New Biomedical Approaches

 

There may be even more ways for you to protect your health needs in the future. New research on preventing and someday curing HIV is constantly coming out. Here is some of the latest information about new biomedical approaches, or ways to prevent HIV through medicine and medical procedures

New forms of PrEP

 

We’ve already talked a lot about PrEP as an effective HIV prevention strategy. Currently in the US, the FDA has approved two drugs to be used as PrEP: Truvada and Descovy. In order to get the greatest protection from PrEP, you must

    • Take it every day
    • Continue other safer sex practices like using condoms
    • Get tested for HIV regularly.

Other drugs and different ways of taking PrEP continue to be tested in clinical trials for safety and effectiveness. For example, there may soon be PrEP that you can take just before you have sex or that can be injected and last for a longer time. However, regardless of options, PrEP’s protecting against HIV may be low when not taken as prescribed by a doctor.

Microbicides

Microbicides are gels, creams, or suppositories (medicines inserted in the rectum, urethra, or vagina) that can kill or neutralize bacteria or viruses. So far, microbicides have been shown to protect against some STIs during vaginal sex. New studies are underway to figure out if microbicides are effective for HIV prevention among both men who have sex with men and heterosexuals.
 
At present, no microbicide for HIV prevention is available on the market.

Circumcision

Male circumcision is the removal of some or all of the penis foreskin. Many cultures have practiced male circumcision for centuries. Recently, research has tested if it could also be an HIV prevention tool.

The foreskin may be particularly vulnerable to HIV infection because
    • The foreskin has a high number of cells that HIV targets for infection.
    • The foreskin may be more likely to get tears during sex, making it easier for HIV to enter the body. 
    • STIs are more common in uncircumcised men, which increases the risk for HIV. 

Many studies on male circumcision have been conducted in Africa, where circumcision is not as common as in the US. So far, results show that male circumcision reduces HIV risk for men during vaginal sex. Women do not seem to get any extra protection. Studies with men who have sex with men are inconclusive. Also, male circumcision does not protect against other STIs, so it is still best used in combination with condoms and PrEP.
 
Vaccines

No effective vaccine for HIV is available today. Scientists are still learning about the virus, how it replicates in the body, and how the immune system can be prepared to respond to it.
 
Studies are being conducted around the world to develop a vaccine that will help to prevent the HIV virus from taking hold in the body. Many of these studies focus specifically on men who have sex with men.
 

Cure

There is still no realistic cure for HIV at this time. Recently, 2 HIV-positive patients have supposedly been cured by receiving stem cell transplants for cancer, which also caused their HIV to go into long-term remission. Scientists continue to study those cases and other ways of eliminating HIV from the body. Until then, we rely on effective medicines to treat HIV.

Treatment as Prevention / Undetectable = Untransmittable (U=U)

The good news is that effective medications for HIV do exist! HIV medications work by lowering the levels of HIV (called “viral load”) in the blood and genital fluids (like semen) to an “undetectable” amount. This improves the health of people living with HIV and also prevents the spread of HIV. U=U means that people who are undetectable cannot transmit the virus to others.
 

Note that HIV still exists in the body in people on HIV treatment. If an HIV-positive person stops taking their medication, their viral load will soon return to a detectable level. That is the difference between treatment and a cure.

Keep up with the latest research on biomedical approaches for HIV prevention through AVAC. 

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