Showing posts with label Los Angeles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Los Angeles. Show all posts

Thursday, September 15, 2011

AIDS Health Foundation (AHF) Questions Truvada's Use as PrEP

via Business Wire News Releases, by AIDS Healthcare Foundation

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) unveiled a new print ad today that lays out data on the use of Gilead's blockbuster HIV treatment drug Truvada as a pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) or HIV prevention pill raising questions about the wisdom of pursuing approval by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) for this new use of the drug. The information detailed in the "Gilead's Truvada as Prevention - Just the Facts" ad illuminates the reasons why it is premature for the U.S. Food & Drug Administration to consider approval of Truvada as PrEP. In the ad, AHF also calls on Gilead "to make certain that their drug when used for prevention does no harm to the individual or the overall public health."


The ad is scheduled to begin running this week in eight publications aimed at an LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) audience: Bay Area Reporter in San Francisco, California; GA Voice in Atlanta, Georgia: Gay City News in New York, New York; South Florida Gay News in Miami/Ft. Lauderdale, Florida; Washington Blade in Washington, D.C.; and Windy City Times in Chicago, Illinois. It will begin running next week in the following publications: Frontiers Magazine in Los Angeles, California and Out Front in Denver, Colorado.

The push for FDA approval of PrEP has increased since November 2010 when the results of the iPrEx study were released. The study of 2,499 high-risk men who have sex with men (MSM) found that the once-daily pill could decrease the likelihood of HIV infection by 42%. Since then many have raised concerns about the consequences of widespread use of PrEP and its possible affect on behavior. Letters signed by 618 doctors and advocates have been sent to the FDA and to drug-maker Gilead Sciences urging a halt to pursuit of FDA approval for use of Gilead's blockbuster AIDS treatment drug Truvada as PrEP. In the letter sent by doctors--spearheaded by AHF--the doctors expressed concern that widespread use of PrEP, based on the available data, will unwittingly lead to more risky behavior, and more HIV infections. Lack of real-world data has also been cited as a concern.

Read the rest.


[If an item is not written by an IRMA member, it should not be construed that IRMA has taken a position on the article's content, whether in support or in opposition.]

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Heterosexual anal sex reported by women receiving HIV prevention services in Los Angeles County

Womens Health Issues. 2010 Nov-Dec;20(6):414-9.

Heterosexual anal sex reported by women receiving HIV prevention services in Los Angeles County.

Reynolds GL, Fisher DG, Napper LE, Fremming BW, Jansen MA.

California State University, Long Beach, Center for Behavioral Research and Services, Long Beach, California 90813, USA. greynol2@csulb.edu

Abstract

BACKGROUND: This study examined reported heterosexual receptive anal intercourse (HRAI) in a sample of women recruited from HIV prevention providers in Los Angeles County.

METHODS: The majority of women surveyed were Latina and the modal age was 19 years. Women reporting HRAI were more likely to use both injected and non injected drugs and to have sexual partners who injected drugs.

RESULTS: Factors associated with HRAI in a multivariate regression model included use of methamphetamine; use of alcohol before, during, or after sex; and use of dental services at the interview agency. Factors inversely associated with heterosexual anal sex were being African American (compared with Latina) and endorsing the use of condoms for episodes of vaginal sex from start to finish.

CONCLUSION: HIV prevention providers in Los Angeles County should be aware of the need for basic prevention messages concerning condom use and injection behavior in young Latina women.



[If an item is not written by an IRMA member, it should not be construed that IRMA has taken a position on the article's content, whether in support or in opposition.]

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

L.A. County sheriff considers expanding condom distribution in jail


via Los Angeles Times, by Ari B. Bloomekatz

Inmates call Ron Osorio "West Hollywood" because the words are printed on the cream-colored cloth bag he carries inside Men's Central Jail each Friday.

The bag is filled with 300 Lifestyle condoms. Osorio, who works for the nonprofit Center for Health Justice, has been visiting the jail almost weekly since 2001, when Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca approved a small but groundbreaking program that allowed the health group to pass out prophylactics to inmates in a segregated unit for gay men.

"We go to the dorms and a guy hands out the bagged lunches. There's another guy that hands out the juice. . . . and I stand between those two as they go through the line. They get their lunch, they get a condom, and they get their juice," Osorio said.

Not all inmates take condoms, but Osorio talks to those who do about the risks of HIV/AIDS.

Read the rest.
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...