Jul 01, 2005   | COMMENTS     

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Everyone knows condoms prevent pregnancy and transmitted diseases. But how well do they work? That question is at the center of a debate over whether the labels on condom packages should be changed. On one side are abstinence advocates, including a conservative congressman who is blocking appointment of a new federal drug agency chief until the labels are changed. On the other side are “safe sex” advocates who fear label changes could undermine confidence in condoms and increase the spread of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. Each side has some truth in its argument: Condoms are very effective against the AIDS virus, but data for their effectiveness against some other STDs is surprisingly spotty. “They do not provide 100 percent protection, but for people who are sexually active they are the best and the only method we have for preventing these diseases,” said Heather Boonstra, a public policy official with the Alan Guttmacher Institute, a nonprofit group that researches reproductive health issues. Boonstra said that Republican Sen. Tom Coburn, a physician from Oklahoma, and the abstinence-promoting Medical Institute for Sexual Health are “manipulating this data to drive home their own anti-condom, anti-contraceptive message.” But John Hart, spokesperson for Coburn, said the senator’s June 15 hold on Lester Crawford’s nomination as commissioner of the Food & Drug Administration is an effort to make Crawford obey a 2000 law sponsored by Coburn, who also served as head of President Bush’s AIDS advisory council. It requires the FDA to change condom labels to give more information on their “effectiveness or lack of the effectiveness in preventing STDs.”

Boehringer drug for resistant HIV approved in United States
WASHINGTON — The AIDS medicine Aptivus, manufactured by Boehringer Ingelheim, got the green light last week for sale in the United States, Reuters reported. The drug is used to treat adults with drug-resistant HIV infections in combination with Norvir from Abbot Laboratories Inc. Boehringer, based in Germany, said Aptivus will be available nationwide by mid-July, according to Reuters. A protease inhibitor, Aptivus helps suppress the virus that causes AIDS, and although there are several such drugs available in the U.S., health leaders said new drugs offer more options because patients usually develop resistance to the medicines. In two major clinical trials funded by Boehringer, researchers found that Aptivus was more effective than other HIV drugs when used as a companion to Norvir, Reuters reported.

Precursors of anal cancer prevalent among gay men
NEW YORK — A new report shows that up to one in five gay men have anal squamous intraepithelial lesions, which are precursors of anal cancer, Reuters Health reported. The report, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute on June 15, details a study by researchers at the University of California San Francisco. “There is a high prevalence of anal cancer precursor lesions and anal human papillomavirus in this population across all sexually active age groups, confirming early studies of disease prevalence,” Dr. Peter V. Chin-Hong, lead study author, told Reuters health. Scientists looked at age-related prevalence and risk factors for anal lesions in more than 1,000 HIV-negative men who have sex with men in four cities in the United States. These lesions were present in 20 percent of the study participants, with 15 percent of men with low-grade lesions and 5 percent with high-grade lesions, Reuters Health reported. Researchers found the precursors to anal cancer significantly more common among men with more than five receptive anal sex partners in the previous six months.

U.K. AIDS quilt goes online, unveiled before G8 Summit
EDINBURGH — The National AIDS Trust last week put the U.K. AIDS Memorial Quilt on the Internet to allow more people access to view it, the Scotsman reported. The online launch precedes the G8 Summit this month, when the world’s most powerful leaders gather to discuss top issues across the globe. In addition, 100 quilt panels were unveiled last week in Edinburgh to greet the G8 officials, the Scotsman reported. Initiated in San Francisco in 1985, the AIDS Memorial Quilt is a worldwide International Names Project initiative to memorialize every person who dies of the disease. With the U.K. Web site, viewers can access more than 300 quilt panels and personal stories in memory of many of ...