Me-WOW: Could Glow-in-the-Dark Kitties cure AIDS?

Some cats are glowing, thanks to researchers at Mayo Clinic, who inserted rhesus macaque plus jellyfish genes into unfertilized cat eggs. The mix makes resulting kittens apparently resistant to feline immunodeficiency virus, which causes feline AIDS.

Oh, yeah, and it also makes them glow under special lights. It's all part of a study on how to best fight human HIV and AIDS—as well as battle feline AIDS which is plaguing domestic cats. The glowing stunt helps researchers track the cats' engineered genes and cells. "We want to see if we can protect the domestic cat against its AIDS virus, if we can protect any species, eventually including ours, against its own AIDS virus," Dr. Eric Poeschla tells Live Science.

APPROVED: Lifetime Ban on Gay Blood Donation to Be Lifted in Parts of UK!

A lifetime ban on blood donation by gay men, put in place during the AIDS crisis 25 years ago is set to be lifted in England, Scotland, and Wales, though restrictions will still remain, the BBC reports:

Ministers have agreed to let men who have not had sex with another man in the past 12 months to donate from November. The restrictions were put in place in the 1980s to prevent the risk of HIV contamination. However, the latest medical evidence presented to a government panel argued the ban could no longer be justified. Ministers in the three countries accepted the argument and said they would be relaxing the rules. Northern Ireland is expected to make a decision soon.

In the U.S., men are banned by the FDA from giving blood if they have had sexual intercourse with another man at any time since 1977.

CRISIS: CDC Sees Troubling Increases, Persistence of New HIV Cases!

Some troubling news from the CDC on HIV: The CDC’s first multi-year estimates from its national HIV incidence surveillance find that overall, the annual number of new HIV infections in the United States was relatively stable at approximately 50,000 new infections each year between 2006 and 2009.  However, HIV infections increased among young men who have sex with men (MSM) between 2006 and 2009, driven by alarming increases among young, black MSM – the only subpopulation to experience a sustained increase during the time period.

The new estimates were published today in the online scientific journal PLoS ONE.  The incidence estimates are based on direct measurement of new HIV infections with a laboratory test that can distinguish recent from long-standing HIV infections.

“More than 30 years into the HIV epidemic, about 50,000 people in this country still become infected each year.  Not only do men who have sex with men continue to account for most new infections, young gay and bisexual men are the only group in which infections are increasing, and this increase is particularly concerning among young African American MSM ,” said CDC Director Thomas Frieden, M.D.  “HIV infections can be prevented.  By getting tested, reducing risky behaviors, and getting treatment, people can protect themselves and their loved ones.”

OZ: Man Jailed Indefinitely for Spreading HIV!

A Canadian court has decided that a man convicted of murder through HIV transmission is dangerous enough to be locked up indefinitely. Johnson Aziga had unprotected sex with at least 11 women who were unaware of his condition, seven of whom became infected and two of whom died of AIDS-related cancers. Aziga is serving a life sentence with no possibility of parole for 25 years, but the dangerous offender ruling means that he can be detained indefinitely on sexual assault charges even if his murder convictions are overturned, the Globe and Mail reports. 

The court decided that Aziga has an unusually high libido and that trusting him to disclose his condition to future sexual partners would be "a gamble on the safety of women in this community." The 55-year-old, who is appealing the murder convictions, gave a rambling statement to the court, saying he wanted to renounce his Canadian citizenship and serve his sentence in his native Uganda. He denied deliberately infecting the women and asked to have "HIV positive" tattooed on the palms of his hands.

HOPE: AIDS Drugs Slash Risk of Getting HIV in First Place!

The same antiretroviral drugs that treat HIV and AIDS can also be used to cut down the risk of contracting HIV in the first place, two new studies show. The dramatic results are just the latest evidence that AIDS drugs can be effective at prevention as well as treatment. While previous research has shown antiretroviral drugs to be effective for specific groups, the new studies, carried out in Kenya, Uganda, and Botswana, show that they are also effective in the general heterosexual population. In one study, which ended early because results were so startling, antiretroviral drugs reduced the risk of contraction by 62% to 73%.

The other showed a 63% decrease. Taking the drugs daily is important: A previous experiment, in which many doses were skipped, was less effective. About 6.6 million infected people in the developing world are taking antiretroviral drugs, but this news will likely spur efforts to provide more drugs to those not yet infected, the Washington Post reports.

