Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1996. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
The Associated Press - Monday, 30 September 1996
Monkeys were given implants of progesterone, which resembles synthetic hormones used in the injected contraceptive Depo-Provera and the implanted contraceptive Norplant. Those monkeys became far more vulnerable to vaginal infection with the monkey AIDS virus than untreated monkeys were.
The Associated Press reported the results in May when they were presented at a meeting of researchers. The study is now being published in the October issue of the journal Nature Medicine.
Robert Spirtas, chief of the contraceptive and reproductive evaluation branch of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, said last week that it's not clear whether the monkey results apply to women. Scientists are investigating that now, he said.
"We don't recommend that women change their contraceptive practices," he said.
Spirtas noted that hormone-based contraceptives don't offer protection against the AIDS virus as condoms do. "If a woman knows or thinks she's in a risky situation ... she should protect herself," he said.
For the study, Dr. Preston Marx of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center in New York and colleagues implanted progesterone pellets in 18 female macaques. Then a low dose of SIV, the monkey version of the AIDS virus, was placed in the animals' vaginas.
Fourteen of the 18 monkeys with the implants became infected, vs. only one of 10 monkeys without implants. The reason appeared to be that progesterone made the vaginal walls thinner, making it easier for the virus to infect the body, researchers said.
Pharmacia & Upjohn Inc., which makes Depo-Provera, said more study will be needed to see what the findings mean for people. Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories, maker of Norplant, said it would review the research.
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