US Considers Approving Drug to Prevent HIV
US Considers Approving Drug to Prevent HIV – This is the VOA Special English Health Report, from voaspecialenglish.com | http Studies show that a drug called Truvada can prevent HIV infections. The pill is taken once a day. Studies showed it was ninety percent effective when people took it every day. It was only half as effective when people did not take it every day. Currently, in the United States, the drug is only approved for use as a treatment for people already infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Now a government advisory committee says Truvada should become the first drug approved for use to prevent HIV. The Food and Drug Administration is not required to follow the advice of its Antiviral Drugs Advisory Committee, but it usually does. The FDA is expected to decide by June fifteenth.The advisory committee held a twelve-hour hearing on May tenth to consider the evidence for Truvada. The committee urged the FDA to approve the drug for use by those considered at high risk for getting infected. These include gay and bisexual men and heterosexual couples where one partner has HIV. Mitchell Warren, head of the HIV prevention group AVAC, explains that Truvada is a combination pill. It contains two different antiretroviral drugs that had already been approved individually by the FDA. Then about eight years ago they were approved as a combination. But all of those approvals only related to the use of the drug for treating people who are already infected with HIV.The manufacturer of Truvada, Gilead, would …
Drug Treatment Court graduation: Hope offered for defendants
Filed under: drug treatment news
“But then Drug Court gave me the structure I needed and held me accountable.” Brewer shared his story Friday during the city of Jackson's Drug Treatment Court annual graduation ceremony at the Carnegie Center. The celebration is held to recognize those …
Read more on Jackson Sun
Transplants and cancer treatment 'under threat' from superbug rise
Filed under: drug treatment news
She said: "Doctors are facing patients now with infections that are extremely difficult to treat. They are faced with difficult decisions because they have to use very unpleasant drugs that can cause horrible side effects. "This is happening now and we …
Read more on Telegraph.co.uk