HIV Viral Load Higher in Youth, Shows Study

    Advances in HIV research in the past two decades have enabled those with the disease to live more normal lives, keeping the virus in check and down to minimum levels within their bodies. This does note mean, however, that everyone positive for HIV is conscientious in maintaining their health.

    A new study published in the journal AIDS has shown that more than 30% of men aged 12 to 24 with or at risk for HIV may be considered as having “high” levels of HIV. This means that levels of the virus were found to be higher in their blood than in older HIV patients.

    “This is not a time for complacency,’’ said Dr. Bill Kapogiannis, co-author of the study and the scientific director of the Adolescent Medicine Trials Network for HIV/AIDS Interventions (ATN). “Our results suggest that all health care providers who work with young people – particularly those who work with males who have sex with other males – should stress the urgency of getting tested, and, if infected, into treatment, which benefits their own health as well as reduces transmission to others.”

    According to Kapogiannis and his colleagues, the high levels of HIV viral load found in these young men is common for those who have recently acquired the disease. This means that younger men could be at greater risk of passing on HIV to others. This possibility is compounded by the fact that, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an estimated 60% of youth with HIV to not know they have the disease.

    It’s important to get these individuals into treatment early, not only for the sake of their own health, but also for that of others, because many youth don’t even know they are infected and may risk unknowingly transmitting the virus during this time,” said Kapogiannis.

  • U.S. to Invest $100 Million in AIDS Cure Research

    U.S. President Barack Obama today announced that the U.S. will invest research funds into the search for an AIDS cure. The announcement was part of an event held today at the White House to mark the 25th World AIDS Day.

    The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) will be investing $100 million over the next three years specifically on AIDS research that is working toward a total cure for the disease. Such research is now seen as “promising,” after three decades of working to curtail the epidemic with antiretroviral medications.

    Though a cure for AIDS is closer than ever, the NIH does caution that finding one will require a concerted effort and collaboration among the various organizations working for the cause. The goal of the efforts, according to the NIH, will be either a full cure for AIDS or a method to induce a lifelong remission of the HIV virus.

    “Although the HIV/AIDS pandemic can theoretically be ended with a concerted and sustained scale-up of implementation of existing tools for HIV prevention and treatment, the development of a cure is critically important, as it may not be feasible for tens of millions of people living with HIV infection to access and adhere to a lifetime of antiretroviral therapy,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. “Our growing understanding of the cellular hiding places or ‘reservoirs’ of HIV, the development of new strategies to minimize or deplete these reservoirs, and encouraging reports of a small number of patients who have little or no evidence of virus despite having halted antiretroviral therapy, all suggest that the time is ripe to pursue HIV cure research with vigor.”

    With sequestration funding levels heavily affecting the HIH, the new AIDS cure funding will be gathered from existing NIH resources. Much of the funding will be redirected from expiring AIDS research grants. According to the NIH, the funds will be used for research on viral reservoirs, viral latency, viral persistence, and the neutralization of antibodies. Testing and clinical trials will also be supported through the funding initiative.

  • Greg Louganis Marries Johnny Chaillot In Malibu

    Greg Louganis, who is an olympic diver, married Johnny Chaillot in a ceremony that took place in Malibu, California. Louganis rose to fame after winning gold medals at the 1984 and 1988 Olympic games, for both the springboard and the platform. He is also the only male and second diver in Olympic history to sweep the diving events in consecutive Olympic games.

    Louganis has been openly gay throughout his career, and his now finally able to be married at the age of 53. His partner, now husband, is 52. The couple wed on Saturday, October 12. Louganis, the famous Olympian has married Chaillot, who is a paralegal. He tested positive for HIV in 1988 and later came out publicly as gay during a performance on the Oprah Winfrey Show in 1995, according to US Weekly.

    The couple had dated for less than a year, before deciding to take the next step in their relationship. They began dating in 2012 after a chance meeting on the website that we have all come to know from their commercials, match.com.

    Greg Louganis and his partner became engaged almost exactly a year later on April 8th. Louganis said in an interview on Thursday, “It has been an incredible journey.”

    The ceremony was fairly small in comparison with some weddings, entertaining about 160 guests during the party. They each wore European-cut white suits, and were accompanied by Chaillots four sisters and Louganis’ diving coach Ron O’Brien. Following the ceremony, guests enjoyed live music provided by their friends, including a recent contestant on The Voice, Dominic Scott Kay.

    With the hopes of making a difference, they are also shaking up the traditional wedding registry, and asking for donations to charities instead. The couple talked about the decision, saying in an interview that they are both in their fifties and do not need a blender or other typical items that are picked out for wedding gifts. It just made sense for them to donate the money that would have gone towards gifts toward charities instead.

    After years of being a closeted homosexual, Olympic diver Greg Louganis is finally able to be open about his love life and will now be able to enjoy a happy life with his husband. He mentioned that growing up he always heard about soul mates and never believed in any of that until now, saying “I’m having second thoughts about that.”

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnnLLGTTUEA

    Image via Youtube

  • Alleged Fourth Porn Star Tests Positive for HIV

    According to The AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), another U.S. porn star was tested positive for contracting HIV, making it the fourth such case in the last 30 days.

    AHF told the Huffington Post on Tuesday that the unnamed male performer told the foundation that he tested positive for the incurable virus. In order to protect the actor’s privacy, AHF kept tight lipped when specifying how the actor contracted the disease.

    Michael Weinstein, founder of AHF, told Reuters that he was “sad for the person involved.”

    “I’m really sad for our community, that we’re treating these people as utterly disposable.”

    However, the Free Speech Coalition (FSC), a porn industry trade group that runs an STD testing service and database, believes Weinstein is lying.

