Washington Blade - August 3, 2001

Research shows some sexual lubricants kill HIV

GALVESTON, Texas - In preliminary laboratory studies, researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch have found what could prove to be a slick new weapon in the battle against AIDS: over-the-counter sexual lubricants, Gay.com/PlanetOut.com reported. The study, published in the July 20 issue of AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses, found that three lubricants - Astroglide, Silken Secret, and Vagisil Intimate Moisture - greatly reduce the transmission of HIV. Only 0.1 percent of the virus, or one in every 1,000 cells, was left alive. Two chemicals in the lubricants appear to kill HIV by targeting membranes of the virus and the cells already infected by it, study author Samuel Baron told Gay.com/PlanetOut.com. Baron warned that lubricants shouldn't be used alone to achieve safer sex; lubricants should be water-based and accompanied by a condom. Last year, the same researchers discovered that saliva can kill HIV, explaining why the AIDS virus is generally not transmitted through kissing.

Syphilis, gonorrhea on rise among Oregon gay men

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Oregon has seen a sharp increase in reported cases of gonorrhea and syphilis, the Oregon Health Division said. Gay and bisexual men account for a disproportionate number of cases in Oregon compared with their percentage of the population. The number of statewide gay or bisexual men with gonorrhea jumped from 122 in 1999 to 165 in 2000. By June of this year, there were already 112 cases reported. In response, officials and activists are renewing efforts to promote safer sex in the gay community. In Portland, outreach workers will visit Internet chat rooms popular among local gay men to promote testing and treatment for syphilis, gonorrhea, and other sexually transmitted diseases.

Symptoms common in women with ovarian cancer

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The symptoms of ovarian cancer are often described as nonspecific or nonexistent, making it difficult to detect the disease before it has progressed to later and more deadly stages. But a study in the August issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology suggests that the prevalence of certain symptoms may help identify women with cancer. A comparison of ovarian cancer patients in New York hospitals with healthy women from the community found that women with ovarian cancer were more likely than healthy women to experience bloating, fullness, and pressure in the abdomen or pelvis. Other symptoms reported by women with ovarian cancer included pain in the abdomen or lower back, unusual fatigue, and problems with urination and constipation. There is some evidence that the prevalence of certain risk factors for breast, endometrial, or ovarian cancer might be higher among lesbians.

Experts: More women needed in AIDS research

CHICAGO - Women now make up more than half of the 36.1 million adults infected with HIV worldwide, but there is a need for more women subjects in AIDS research, a concern that was repeated throughout a two-day conference in Chicago of 50 AIDS treatment experts, Reuters reported. The percentage of newly diagnosed U.S. women has doubled over the last 10 years, making women the fastest-growing HIV-infected population in the United States. "The disease doesn't necessarily behave the same way in both genders," Judy Delmar, a physician treating AIDS patients in San Antonio, Texas, told Reuters. "It's just a different disease in women." Determining an appropriate treatment option for women can be difficult because women generally weigh less and have lower viral loads than men who are just sick do. If doctors do not have an accurate gauge of how a woman's viral load differs from a man's, treatment could be compromised, according to James Witek, an MCP Hahnemann University AIDS researcher in Philadelphia. "There is a push to try to include women in clinical trials," Witek told Reuters. "Some of the trials now consider things like providing money for child care and other expenses."

NIH HIV research studies women, lesbians

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, an office of the National Institutes of Health, will fund three sites to conduct research to understand how HIV affects adolescent and adult women, including lesbians, according to an NIH news release. The sites will house the Women's HIV Pathogenesis Program, and will be located at the University of Washington in Seattle, Wash., the Gladstone Institute of Virology in San Francisco, and Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center in Chicago. Funding for the program will total approximately $3.5 million per year over five years. Each site will conduct research to identify biological factors unique to women. Such factors could have an impact on how women become infected with the virus and transmit it to others, how the disease progresses in women after infection takes place, and how the disease affects women differently than it does men. Research will include lesbians, minority women, women who abuse substances, and those who are approaching or experiencing menopause. "These HIV research centers will focus exclusively on women, something that's extremely important," Duane Alexander, director of NICHD, said in the release. "Women infected with HIV have problems associated with HIV-infection that are unique to their sex, including gynecological infections and uterine malignancies."

-- From staff and wire reports

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