AIDS CYCLE Day 5: Red Dress Day Photo Essay!

Karen Ocamb takes us on a tour of AIDS/LifeCycle's most festive day, "Red Dress Day".
Crossposted from lgbtpov.com:

Red Dress Day is one of the best traditions of the AIDS LifeCycle ride. ALL participants are asked to wear a red dress so that the riders look like one long strip of red ribbon from the sky – heaven, I suppose. Now this may not be the REAL story – apparently there’s a dispute. But it’s the one I like best. Here’s a peek at Red Dress Day from someone who wore a red tee shirt instead.

 Day Five, Red Dress Day on the AIDS LifeCycle, started before dawn as camp turned from a sea of blue to red.

AIDS CYCLE Day 4: The Experience!

Chase and Erick from New Left Media capture some memorable moments from Day 4 of AIDS/LifeCycle.

AIDS CYCLE Day 3: Young Man Calls Mom At Rest Stop To Tell Her He's HIV-Positive!

by Nathan Manske
imfromdriftwood.com

At Rest Stop 3 on the third day of the Ride, Kenny Norman approached the embedded Press Corps, which IFD is a part of, and informed us that he was about to call his mom to tell her for the first time that he's HIV-positive. He told me the decision came after having a lot of alone time to think about it while cycling and also the amazing community that's been surrounding him the past few days. He invited us to film his end of the phone conversation which lead to an incredibly emotional moment on the Ride.

AIDS CYCLE Day 3: Ride Brings Actor Chad Allen and Father Closer Than Ever!

by Nathan Manske
imfromdriftwood.com

Chad Allen arrived in the small town of Bradley, CA, early in the morning to wrap red ribbons and bows on the fences, bridges and light posts for the riders to see when they arrived for lunch. After lunch we found a field nearby and he assured me he already had a story in mind that he wanted to share. Just before we started filming, though, we were chatting about LifeCycle and a lightbulb went off in his head. He suddenly had a different story he wanted to share and I'm sure glad he did.

Why Brazil's response to AIDS worked?

As we mark the 30th anniversary of the CDC's official reporting of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, it's surprising to see which nation has fared the best in response. It's not the United States; it's not China, India, or even Russia ... It's our good friend to the south, Brazil.


Eduardo J. Gómez first began to learn about Brazil's success as a doctoral student investigating the impact of AIDS on politics and society in the developing world. Surprised by Brazil's early response to the epidemic, especially when compared to other nations, I tossed my laptop into a backpack and set out for Brazil.

After several trips to cities throughout the country, interviewing AIDS patients, health officials, and activists, it gradually became clear that the government was indeed fully committed to eradicating AIDS, in turn proving to the world that it had the technical capacity and political commitment needed to do so.

As evidence of Brazil's success, consider the following. Aggressive national prevention campaigns for high-risk groups have contributed to a sharp decline of HIV/AIDS cases in Brazil. Because of the creation of national prevention programs targeting gay men and women, in 2002 and 2007, respectively, Brazil has seen a dramatic decline in HIV/AIDS cases among gay men, from 3,376 in 1996 to 647 in 2009, and among women, from 7,419 in 1996 to 2,034 in 2009.

HIV Prevention Ads Taken Down in Australia After Complaints from Christian Group

An HIV-prevention ad featuring a fully-clothed gay couple embracing with a condom has been removed from bus shelters in Brisbane, Australia following complaints from the Australian Christian Lobby, the Central Telegraph reports:

ACL's State Director for Queensland is calling their campaign to have the ad removed “A massive groundswell of people power" despite only 47 complaints being made.

The advert has been released by the Queensland Association for Healthy Communities as part of their Queensland Government funded HIV prevention and sexual health promotion work with gay men.

“We are deeply disappointed by the behaviour of Adshel in removing the advertisements, without even notifying us and without proper reason” said Paul Martin, Executive Director of Healthy Communities.

After 30 years of HIV/AIDS, real progress and much left to do

Three decades ago, the June 5, 1981, issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) reported on five previously healthy young gay men in Los Angeles diagnosed with pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP), an infectious disease usually seen only in people with profoundly impaired immune function. As a specialist in infectious diseases and immunology, I had cared for several people with PCP whose immune systems had been weakened by cancer chemotherapy writes Anthony S. Fauci of the Washington Post. I was puzzled about why otherwise healthy young men would acquire this infection. And why gay men? I was concerned, but mentally filed away the report as a curiosity.

