Walled Up Again...

 

Almost didn't find any articles & then I saw something.  It was piece about how a therapy of long dose hydrocortisone could help HIV+ women with cognitive issues.  It sounded interesting.  Too bad every version of this piece was behind a paywall.  

I understand sites have to be maintained & writers/researchers need paid.  Still, it's frustrating to see pieces like this locked away from general viewing.  This could be something someone saw & then asked their doctor about.  Most people won't get that option, because they'll never hear about it, let alone see it.

That's my bit on that.  Here comes another stupidly hot day.  I should be doing labs today, but so far there's no word on that.  It could be tomorrow.  Take care.

Cya...

Ugh Morning...

 

Several factors are threatening the ongoing fight against HIV, much of it is due to republicans.  This 1st piece's topic has been in the news for weeks.  Because of cuts to medicaid & HIV programs, many states are scaling back their assistance programs.  This cost many their coverage & meds.

Due to ICE, people, even US citizens, are avoiding places that could put them in contact with the agency.  This article covers how it's impacting treatment in some communities.

This last piece is about people with HIV in Ethiopia, especially  adolescents & young adults (AYA).  It shows that women carry a higher burden when it comes to HIV, yet the research is on them is much lower than that concerning males.  This may be about Ethiopia, but the same issue regarding women has been prevalent in many studies.  This has been an ongoing complaint against current research studies & standards.

On to my morning.  This morning is dark, wet & fairly yuck.  I'm achy & tired.  It figures the 1st several days after the time change would be miserable storm BS.  I need sunlight.   My jolty morning are ramping up & leaving a depleted mess.  SAD shouldn't last into March.  It did last year & I'm hoping this isn't a thing from now on.

Wow, 3 articles in a single post.  But they're all about how we're failing in the fight against HIV.  The weather is screwing my DST.  Plus there's still everyday crap to deal with.  So, yeah, March is being just peachy.

Take care.

Cya...

Waiting Still...

 

My lab results are slowly coming back.  I'm still waiting for the mechanic shop to call about the van.  That got expensive fast.  It should be ready sometime today.

I found this site, The Well Project.  It's an HIV site concerning women & girls.  This is the 1st site I've seen dedicated in such a way.   It's about time.  Give it a look.

That's all for now, take care.

Cya...

Better Research...

 

Medical research has historically had an issue with studying broad enough populations.  In the beginning, it was often either White men or people in situations where they were unaware or without freedom to choose.  HIV research may not have been done by force or duplicity, but it has been historically just as limited.  

Early on, most the studies were only on White males.  Then slowly they began adding people of color.   Then they added trans-women.  But seldom were woman or girls included in the research.  If they were, it was generally much later in development.

This article is about Gilead's attempt to design inclusive studies.   In sub-Saharan Africa, woman are more greatly impacted by HIV.  Any research there should focus foremost on them.  The piece goes into more detail about how they have used this during their research for their long acting injectable.  

Give this a read.  Hope everyone is doing well.  We're trying to do as well as we can.  

Take care.

Cya...

Starting...

I'm by no means at 100%, probably more like somewhere in the upper 60s.  Still, it's better than I was before.  I'm trying to get my normal schedule back.   Have to wait & see how that works out for me.  

This article, while a little wordy does discuss the importance of understanding HIV through the lens or race, gender & biological sex.   Many people getting twitchy about admitting the physical reality than all racial ethnic backgrounds can have some differing medical needs.  This a physical thing as well sociocultural.  

There is the idea of gender.  But perceiving yourself as a gender is not the same as being raised that gender.  There are probably still a lot behaviors closer to what the person was assigned than they feel like.  The sexual behaviors & attitudes of women; cis & trans, often differ.

Finally the aspect of actual biological sex does play a large role in how medicine works.  The body of chemistry & composition of a person born female does not match that of male or transgender.  There needs to be more research concerning this.

