'The morning after pill for HIV': Gel found to protect monkeys against AIDS when administered after sex could work on humans too
Research published this week found that a gel reduced rate of HIV-infection
Five out of six monkeys treated with the gel were protected against infection
Study adds to other encouraging results in the field of HIV research
By KATE LYONS
PUBLISHED: 08:56 GMT, 13 March 2014 | UPDATED: 10:25 GMT, 13 March 2014


A gel that was found to reduce the rate of HIV infection among monkeys when administered after sex could possibly work on humans too, researchers have found.

Scientists have found that monkeys can be protected against HIV infection with a vaginal gel, even when it is administered three hours after sex.

The research, which was published in Science Translational Medicine on Wednesday, tested a new microbicidal vaginal gel on macaque monkeys.


Macaque monkeys were treated with the new gel and five out of the six monkeys were protected from infection

12 monkeys were given vaginal washes of simian HIV to mimic sex with an infected monkey. Three hours later, six of these monkeys were treated with the newly-developed gel and the other six were given a placebo gel.

Of the six macaques given the new gel, only one was infected with HIV, compared to all six of the monkeys who were treated with the placebo.
If the gel works in humans, it could represent a breakthrough for preventing HIV infection, particularly for women who have been raped.
Sharon L. Hillier, a professor of obstetrics at the University of Pittsburgh, told the New York Times that if the gel worked in humans, ‘it could be used for HIV prevention like Plan B or the morning-after pill for contraception’.

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The gel contains raltegravri, antiretroviral drug already in use for HIV treatment, and some HIV-prevention gels do exist, but they usually require a pre-exposure dose.

Success in monkeys does not always predict success among humans, and testing such drugs on humans is complicated and raises serious ethical considerations.
However, the results are encouraging and add to a sense of optimism in the field of HIV research. Two separate trials last week showed that monkeys who received injections of slow-release HIV drugs were protected from infection for weeks.

In other research, two babies in the U.S. who were born infected with HIV appear to have been cured by large doses of drugs administered soon after birth.
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