An experiment summarized in the latest issue of the Journal of Controlled Release showed that the flexible polymer device successfully induces a prolonged state of “immune quiescence” in rabbits by slowly releasing an anti-inflammatory drug called hydroxychloroquine. If subsequent trials prove effective, the simple, low-cost invention could assist in reducing the spread of HIV among the world’s most vulnerable populations.
HIV can only replicate in the human body after it attaches to the surface of one of several types of white blood cells – or lymphocytes – whose purpose is to detect and destroy pathogens. Thus, although it may sound counter-intuitive, inhibiting the immune system’s reaction against viral particles present in the female genital tract actually interferes with the virus’s ability to gain its initial foothold in the body. [...]
Following decades of public health campaigns and clinical outreach, HIV transmission rates have declined in developed nations in recent years, yet the threat of HIV and AIDS remains very real in low-income areas. Eastern and southern Africa account for approximately 70 percent of the world’s current HIV infections and 43 percent of the global total of new HIV infections occurring yearly.
Woman and girls are disproportionately affected by the epidemic due to lack of access to prophylactic medications and an inability to protect themselves against exposure from male sexual partners who have sex with multiple other partners without protection.
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