Open Access5 th International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention: summary of key research and implications for policy and practice – Biomedical prevention
Author(s) -
Mascolinli Mark,
Kort Rodney
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
journal of the international aids society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.724
H-Index - 62
ISSN - 1758-2652
DOI - 10.1186/1758-2652-13-s1-s4
Subject(s) - medicine , microbicides for sexually transmitted diseases , pre exposure prophylaxis , transmission (telecommunications) , clinical trial , clinical research , hiv vaccine , chemoprophylaxis , family medicine , treatment as prevention , serodiscordant , immunology , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , viral load , antiretroviral therapy , environmental health , population , surgery , men who have sex with men , vaccine trial , engineering , electrical engineering , syphilis , health services
No major findings were reported at the 5 th IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention (IAS 2009) on currently enrolled microbicides, pre‐exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) or vaccine trials, although important findings in all three areas of biomedical prevention research are expected within the next few years. A study found that daily acyclovir did not reduce HIV transmission, but was a factor in modest reductions in viral load, which could confer some clinical benefit. Research demonstrating rapid viral replication in mucosal tissue and subsequent dissemination throughout the body suggested that research priorities should shift towards a mucosal vaccine. Findings reported in Track C indicated that, in addition to reducing vertical transmission, antiretroviral therapy (ART) also lowers the risk of prematurity, stillbirth and abortion. Challenging concerns about the potential “disinhibiting” effect of ART as prevention, a Kenyan study found that widespread ART encourages greater use of condoms and does not increase the rate of risky sex. Another Kenyan study found that pregnancy increases the risk of HIV transmission in a cohort of serodiscordant couples. Although three randomized trials have conclusively demonstrated that circumcision reduces HIV transmission among heterosexual men, research presented at IAS 2009 found no evidence of a preventive impact for women. 19‐22 July 2009, 5th IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention (IAS 2009), Cape Town, South Africa