We live in a world where woman, especially those of color, are the most apt to be impacted by HIV.  Why are we still studying men & trans more?  If a cure is to be had, biologically born women will have to be at the top of the list, not all but pushed aside.

Cya...

Long Run Efficacy...

 

This article is about ViiV's study of their long acting injected HIV medication, Cabenuva vs the daily Biktarvy.    The injected med is a dual & the other is a daily, oral, triple ingredient medication.   While I think this should've been done before going to market, at least it's being done now.

A point of concern is how much this research will include women in the study.  The article uses the word, "women," multiple times.  Most of the references are directly & actively referring to transgender women.  Only the most indirect statement just used "women".   HIV pharmaceutical research has been notably horrible about it's lack of inclusion of women in the studies.

We'll have to wait for the outcome.

Take care.

Cya...

Sort Of Surprised...

 

I found an interesting piece this morning.  This article dealt with women, not men or transgenders.   That alone is a rarity.  I'm not going to discuss this much, it should be read.  It deals with the successful outcomes of an injectable PrEP in women.  It is worth a read.  

I have to get around & go shopping.  So far it's a  nice, bright morning.  It's  supposed get warmer  finally.  I'm over the cold weather.  

Take  care.

Cya...

Another Case...

 

This article & many others provided details about a woman who has become the 3rd person to be cured of HIV.  It had to do with a transplant due to leukemia.  The articles are basically the same with different levels of jargon.  This is still early, so it's going to be in the news for some time.  

I have a dental cleaning appointment, so I need  to  get about.  Take care.

Cya...

This Group, That Group...

 

I see articles about the need for more study, funding & understanding for HIV & nearly every fringe or minority group with HIV; ethnic, trans, foreign, polka-dotted...  What bothers me is there are 2 groups that receive no where near the attention they should.  

1st, there are biologically born women.   I mean actual girls born with female reproductive systems.  They count for over half of the world's population, but only a small percentage of any medical research is done directly regarding them.  It's worse when it  comes to HIV/AIDS  studies.

Then there are the 50+ folks.  For  years now, we've known this is the largest group of people living with HIV.  The greying of HIV; those long-term survivors & frisky, risky elders.   Eww... no one wants to study old people.  

So back off all the clamor over the trendy fringe  groups & focus on the larger picture; actual women & those 50+.  You can't fix the issues regarding HIV in the ethnic & trans populations. Those are social psychological matters, not medical. 

Cya...

HIV Who...

 

For too long Americans have held the attitude HIV is a Gay thing.  Although in the States, HIV may be more commonly spread via male on male sexacts, that doesn't make it Gay.  Many of those men do not consider themselves gay.  Many are trans, bi or opportunists.   This is also leaves out the the IV drug use.

This may be true in the US, but not elsewhere.   African numbers are usually higher with women.  The last stats I saw, stated 80% of new cases in the area were with female.  In Africa, HIV is a very hetero thing.  

What it actually notes is the spread of the virus from the dominant culture to a less powered section of the population.   It's highly likely HIV was originally spread by travelling men who were sexually active & opportunistic.  Little of this matters now.   The focus should be awareness, prevention & treatment.

Cya...

Wow & Progress...

 

The other day I wrote about a long acting PrEP being studied in Africa.  The research focused on women.  Today, I found another piece about a different med being developed for the same reasons in the same region.  I'm not going to talk about that piece's medical advancements.  They're functionally the same as the other piece, but the article stated this.

More than half of new HIV infections globally occur in sub-Saharan Africa, with women accounting for nearly 60% of new infections in this region.

Let that sink in.   50%+ of all new HIV cases are in Africa.  Of those 60% are in women.   It tells us that even though this isn't male with male transmissions, it's likely being spread primarily by men.   Many of these women had no choice in these sexual encounters.  Others survive as sex workers.  For a huge part of HIV cases, men have been the primary source of infection.