    “This information came from AHF, who is currently trying to push regulation on the industry and has, on many occasions, reported false information to the media to advance their political agenda,” FSC’s CEO Diane Duke said.

    “Again, we have no evidence of a fourth performer testing positive for HIV.”

    It is not entirely known who the performer is that has been infected; The Daily Caller believes it may be Anthony Weiner’s sexting partner Sydney Leathers. Until the tests come back conclusive for Leathers, The New York Post reports that there will be a freeze on the making of porn films in the U.S.

    Leathers shared a sex partner with Cameron Bay, another porn actress who was recently tested positive for HIV. Bay announced on September 3rd that she contracted HIV, making her the first case in the string of infections:

    Rod Daily, a second adult industry actor, announced the same day that he contracted HIV:


    A third unknown adult performer, who didn’t work with Bay or Daily, was announced last Friday by the FSC to have also contracted HIV. The FSC announced on The Performer Availability Screening Services (PASS) website, that all the partners involved with the third performer had been tested twice.

    “While we don’t have evidence to suggest an on-set transmission as opposed to a transmission from non-industry (off-camera) related activity, we are taking every measure to determine the source and to protect the performer pool,” said the FSC.

    There doesn’t seem to be many enforced health regulations surrounding the participatory jobs of porn stars. Rewind back to November 1st, 2012, The Huffington Post published an article that found that 47 out of the 168 adult industry actors in L.A. had gonorrhea or chlamydia (or both.) Back then, The Safer Sex in The Adult Industry Act, or Measure B, was faced with opposition from porno bigwigs. Steve Hirsch, the founder of Vivid Entertainment said that Measure B was a “solution looking for a problem.” Measure B (which passed) orders the mandatory use of condoms by all actors performing sex on the set. Yet, according to Weinstein, the Los Angeles County public health officials have done very little to enforce the condom requirement.

    Weinstein told the Huffington Post that, “It’s a slow motion car wreck. Nobody wants to take responsibility. If you don’t wear a seat-belt and you don’t wear a condom, eventually you’re likely to get hurt.”

     

    (Image source: WikiMedia Commons)

  • Alicia Keys’ has a New Project: “Empowered”

    For the past 10 years, Alicia Keys has been working within her organization, Keep a Child Alive, to help those children in Africa that are suffering from HIV-AIDS. Now, she is turning her focus back to the United States and has joined with “Greater than AIDS” to start a new program called “Empowered”, a new informative campaign aimed at reaching and informing women in the United States about HIV-AIDS.

    According to the “Empowered” website, the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, most commonly known as HIV, is the virus that, in it’s advanced stages, causes AIDS. This virus is spread when bodily fluids including, semen, vaginal fluids, blood, and breast milk, are transferred from a person infected with HIV enter another person’s body. There are approximately 1.1 million people living with HIV in the United States alone. One in every 4 of the infected people are women.

    This week, Keys sat down with ABC News’ David Muir for an interview about her new project and why it is so important to start bringing awareness back to the United States.

    “Talking about HIV-AIDS, you know, it’s critical and it is our generation’s issue and if we don’t talk about it now, it’s going to continue,” she said. “We tend to have a good international dialogue, like a good, healthy dialogue, but we’re not really discussing it in America. … We have to learn as much as we can and we have to share with as many people we can.”

    “When I became aware that women accounted for one in five new HIV infections occurring in the U.S. each year, it shook me to the core and I realized this is an issue we ALL need to pay attention to,” said Keys. “Whether HIV positive or negative, we all have the opportunity to educate ourselves and make a difference.”

    Image via Facebook, Greater than AIDS

  • FDA Approves New HIV Drug, Tivicay

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this week approved a new drug for the treatment of HIV.

    Called Tivicay, the drug is an integrase strand transfer inhibitor. In other words, it inhibits HIV by blocking an enzyme necessary for its growth. When taken daily with other antiretroviral drugs, it can reduce viral loads in patients with HIV.

    “HIV-infected individuals require treatment regimens personalized to fit their condition and their needs,” said Dr. Edward Cox, director of the FDA’s Office of Antimicrobial Products. “The approval of new drugs like Tivicay that add to the existing options remains a priority for the FDA.”

    Tivicay is approved for adults and children age 12 and older. Both HIV patients who have had HIV therapy and those that haven’t have been approved to use the new drug.

    The FDA approved Tivicay following a safety and efficacy trials involving over 2,500 patients. It was found to be effective, with side effects ranging from insomnia and headaches to hypersensitivity. Patients with hepatitis B or C were also at risk for “abnormal” liver function. Another trial found that Tivicay is safe for children 12 and over with HIV.

  • Rapid HIV Test Approved For the U.S.

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today approved the first “rapid” HIV test that detects both HIV-1 p24 antigen and HIV-1 and HIV-2 antibodies. The “Alere Determine HIV-1/2 Ag/Ab Combo” test has been approved as an aid for the detection of HIV-1 and HIV-2, but is not intended to screen out blood donors.

    The test was designed as a quick way to detect HIV-positive people in “outreach settings,” such as kiosks or mobile clinics. It can also be a way for those not able to be traditionally tested to be screened for HIV.

    The new test is also the only FDA-approved test to distinguish between HIV-1 p24 antigen and HIV antibodies through the same test. The detection of antigen means the test can determine a possible HIV infection just days after exposure. The HIV antibodies that other quick tests find take longer to build up in the body.

    “This test helps diagnose HIV infection at an earlier time in outreach settings, allowing individuals to seek medical care sooner,” said Dr. Karen Midthun, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. “Earlier diagnosis may also help to reduce additional HIV transmission.”

    HIV-1 is the most widespread version of HIV throughout the world. HIV-2 is primarily found in West Africa. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that around 20% of people positive for HIV in the U.S. have not been diagnosed.

    (Image courtesy Alere)