The World Health Organization (WHO) has published new guidelines underlining the effectiveness of antiretroviral drugs to prevent the transmission of HIV from seropositive mothers to their children. These guidelines take into account the most recent information on the safety and effectiveness of different drug regimens, as well as concerns over resistance to some of the drugs used, including nevirapine.
Four new AIDS medicines are this week being added to the World Health Organization (WHO) prequalification list, thus further increasing access to a choice of quality products. At the same time, product assessment reports on quality and bioequivalence of triple fixed-dose combination (FDCs) antiretrovirals already prequalified will be made public. Manufacturing site inspection findings will soon also be published, which will make the WHO prequalification the most transparent of all similar quality assurance programmes to date.
I have been living with HIV for 20 years and for a decade now, I have been OUT publicly about my being infected with HIV. My work creating awareness globally has provided for many people, a face living with HIV and has helped to bring hope to people infected that they too can live!
As an individual living with HIV for 20 years, I have been working to break down the barriers of fear and discrimination for nearly a decade now. I believe there is a serious problem stemming from the lack of media coverage, when it comes to educating people about HIV/AIDS.
“People infected with HIV are no different from anyone else, only that they have been infected with a virus! Recognizing this can end judgment! Or, are we to become a society which stigmatizes, discriminates and ignores the sick?
Giving a daily multivitamin pill to HIV-positive women in developing nations can significantly delay the development of AIDS – revealed by researchers at Harvard University.
Education is paramount if we are to reach individuals infected with HIV and those living with AIDS. Obviously, our best resource is from those who are affected by the disease! Information is not reaching those most in need and there is a certain mistrust of science and medicine. People are afraid. Many have only seen or heard of people dying and many people believe the drugs will kill them. It is important that they learn from those whose lives have been saved and who have benefited from the drug treatments, renewing a quality of life they would not have had otherwise.
Scientists in Italy and the US have discovered that curries can help reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. A study of curcumin, a chemical compound found in most Indian dishes from korma to vindaloo, has revealed it can stop the onset of the brain-damaging disease.
Initially, there were no drugs available to treat HIV/AIDS, but substantial numbers of infected individuals collaborated, shared experiences and found an alternative way. Without medications, people incorporated proper nutrition, exercise and complementary therapies into their lives. People have been successful at staying healthy and/or having wellness restored time after time using complementary therapies, with or without HIV/AIDS medications. We must acknowledge and give credibility to this reality! We must acknowledge all of the many contributions by people infected with HIV. They are the same people who raised funds and started AIDS organizations, thereby providing and developing treatment libraries, which contained files on all the alternative treatments used by people living with HIV/AIDS. When HIV/AIDS drugs did become available, HIV/AIDS research and drug treatment information was included in these libraries.
Tinnitus is the medical term for the perception of sound in one or both ears or in the head when no external sound is present. It is often referred to as “ringing in the ears,” although some people hear hissing, roaring, whistling, chirping, or clicking. Tinnitus can be intermittent or constant – with single or multiple tones – and its perceived volume can range from subtle to shattering.