Ever been to one of those HIV quick test clinics? They are appearing all over the place. They say the test only takes five minutes, which is true, but they forget to mention that after filling in forms and queuing 1) for the test and 2) for the results it really takes about two hours. Yawn.
Since a few months ago, HIV self test kits can be bought over the counter in the USA so we decided to check if they are available on the internet. They are. And they look like the ones they use at the clinics and they seem to work. Click the headline for what we found out.
How often have you heard or said, "I have an undetectable viral load and so the risk of getting HIV from me is very small even without using a condom." It's a seductive message, even more so because there is some truth in it, but there are serious complications. As Dr Ulrich Marcus of the Robert Koch Institute in Berlin said, "There are simple truths and complex truths. People like simple truths - complex truths are often inconvenient, because they require people to realize that what they do – even if they act with best intentions – may have unintended consequences." Continue reading for the complex truth and more...
NAM / Aidsmap tell us about a new study that shows chronic infection with hep-B is associated with twice the risk of death compared to chronic hep-C infection among people with HIV.Click the headline for more.
"A study of 101 gay men at the Fenway Health HIV clinic in Boston, USA (Politch) has found that a quarter of men with undetectable viral loads in their blood nonetheless had detectable HIV in their semen.
Although seminal viral load in these men was low (median 200 copies/ml), the researchers suggest that this is still enough to be one of the explanations for ongoing transmission in gay men despite a high proportion being on antiretroviral therapy."
A British study has scientifically confirmed what we guessed. Life expectancy of people with HIV has increased by 15 years compared with 1996 but is still 13 years less than the general population. It's due to the new anti-retroviral drugs now available. They warn that starting treatment later than recommended can knock that 15 years off again. So if you're at risk, get checked regularly. Read the full article here on the British Medical Journal.
Six days later we receive an email from aidsmap saying that "A new UK study suggests that with prompt treatment, the life expectancy of many HIV-positive people is near normal". They are talking about the same study as above. Read their article here.
A French study of 106 people with HIV and Hep-C reported that those who drunk three or more cups of coffee a day were 80% more likely not to suffer from adverse side effects. The report was given at the tenth AIDS Impact Conference has just finished in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Read more on Aidsmap.
According to a new report, "Modified ecstasy could one day have a role to play in fighting some blood cancers.... Ecstasy is known to kill some cancer cells, but scientists have increased its effectiveness 100-fold, they said in Investigational New Drugs journal", reports the BBC.
Before you wonder what the heck blood cancer is it's an umbrella name for things like leukaemia. As ever, any treatment's a very long way off... We always knew laughter and happiness was the best medicine.
"There is growing evidence that chronic use of the recreational drug ketamine is linked with severe bladder problems" they report in New Scientist. Since 2007 doctors at University College London have seen incontinence, bladder shrinkage and enormous pain in people using ketamine frequently. They have even had to remove four patients' bladders.
Here is the book that brings you the science, in easy language, that your sexual orientation is decided before you can walk. It also contains many juicy facts. If you want to be the expert at the dinner party or just know more, click the headline for details.
This book 'Gay, Straight and the Reason Why – the Science of Sexual Orientation' by Simon LeVay tells you why and how you were born gay. Ten years ago Simon LeVay stunned the world when he discovered that there are clear differences between gay and straight men's brains.
"According to a new report..." a lack of sleep affects a persons moral judgement. The "shock" findings come from a Maryland research lab where researchers deprived army guys of sleep for 24 hours and tested them with moral dilemmas.
“When people go for more than 24 hours without sleep there are dramatic decreases in brain activity in the prefrontal cortex [the area of the brain involved in processing emotions and decision-making],” says Killgore the researcher. “It basically goes to sleep.”
Good news for those addicted to Crystal. A new study from LA (yes, yes) has found that the active ingredient in nicotine patches appears to help lessen the impact and cravings of the drug, reports the New Scientist.
Being science, the conclusions are mixed but it does appear to lessen the drugs euphoric effects. The scientist types hope it means they'll be able to develop something to help addicts wanting help... tho we worry that users who smoke and don't view themselves as addicts needing help will rip their patches off when they hear.
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