Tag Archives: HIV/AIDS

A very disappointing setback. Two men whom Boston researchers reported in July had been cleared of HIV after receiving bone marrow transplants have had the virus return, the lead researcher announced Thursday. The patients, both of whom had been living with HIV for years, had each received bone marrow transplants several years ago to treat the blood cancer lymphoma. The …

Pentecostal pastors in Kenya are charging HIV patients to burn their medications and then tell them they’ve been cured by the power of Jesus. Via the Washington Post: The “cure” is not free, and some people say they shell out their life savings to receive a miracle blessing and quit taking the drugs. Margaret Lavonga attended a healing prayer service …

The New York Times today published an excellent front-page article on the direction that the HIV/AIDS pandemic has taken in recent years. The AIDS epidemic in America is rapidly becoming concentrated among poor, young black and Hispanic men who have sex with men. Despite years of progress in preventing and treating H.I.V. in the middle class, the number of new …

From the Radiological Society of North America: Researchers have used radioimmunotherapy (RIT) to destroy remaining human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected cells in the blood samples of patients treated with antiretroviral therapy, offering the promise of a strategy for curing HIV infection. Results of the study were presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). Highly …

Via press release: In time for World AIDS Day on Sunday, Dec. 1, one of the world’s largest collections of AIDS posters is now complete and available online, marking the culmination of a multiyear project launched in 2011 during the 30th anniversary year of the identification of HIV/AIDS. Thanks to catalogers at the University of Rochester, more than 6,200 posters …

Via press release from the White House, here’s a portion of President Obama’s message for World AIDS Day. We will win this battle, but it is not over yet. In memory of the loved ones we have lost and on behalf of our family members, friends, and fellow citizens of the world battling HIV/AIDS, we resolve to carry on the …

The tech site IO9 reports: European researchers have used a computer to design small synthetic molecules capable of attacking the deadly AIDS virus where it hurts the most: its ability to produce the genetic material required for replication. It’s the first time in history this has ever been done. The novel designer molecules work by blocking the virus’ ability to …

Focus Features’ Dallas Buyers Club continues to perform strongly in theaters, moving up to #10 on last weekend’s list of top grosses as the release widened to more than 650 houses. Focus writes: Jean-Marc Vallée’s DALLAS BUYERS CLUB dramatizes the story of Ron Woodroof (played by Matthew McConaughey), a real man who, after being diagnosed as HIV+ in 1986, did …

Chris Johnson reports at Washington Blade: President Obama signed into law on Thursday afternoon a bill approved by Congress with significant bipartisan support that lifts the ban on the donation of organs from HIV-positive people to others with HIV. In a statement, Obama said he signed the legislation, called the HIV Organ Policy Equity Act, or HOPE Act, to provide …

Last night Magic Johnson talked to Anderson Cooper about the paradox presented by living with HIV for 22 years in the public eye, which has prompted many Americans to get tested but has also led some to discount the very real dangers of the virus. Johnson: “They say ‘Oh, HIV is nothing. I can be like Magic. He’s doing good.'” …

Courtesy of Oxford University Press, our second Swag Tuesday prize this week is The AIDS Generation: Stories of Survival and Resilience by Dr. Perry Halkitis, which is now available online and at booksellers nationwide. For young gay men who came of age in the United States in the 1980s, the HIV/AIDS epidemic was a formative experience in fear, hardship, and …

Saying that most people being treated for HIV are now living normal lifespans, an American medical association that specializes in HIV/AIDS care has issued new guidelines that focus on illnesses that may be exacerbated by anti-retroviral therapy. The Human Immunodeficiency Medicine Association of the Infectious Diseases Society of America updated its HIV care guidelines include recommendations for screening for diabetes, …

Clip recap: Who could get Broadway icons Julie Andrews, Gwen Verdon, Bernadette Peters and Angela Lansbury together for the holidays? Why, only Broadway Cares, of course, and the exclusive Broadway Legends ornament set (with some special assistance from theatre favorite Christine Pedi.) Whether your special someone loves one-of-a-kind Broadway memorabilia or collects every original cast recording, you’ll find whatever is …

Father Tony is doing the Miami – Key West AIDS ride this weekend.  From Tony’s rider page where you can sponsor him: In high school, my idea of exercise was lip-synching Diana Ross. Now, as a 62 year-old gay adventure tour guide and travel writer, I want you to “stop, in the name of love” for a moment and consider …

The dedication for the World AIDS Museum took place in the Fort Lauderdale suburb of Wilton Manors yesterday. Father Tony Adams took the above photo and he sends us this email: I just went to the dedication of the fledgling World AIDS Museum in Wilton Manors. Magic Johnson was the special guest. He donated a jersey. He said that today …

A Canadian judge has tossed out the lawsuit of a man who demanded $33M from the federal and provincial governments for allowing an HIV-positive former prostitute from Thailand into the country. He married the woman after meeting her at the Toronto strip club which was also named in his lawsuit. Justice Carole Brown tossed out Whiteman’s $33-million lawsuit that alleged …

The painting that Banksy donated to Housing Works has sold at auction for $615,000. What an amazing windfall for them.

Last month the NYC-based Gay Men’s Health Crisis was in the news after executive director Marjorie Hill stepped down amid accusations of mismanagement. Today we learn that GMHC is breaking the lease on its fairly new headquarters and is on the hunt for a less expensive location. Matthew Katz reports at DNA Info: GMHC, which sources said spent millions to …

Completely debunked theory, of course.

The Vancouver Sun reports: British Columbia will be the first province in Canada to use a more accurate HIV detection test that has greatly improved the diagnosis of early or acute HIV infection. The new test, which will be utilized provincially following the results of a study led by the B.C. Centre for Disease Control, detects the virus as soon …