Anti-HIV Vaginal Gel in the Works!
Oh yes, somewhere in the planet are researchers and scientists working on protecting women through the use of vaginal gels. Condoms and abstinence not feasible, huh?
————————————
The gel has been touted as a method of preventing HIV that could empower women whose male partners are unwilling to wear a condom.
Called PRO 2000, the gel contains a polymer of naphthalene sulphonate designed to physically prevent HIV from binding to cells lining the vagina. Women were given condoms to use in conjunction with it.
In lab tests on cervical cells, and in monkeys, it had seemed to work well. So why were the results in people so disappointing?
A vaginal gel designed to block HIV infection during sex has failed in a trial of 9385 women.
McCormack said it’s possible the gel didn’t perfectly cover vaginal surfaces, providing chinks for the virus to get through.
But the most likely reason, she says, is that the active substance in the gel simply wasn’t potent enough at blocking HIV. Increasing its concentration, however, would make the gel impractically viscous.
“It’s time to give up on this type of chemical, but not on the idea,” says McCormack.
Full story at NewScientist.
