archive
Shots - Health News
HIV Cure Is Closer As Patient's Full Recovery Inspires New Research
July 18, 2012 After Timothy Ray Brown became the first person to be cured of HIV, scientists became more optimistic that they could find other ways to cure patients. Two of the most promising possibilities include a vaccine and gene therapy that would re-engineer the immune system.
Shots - Health News
HIV Prevention Drug Truvada No Quick Fix For Brazil's Epidemic
July 17, 2012 Some Brazilian researchers say Truvada should only be given to very specific groups at risk of getting HIV, like young, gay men. Others are concerned that a drug that blocks the transmission of HIV could be a set-back for safe sex campaigns and might actually encourage unsafe sexual behavior.
Shots - Health News
Deciding On Truvada: Who Should Take HIV Prevention Pill?
July 17, 2012 Truvada, the first HIV prevention pill, costs about $13,000 a year, and it's not clear whether insurers will pay for it. And while taking a daily pill sounds simple, the new prevention strategy involves some complicated issues.
Author Interviews
Addict To Activist: How Elton John Found His 'Cure'
July 17, 2012 The musician describes his life in the '80s as a "drug-fueled haze," but he says he turned it all around after meeting Ryan White, a teenager who contracted AIDS through a blood transfusion. In Love Is the Cure, John recounts his journey from substance abuse to AIDS advocacy.
Shots - Health News
Is HIV Still A Death Sentence? Young People Weigh In
July 16, 2012 Young Americans who came of age in a world with AIDS say worrying about HIV in 2012 isn't much different from worrying about other sexually transmitted diseases. But others say there isn't much discussion about the risks of the disease in their community.
Shots - Health News
Treatment Gives HIV's Long-Term Survivors Hope, But Takes A Toll
July 16, 2012 KQEDAIDS has been around for long enough that some people have lived for decades with the HIV virus. But as they age, survivors face new challenges as complicated medication regimens have their own impact on health.
Shots - Health News
Generic Drugs Make Dent In Global AIDS Pandemic
July 13, 2012 Making generic drugs available through a U.S. AIDS relief fund has opened access to HIV treatment for millions of people around the world, a study finds.
'Treatment As Prevention' Rises As Cry In HIV Fight
July 12, 2012 Momentum behind the tactic has grown ever since a big study showed that people with HIV are 96 percent less likely to pass the virus on if they faithfully take antiviral medicine. Experts call it a "transformational moment" in the course of this epidemic. But many people with HIV still don't know they have it.
Teen Years Pose New Risks For Kids Born With HIV
July 9, 2012 Botswana's successful efforts against AIDS mean more HIV-positive children than ever are living into adolescence. But that brings with it new challenges, as kids who've been on antiretroviral drugs their whole lives enter the tumult of the teenage years — and face the specter of drug-resistant mutations.
Botswana's 'Stunning Achievement' Against AIDS
July 9, 2012 A decade ago, Botswana was facing a national crisis as AIDS appeared on the verge of decimating the country's adult population. Now, the country provides free, life-saving AIDS drugs to almost all of its citizens who need them.
Kenya's HIV Challenge: Easing Stigma For Gay Men
July 6, 2012 HIV rates among men who have gay sex in Kenya are three times higher than the national average. To curb those high transmission rates, health workers must first convince gay men to be open about their sex lives in a country where coming out of the closet can mean discrimination, violence and even jail.
An AIDS-Ravaged Nation Turns To Circumcision
July 5, 2012 By the end of 2013, Kenyan health officials want more than 1 million men to get circumcised — a procedure that can reduce the risk of contracting HIV by up to 60 percent. If the effort succeeds, it just might prove a model for the rest of Africa.
A Quarter-Century Of Memories Unfurl In AIDS Quilt
July 5, 2012 In 1987, a small group in San Francisco started a quilt to document the lives of people who died from HIV/AIDS. In 2012, the AIDS Memorial Quilt returns to the National Mall for the first time in more than a decade. More than 48,000 panels have been woven together to memorialize the lives lost.
AIDS In Black America: A Public Health Crisis
July 5, 2012 AIDS is the primary killer of African-Americans ages 19 to 44, and the mortality rate is 10 times higher for black Americans than for whites. A new Frontline documentary explores why.