Onto progress.  I'm still setting up the new system.  I got sidetracked this weekend with yard stuff.  But, at least it's handled.  Now I can focus on the PC.

Cya...

Better For Women...

 

Finally some good news for women about HIV meds.  This piece covers research into Cabotegravir from ViiV.  After much medical research excluding women, this was actually aimed at their needs.  

Cabotegravir was developed as a maintenance med for those with well controlled HIV.  However, instead of a daily pill, it's an injection given every 2 months.  This led to it's use as a PrEP drug.

I normally oppose PrEP,  But, this med has shown to be effective.  It also means people have to see medical professional.  

The primary seller here is this research was done in Africa.  This medication means these women can take the drug without anyone else knowing.  They don't have to fear stigma as much.  It helps lessen exposure if their partner isn't cooperative or they're assaulted.

In these instances, this med has proven to be 80% more effective than Truvada.  That's staggering.  Between that & its discreet nature, I can't oppose it.  Especially under these circumstances.   If this article doesn't work for you, this info is easily found on the net.

Cya...

Good OpEd...

 

I don't usually blog about OpEd's.  Most are just rants with little information.  This piece is a welcome surprise.  It's from the Atlanta Journal Constitution.  Let's start with this:

OPINION: HIV epidemic won’t end if women are left out of clinical trials...

This article details a reason why the HIV epidemic remains so prevalent.   Little research has been or is being conducted with biological women.  Most HIV research is conducted using subjects that male or born male.  

Of the estimated 38 million people living with HIV around the world, more than half are women. What’s more, AIDS is the leading cause of death among women of reproductive age.

The author writes about the lack of involvement women have had in medical research.  It's bad for all women, but worse for those of color or living in impoverished parts of the world.  

I've wrote about this before.  When are researchers going to recognize the necessity for the inclusion of actual women in their work?  Until then, medical research has been purposely hobbled.

Cya...

    

Game Changer, Really...

Here's another article on the injectable form of Cabotegravir.  The claim is the same, an injection taken every 2 months that surpasses the benefits of daily Truvada for PrEP.  Yay! right?  Maybe not.

The problem's the same.  The research has only been conducted on men & those born male.   At least that's the data presented.  For a while, they've claimed research on how the med behaves with women was ongoing.  So far, nothing.

If a med doesn't treat half the population affected by an issue, it's hardly a game changer.  As usual women were left out of a medical study, because the outcomes were different or difficult.   Medical research has to get better or HIV is never going away.

Cya...

Post Appointment...

My neuro appointment went well.  There's a follow up in 6 months.  I'm still not sure how long I'll have to keep going back, probably at least 2 years.   She said my foot issues were most likely not stroke related.  That leaves a lot of other things.  I'll have to talk to my HIV specialist next time. 

The trip wasn't pleasant.  It was hot & there was single lane traffic for miles.  Anything to make the drive harder.

This article is over the dangers of leaving women out of PrEP & other medical studies.  I've talked about this before.  This adds some clarification.

 Take care.

Cya..

Yesterday's Dubious News...

Yesterday I posted on an injectable form of cabotegravir.  This is a medication I'd posted over before.  It's commercial pushed the medication as being for men or those born male only.   The articles over the injection imply the same.  Those born female were left out of the study.  

Allegedly there are studies going on with med concerning women.   Just not in time for the approval process.  This morning I saw articles praising this step forward in an injectable prevention means for those born male.  Only this piece acknowledged there was a woman problem.  Once again women been left out the study.  Even though women are taking the drug, oral & injected, there's little data on the matter.  Supposedly there are studies undergoing on both forms with women.  Where's the data?  Why not study & present both sexes at the same time?  

Again, women are left out of medical advancements.  I understand males & trans women make up the majority of HIV cases.  That doesn't justify this bias approach to research.  Women's medicine is consistently behind men's.  Why?  I bet that's an ugly answer.

Cya...

Interesting, But Not In A Good Way...

