LSU Dental School Gets $1.8M 5-Year HIV/AIDS Grant

Louisiana's only dental school has received a five-year, $1.8 million grant to teach students how to care for HIV and AIDS patients, and to provide such care in New Orleans and Alexandria.

The federal Health Resources and Services Administration said Thursday it's providing the money to a community-based dental partnership at the LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans.

Spokeswoman Leslie Capo says the program under Dr. Robert Barsley teaches dental and dental hygiene students how to care for HIV-positive patients, provides dental services to such patients, and monitors their care.

The students work at both the LSU HIV Outpatient Clinic in New Orleans and the Community HealthWorx Clinic in Alexandria. Barsley says the clinics have given 8,000 treatments to more than 1,100 patients.

It's the program's third grant since 2002.

The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus.

To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.

TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!

Warren Wants Quick Blood Ban Review

In a letter to the US Department of Health and Human Services, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and four other colleagues have requested a quick review of the ban on gay men donating blood.

More than 80 other congressional lawmakers signed the letter that was initiated when a Massachusetts constituent told Warren that his blood donation was rejected after the Boston Marathon bombings this past April. “For me, this has been a basic issue of fairness and of science. Blood donation policies should be grounded in science, not ugly and inaccurate stereotypes,” Warren said.

Warren’s letter to HHS cited the American Medical Association’s recently crafted resolution that asked for a lifting of the ban “in favor of a policy based on individual risk factors other than sexual orientation.” The letter noted that science dealing with the HIV/AIDS epidemic has changed in the past three decades. Since 2006, other organizations have supported removing the ban, including the American Association of Blood Banks, the Red Cross and American’s Blood Centers. Since the issue has been under discussion in the medical community for nearly seven years, the letter also expressed concern “with the pace of HHS’s review of the current policy and requests documents, criteria, and plans for finishing the review.”

HHS was conducting additional research “to help inform policy discussions” that were not yet complete, stated an email from an agency spokesperson. “HHS is committed to continuously improving the safety and availability of the nation’s blood supply,” Spokesperson Diane Gianelli added.

The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus.

To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.

TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!

Hop on for Hope Ride Helping Orphans with HIV/AIDS

Cyclists in central Illinois will hold the second annual cycling fundraiser for a Guatemalan orphanage founded by a local Illinois couple. The “Hop on for Hope” ride raises money for Village of Hope, which cares for special-needs orphans, including those with HIV/AIDS.

After adopting two children from Guatemala, Tom and Amy West Block decided to relocate from Illinois to that country to help other children there. In addition to their Guatemalan children, the couple also has four biological children, one adopted from Ethiopia, and two adopted from Texas.

Dick West, Amy West Block’s father, hoped that his cycling team would be able to surpass its previous fundraising total of $7,000 for this year’s event. West noted that the orphanage strives to provide its children with a more traditional family setting than larger institutions can offer, with dedicated staff providing “physical, emotional, spiritual, and educational care” and working to ensure that the children do not end up on the streets after they turn 18.

Other Central Illinois organizations support the Village of Hope, including the fundraiser sponsor Lifesong for Orphans.

The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus.

To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.

TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!

AIDS Walk Colorado Coming Soon

The 26th annual AIDS Walk Colorado is scheduled for August 10 in Denver’s Cheesman Park, with registration beginning at 7:30 a.m.

Each year, more than 8,000 individuals from across the state gather to raise awareness for HIV/AIDS and to raise funds for the Colorado AIDS Project and more than 20 other AIDS service organizations in the Denver metropolitan area.

The 5K event memorializes those who have lost their battle with HIV/AIDS and honors those who continue their fight. The event will feature live music, food, vendors, a beer garden, a “Diva Dash Stiletto Fun Run,” and a volleyball tournament that will feature the Colorado Gay Volleyball Association.

For further information, please visit www.AIDSWalkColorado.org.

The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus.

To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.

TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!

Plant-Based Compound May Inhibit HIV

Researchers at George Mason University (GMU) in Fairfax County, Va. are in the early stages of experimenting with genistein, a compound in soybeans and other plants, as an effective HIV treatment.