One month later, the MMWR wrote about 26 cases in previously healthy gay men from Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York, who had developed PCP as well as an unusual form of cancer called Kaposi’s sarcoma. Their immune systems were severely compromised. This mysterious syndrome was acting like an infectious disease that probably was sexually transmitted. My colleagues and I never had seen anything like it. The idea that we could be dealing with a brand-new infectious microbe seemed like something for science fiction movies.

In, cases appeared in many groups: injection-drug users, hemophiliacs and other recipients of blood and blood products, heterosexual men and women, and children born to infected mothers. The era of AIDS had begun. Read the FULL article Here!

COMPASSION: Massive San Francisco AIDS Ribbon Marks 30 Years of Epidemic!

The San Francisco AIDS Foundation installed a giant AIDS ribbon on Twin Peaks above the city over the weekend to mark 30 years since the beginning of the AIDS crisis.


The SF Chronicle reports: "It's gone from a death sentence to a chronic disease," said Patrick Carney, who was diagnosed with the AIDS virus in 1987 and who today, at 55 years old, relies on dozens of pills and two injections a day to keep his compromised immune system strong.

Made from 15,000 square feet of plastic tarp and held down by 400 stakes, the symbol should be visible from the East Bay on a clear day. "Like an aging movie star, it's going to look better from a distance," said Carney, who lives in the Tenderloin.

He helped the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, the group behind the project, with logistics. For the past 15 years, Carney has worked with volunteers to place a large pink triangle on the same hillside as a mark of gay pride. The triangle stays up for two days a year; the City Hall-sanctioned red ribbon has a monthlong run on Twin Peaks.

HOTTIE: Bicycle Racing AIDS Activist!

Gonzalo Garcia writes, I was born in New York City on April 3, 1980. Three weeks later to the day, and three thousand miles away, the first AIDS case was recognized in San Francisco and reported to the Centers for Disease Control. I grew up a child actor, so I was surrounded by people, stories, myths, and health lessons regarding this disease. And I’ve helped raise money over the years, starting around the age of 10. Now, 21 years later, as I turn 31, I’m doing something I never thought I would do. I’m riding my bike in one of the most physically challenging events, the San Francisco to Los Angeles AIDS Life Cycle.



AIDS Life Cycle provided by the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and the L.A. Gay and Lesbian Center. This year marks the tenth anniversary of the event, and during June 5 through the 11th over 2000 cyclists and roadies will come together to accomplish this ride.


This event also consists of riding my bike between 80 and 100 miles each day, sleeping in a tent, waking up at 5:00 AM to get back on the bike at 6:00 AM and repeating it all for seven days until all 545 miles are complete. It’s the 10th anniversary of this event and I’m super excited to try this with 2000 other people! Click Here for More!

CUT: Circumcision Ban Heading to S.F. Voters!

A November ballot initiative will ask San Francisco voters if they want to ban circumcision procedures in their city.


The effort to criminalize circumcision is being led by gay San Franciscan Lloyd Schofield, who believes the procedure is barbaric and dangerous, referring to it as "male genital mutilation." Schofield gathered the necessary signatures needed to place it on San Francisco's ballot for the November 8 municipal election, CNN reports. Should San Francisco approve the ban, anyone found performing the procedure could go to jail and face a fine — there would be no religious exemptions.

There are arguments that circumcision cuts down on HIV transmission, but Schofield believes the opposite. He told HIV Plus magazine: "There is a reverse correlation between circumcision and HIV. Some nations in Africa have a higher HIV infection rate—even though most of the men are circumcised—than countries where most of the men are intact. The U.S. has a much higher HIV and STD rate than Europe, and most American men have been circumcised, while most European men are intact."

FINALLY: Doctors Seek to Replicate This Man's 'HIV Cure'!

Six months after his case attracted worldwide attention, "Berlin Patient" Timothy Ray Brown appears to still be the first person ever to have been cured of HIV. The virus was eliminated from Brown's body after he received a bone marrow stem cell transplant while being treated for leukemia. "I’m cured of HIV. I had HIV but I don’t anymore," Brown tells CBS5 in San Francisco, where amazed experts are monitoring his progress. Doctors believe Brown received stem cells from a donor who was among the 1% or so of the Caucasian population that is immune to HIV.


