Scientists have developed an AIDS treatment gel that shows promise in the prevention of infection from the AIDS virus. An experimental vaginal gel is the first study that offers any hope of a microbicide becoming a part of the medical weaponry to battle HIV, scientists said on Monday.
The AIDS treatment gel was effective in preventing the AIDS virus from attaching itself to white blood cells cutting infection slightly. Although the results are inconclusive in this preliminary study, the AIDS treatment gel is a breakthrough in the battle find a treatment for or prevent this deadly disease.
Failing many times in the past in other AIDS treatment related studies, the experiment took on an international turn, as researchers from several countries observed 3,100 women looking for answers. This is not the first time that scientists have engaged in the development of gels and other microbicides for women. In some parts of the world, the male partners refuse to use condoms, so an AIDS treatment gel could reduce the numbers of women infected.
Indevus Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Massachusetts manufactured the gel according to a researcher at a medical conference on Monday.
"This is the first study that now shows we have a promising candidate," said Salim Abdool Karim, the South African the researcher who presented the results.
The test was developed to determine the safety of the AIDS treatment gel, so researchers got a pleasant surprise when they discovered that the gel prevented the AIDS virus from infecting those using it.
The 3,100 women were divided into four test groups: one group used the Indevus developed AIDS treatment gel, another group used a gel made by ReProtect Inc of Baltimore, with the remainder receiving a placebo gel or no gel at all.
Each woman was instructed to have their partners use condoms. The AIDS treatment gel study was conducted in South Africa, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe and the United States, and was funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health.
The results were encouraging. The group of women who used the Indevus developed AIDS treatment gel had a 30% lower rate of HIV infection than the other women in the study. However, there weren't any drastic distinctions in the results from the other women, so it's possible the results are random.
More women will have to be observed and studied in order to gauge a better idea of the AIDS treatment gel success health officials say. Another study has already begun, using 9,400 African women using the Indevus treatment gel and will conclude in August. The results were presented at a medical conference on retroviruses in Montreal.
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