I've been seeing articles like this piece.   It says a bi-monthly injection of cabotegravir provided better protection for PrEP than current daily pills.  That's great I suppose, but then we get to these 2 points.

The finding — in which a third fewer people became infected on cabotegravir compared with the other drugs...

I thought there were so very few failures on current PrEP meds.  What happened?  How could anything be more effective than what they've touted for Truvada?

Then, this piece mentioned no women, only men & transgender women.   There have been studies on this med & women.  But, most like this study do not include those born female.  

While I hope meds like this progress well.  I have questions about the alleged efficacy  & why women aren't more prevalent in most PrEP studies.  If they're going to keep pushing this approach, they can't leave out half the population.

Cya...

Self Love...

Found an article about Rae Lewis Thornton.  She's an HIV activist diagnosed with AIDS in the early 90's.  Before that,  she worked with various political efforts as she put herself through school.   After finding her status, she went public.  She was on the cover of Essence magazine revealing her condition.  She's been involved with HIV activism ever since.

She asks a simple, but hard question, "Are you sleeping with someone you love or someone you want to love you?"   This article is aimed at young women.  Still, I think it applies to everyone, definitely those who come from a rough background.   It's about learning to love yourself.

It's not cliche & it's a good read.   The 1st line from the new song in Cats (2019), is, "All that I wanted was to be wanted."  Beautiful Ghosts is about  fear & desperation.  It may sound pretty but the thought is terrifying.  To be that desperate makes you very vulnerable.  Many would take advantage.

This piece is about accepting yourself.  Seeing yourself as worth loving & protecting.  That it's up to you to learn to keep yourself as safe as possible from things like HIV & horrible people.

Take care.

Cya...

HHS & Condoms...

It's been speculated that the Department of Health & Human Services may be anti-condom.   They have info on their site about condoms, but rarely promote it.   Instead they promote PrEP & abstinence.   

This piece is about an image the HHS wanted removed from fliers.  They say it wasn't approved.  It seems fairly straight forward. 

The article's an interesting read.  It details condom usage in a HIV fact sheet aimed at women.  It's since been altered to remove  the condom images.   Albeit condoms are cost effective & prevent much more than HIV, they aren't being pushed.   Maybe the HHS isn't getting any incentives to push condoms?

Cya...

Stroke Day...

Last year I posted about Trump's SOTU speech.  I didn't know shortly, I'd be at the hospital.  I had a hemorrhagic stroke, a bleed on the brain.  I was flown to Tulsa & was in the hospital for 2 days.  I missed Valentines & cheap chocolate day.

I'm still here, but not fully recovered. I may never be quite the same.  I had a reaction to a statin I was put on as a precaution.  I no longer take the med, but I can still feel it.   Here's hoping for no repeats.

There's a commercial for Descovy, Gilead's new PrEP med.  The drug's base is in other HIV meds.  It's very similar to Truvada, but less toxic.   The issue here is  Descovy was released as PrEP med excluding those born women.  Meaning, this was only tested on those people born male, Men & trans-women.   How could they leave out half the population?

This article talks about how Gilead found it difficult to study the med in women.  For some reason the FDA bought that argument.   Let's leave women's medical needs in the dark again.

This piece from December 2019, talks about how Gilead is finally pursuing additional data on Descovy's usage in women.  Gilead wanted Descovy to target, "a broad range of underrepresented populations."  That translates as trans women & minority men. 

Watch the commercial for Descovy.   There are only 2 white men in the spot.  The rest are of color or trans.   There are as many trans-women in the spot as white men.    Are they saying that women & white males are less important?  Are they saying  these populations are more needy for whatever reason?

Descovy's rollout was a mistake.  Leaving half the population out of a medical study like this was ridiculous & abhorrent.  Catering to any population on a matter that affects everyone is always dubious.  Is it preferential treatment or an accusation?

Take care.

Cya.

PS - Here's hoping for no hospital trips in 2020.