Scientists at UCSF have reported what could be a major discovery in the fight against AIDS.
Truvada, a pill used to treat HIV infections, has turned out to be a key to protecting healthy gay men from contracting the disease, according to a global study reported by CBS San Francisco. Daily doses of Truvada helped cut the risk of infection by 44 percent when used in a regimen with condoms, counseling and other prevention services. Men who dilligently took their pills found they were protected better, up to 73 percent.
The study was conducted by Gladstone Institutes, a private foundation associated with the University of California, San Francisco, and was published in today’s edition of the New England Journal of Medicine.
The study followed 2,499 men in six countries — including 120 in San Francisco — with half taking Truvada and half taking a placebo, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Researchers thought the pills might give the men a false sense of security and make them less likely to use protection, but the opposite happened as risky sex declined.
Scientists are pleased with the results.
"This is a major advance," said Robert Grant, a UCSF professor and a researcher with the Gladstone Institute for Virology and Immunology and the lead investigator of the clinical trial. "It will only work if people use it consistently, and the real challenge is how do you use it consistently. Condoms are still our first line of defense, but this could potentially be a very good backup."
Since Truvada is already on the market, the Centers for Disease Control is rushing to develop guidelines for doctors using it for HIV prevention. The center is also urging people to wait until those guidelines are ready.
"It’s an extremely exciting study," said Grant Colfax, director of HIV prevention at the San Francisco Department of Public Health. "The results are very promising. We need to figure out now if the groundbreaking findings in the study can be used effectively at the community level."