Stem cell researchers are now trying to replicate the same results. Experts say that while the radical treatment that appears to have cured Brown carries many risks, talk of a cure for AIDS no longer seems premature. "If you’re able to take the white cells from someone and manipulate them so they’re no longer infected, no longer infectable by HIV, and those white cells become the whole immune system of that individual, you’ve got essentially a functional cure," explains researcher Jay Levy, who co-discovered the HIV virus.

HEALTH: HIV Vaccine Works in Monkeys!

Big advances in AIDS research are hard to come by—but researchers in Oregon say their new vaccine marks a huge step forward. In a study of HIV’s monkey equivalent, the researchers found that 13 of 24 rhesus macaques given the vaccine were protected against the disease; 12 were still protected a year later, reports the BBC. The vaccine contained a genetically-altered version of the virus, which prompted the production of special blood cells that stick around well after a disease is conquered.


The cells are ready to fight again if needed, a researcher says: “There are soldiers that are back at the base with their rifles in the shed, and then you have the guys out in the field.” Other researchers were impressed with the finding, but concerned about its safety for humans. The genetically-modified version of the virus, called CMV, “does cause a number of diseases,” says one. “If you're giving people something you're not going to be able to get rid of should it cause problems, then that's quite a difficult risk to manage.”

HEALTH: Gays Linked to Higher Cancer Rates!

A US study has discovered higher reports of cancer among gays, and researchers are at a loss to explain why. The study of more than 120,000 Californians found that gay men were twice as likely as straight men to report a cancer diagnosis, which occurred, on average, a decade earlier than similar cases for heterosexual men. There was no similar finding for lesbians, though lesbians were more likely to report feeling in "fair or poor health" than heterosexual women. The study didn't compare total number of cancer cases because it only dealt with cancer survivors.

Some researchers speculate that the apparent higher cancer rates could be linked to the higher rate of anal cancer among gays tied to the Human Papilloma Virus, or because of greater incidents of HIV infection, which has been linked to cancer, reports the BBC. Others blamed "minority stress" for poorer health. A cancer organization spokeswoman pointed to "some health inequalities as a result of sexuality." Smoking rates, for example, tend to be higher among homosexual men and women than in heterosexuals, she said. It's also possible more gays are reporting cancer because more gay than heterosexual cancer victims have survived. "We'd need larger studies to find out," said one expert.

DANGEROUS LOVE: Nigerian Man Kills His Spanish LOVER after being exposed to HIV!

Twenty-one-year old Rafael Ikechukwu, on Thursday, said he did not regret killing his Spanish gay lover.

Mr Ikechukwu is being held at the State Criminal Investigation Department, Panti, Yaba, for allegedly slashing the throat of a middle aged Spanish man, Gafaru Anthony, who was in the country on the invitation of Mr Ikechukwu reports 234NEXT. Both men have been lovers for more than two years before the incident occurred on April 16. The relationship turned sour that day when the lovers had a fight at the Goti Gate Hotel at FESTAC town where they had planned to lodge for one week.

A quarrel reportedly ensued between the lovers after they retired to their room. Mr Ikechukwu allegedly overpowered Mr Anthony during the fight and slashed his throat with a broken bottle. Police officers from the Homicide Department at Panti, Yaba, were invited to the scene, and they arrested Mr Ikechukwu. The body of Mr Anthony was taken to the mortuary for autopsy.

HEALTH: San Francisco's Policy May Cut HIV for Gay Men by 60 Percent!

San Francisco's policy of recommending HIV treatment to all infected patients upon diagnosis, without waiting for CD4 cell counts to fall, could cut the number of new infections among men who have sex with men by 59 percent in five years, a new study suggests. In addition, combining early treatment with annual testing for all MSM would reduce new infections among them by 76 percent, according to The Body.


When to initiate antiretroviral therapy has long been debated. Early HIV medications carried the risk of such severe side effects that public health officials recommended patients not begin treatment until they were symptomatic. The drugs have since improved, and studies have shown more favorable outcomes under earlier ART initiation. Last year, San Francisco Department of Public Health (DPH) recommended treatment for all HIV patients as soon as they are diagnosed.

"There's a growing recognition that the virus is more toxic than the meds," said study co-author Dr. Moupali Das, DPH's HIV prevention research director. "The meds are not without side effects, but they're so much improved." DPH developed the study's mathematical model with the University of California-San Francisco (UCSF). Click HERE for for Full report.