Genistein is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, which blocks cell communication. Normally, sensors on the cell’s surface communicate with the cell’s interior as well as with other cells. HIV tricks the surface sensors into sending signals to the interior that change the cell’s structure and allow the virus to enter and infect it. According to Yuntao Wu, a professor with the GMU-based National Center for Biodefense and Infectious Diseases and the Department of Molecular and Microbiology, genistein disrups this cellular deception that allows the virus to infect cells. This approach differs from that of antiretrovirals, which attack the virus itself. The researchers believe that manipulating the cell rather than the virus might be more successful in preventing drug resistance.

Wu noted that the research is in an early stage, but if genistein proves to be effective, it could be used along with current HIV treatment. Wu also believes that the plant-based approach could reduce the common side effect of drug toxicity caused by the frequency and lifelong duration of multidrug treatments to which HIV-infected individuals must adhere. The researchers are working to determine the amount of genistein needed to inhibit HIV and whether the level of genistein found naturally in plants would be enough or if they would need to develop drugs.

Due to sequestration-based budget cuts, the lab has had to locate new ways to fund its research, including the “NYC DC AIDS Research Ride” cycling fundraiser, which previously raised money for the lab.

The full report, “Genistein Interferes with SDF-1- and HIV-Mediated Actin Dynamics and Inhibits HIV Infection of Resting CD4 T Cells,” was published online in the journal Retrovirology (2013; 10 (1): 62 doi: 10.1186/1742-4690-10-62).

The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus.

To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.

TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!

Financial Firms Turn Focus on People Living with HIV/AIDS

The Association of Microfinance Institutions of Uganda (AMFIU) and the National Forum of People Living with HIV/AIDS Networks (NFPLHN) in Uganda have partnered to encourage all Mityana financial institutions to guarantee business loans to HIV-infected Ugandans. In the past, some Mityana microfinancial institutions and banks categorized HIV-infected individuals as a financial risk and refused to approve their business loan requests. AMFIU and NFPLHN aimed to reduce this stigma faced by HIV-infected loan applicants by increasing HIV/AIDS awareness, developing HIV/AIDS workplace policy, and demonstrating that HIV-infected owners can operate productive businesses. Desired outcomes of the project would be an expanded client base and increased revenue for financial institutions, and economic stabilization and increased access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) for HIV-infected business owners.

The Ttamu Ssikyomu HIV/AIDS Positive Group in Mityana district exemplifies a successful microfinancial institution dedicated to self-reliance and self-sustainability for HIV-infected small business owners. Coordinator Rose Ssemuwemba stated that the 75-member group—which includes 40 women, five men, as well as orphans and HIV-infected children—had disclosed their HIV status to the community. The group’s business activities include poultry, pig raising, quarrying, handcrafts, and party rentals. The group saves money in their own “bank,” and receives some financial support from Mityana Hospital and Kiyinda-Mityana Diocese.

The Agency for Co-operation in Research and Development, the Humanist Institute for Co-operation, and Stop AIDS Now also agreed to support the project targeting HIV-infected clients of microfinance institutions. AMFIU Executive Director David Baguma stated that the project eventually would cover 20 microfinance institutions and 15 groups of HIV-infected people in Uganda.

The Uganda AIDS progress report for 2012 noted that national spending on HIV/AIDS accounted for 15 percent of domestic revenue, and the government’s budget allotted only $25 million for HIV/AIDS efforts. The cost of supplying ART for all 540,000 HIV-infected Ugandans would be $270 million.

The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus.

To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.

TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!

AHF Ad Campaign Pairs Safer Sex Messages with Fine Art

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest AIDS organization in the United States, has undertaken a new billboard campaign in Los Angeles that combines catchy messaging with artwork produced by some of today’s best-known visual media artists.

The inaugural billboard, located at the corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and Highland Avenue in Hollywood, features the work of multimedia artist Bill Barminski. Echoing elements of 1950s advertisements, the billboard demonstrates dramatic colors and imagery along with the artist’s use of double mouths and the inquiry “Friends With Benefits?” with the address for freeSTDcheck.org, a resource for individuals looking for free STD screenings.

The current billboard is the first in a rotating series that will showcase a new artist every two months. Professional artists who are interested in contributing their artwork to the series may contact AHF Creative Director Jason Farmer at jason.farmer@aidshealth.org.

The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus.

To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.

TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!