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May 2017 HIV Updates Catching Our Eye

Lily&Q’s say…Here are a few samplings from the web on News in May with topics ranging from Women & the Ring to HIV care helping finally to increase life expectancy for HIV+’s.

MTN begins first trial of new dapivirine ring with both anti-HIV drug and contraceptive
May 3, 2017 From: Medical Express
A vaginal ring containing dapivirine alone that women use for a month at a time has already been found to be safe and to help prevent HIV in two large trials called ASPIRE and The Ring Study. The dual-purpose ring now being tested in a Phase I trial by the National Institutes of Health-funded Microbicide Trials Network (MTN) contains levonorgestrel, a synthetic progestin used in many contraceptives, along with dapivirine, in quantities large enough to feasibly provide protection from HIV and unintended pregnancy for up to three months.

Taking Birth Control With HIV Treatment or PrEP Is Largely OK
May 30, 2017 From: Poz
Women taking various forms of hormonal contraceptives can likely combine them safely with antiretrovirals (ARVs), whether as HIV treatment or in the form
of Truvada (tenofovir disoproxil fumarate/emtricitabine) as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) against the virus. The one ARV that may be problematic to combine
with such forms of birth control is Sustiva (efavirenz), which is included in Atripla (efavirenz/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate/emtricitabine).

With Proper Treatment, HIV Patients Can Now Live Nearly as Long as the Average American
By Savannah McCoy May 22, 2017 11:00am
The life expectancy for people with HIV in 1996 was 68 years—today it is 78 years. That is similar to the life expectancy of American men and about four years less than the life expectancy for American women.

PrEP 17 – The coming of age of PrEP
May 26, 2017 From: Prepster
PrEP17 explores the stories of over a dozen PrEP activists; current and former PrEP users; clinicians; and policy-makers. The 36 minute documentary film,
commissioned by PrEPster, shines a light on how PrEP has become available to thousands of people, despite the failures of the health system.