Researchers Investigate Effectiveness Of Microbicides Against HIV.(Brief Article)

2001 OCT 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, are addressing important unanswered questions about the effectiveness of proposed topical microbicides that when applied intravaginally would prevent sexually transmitted HIV viral infections.

The Duke biomedical engineers will explore whether the virus-killing chemicals would reach the right tissues, adhere to them, and remain in place over time. Investigations into the biophysics of candidate topical microbicides are being led by David Katz in Duke's Pratt School of Engineering. His laboratory's work is being supported by a new $2.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, as well as another $90,000 award from the American Foundation for AIDS Research. Katz's microbicide research also is supported by grants from the Food and Drug Administration's Office of Women's Health and the Contraceptive Research and Development Program - the latter being a nonprofit organization supported by U.S. Agency for International Development, the Gates Foundation and other sources. As part of the FDA grant, researchers from the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research are collaborating in the Duke studies.

There is need for such female-controlled prevention methods, said Katz, who is the Nello L. Teer Jr. Professor of Biomedical Engineering. The Centers for Disease Control estimates that between 120,000 and 160,000 adult and adolescent females in the United States now have AIDS-causing HIV infections, rates that have increased over the last decade. Most were infected by heterosexual exposure to HIV.

While researchers hope that women could ...