Data from this study has demonstrated that a ban on same-sex marriage raises the rate of HIV infection by four cases for every 100,000 people. This study is the first of its kind as it centers on the impact made on HIV infection rates as determined by society’s tolerance of homosexuals in the United States. Hugo Mialon, one of the economists working on the study states, “We found the effects of tolerance for gays on HIV to be statistically significant and robust – they hold up under a range of empirical models.” Andrew Francis, another economist on the study points at California’s recent decision by their Supreme Court to continue with a ban on same-sex marriage, “Laws on gay marriage are in flux and under debate. It’s a hot issue, and we are hoping that policymakers will take our findings into account.”

The data for the research was garnered from the General Social Survey. The GSS is a survey that has been distributed to the American population for the past forty years and has kept data on American attitudes towards various issues. Data from the GSS has shown that from the 1970s to the 1990s, Americans grew more tolerant of homosexuals, causing the HIV infection rate to go down one case for every 100,000 people; however, laws that have banned gay marriage has caused the HIV infection rate to go up four cases for every 100,000 people. Mialon states, “Intolerance is deadly. Bans on gay marriage codify intolerance, causing more gay people to shift to underground sexual behaviors that carry more risk.”

Mialon and Francis recently received an award for a paper they wrote last year (published in March 2008) that analyzed penalties people receive for transmitting HIV. The American Law and Economics Review named their paper the outstanding paper of the year. They utilized a game theory model to show that some state laws that deal with the transmission of HIV have not been very efficient at keeping HIV from spreading. One example they noted was the state of Georgia. Here, if a patient with HIV does not tell his or her sexual partner that they are HIV positive before engaging in sexual relations, it could be considered a felony which could be punishable with up to 30 years of time served in prison. In this case, it does not matter if the infected person practices safe sex (with condoms) or if the non-infected partner does not get infected. If, however, the infected person does not know they are HIV positive and they happen to transmit HIV to their partner, the law does not apply.

This news, however, gets better or worse depending on actions the women took after using the shot. If a woman chose to change to contraception that is nonhormonal, then she tended to lose the body fat and weight she had gained with the shot (approximately 4 pounds in a two year span); however, if a women chose to change to an oral contraception, she was more likely to gain an extra four pounds in that same span of time. Research showed that the number of pounds gained was directly related to how long a woman used DMPA as a contraceptive.

Results from this study were published in the March issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. DMPA is a contraceptive that women get injected with four times a year. Currently, there are over two million American women that use DMPA, almost a quarter of them being teenaged girls. Many women opt for DMPA because it is highly effective, is less expensive than other forms of birth control and only needs to be done four times a year, as opposed to daily like a pill. Abbey Berenson, M.D., the lead author of the study and a professor at UTMB in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology states, “Women and their doctors should factor in this new data when choosing the most appropriate birth control method. One concern is DMPA’s link to increased abdominal fat, a known component of metabolic syndrome, which increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke and diabetes.”

The study which ranged over a three year span had over 700 female participants ranging in age from 16 to 33 who utilized one of three birth control methods (DMPA, nonhormonal contraception or oral contraception). For those participants who utilized DMPA and then decided to stop during the trial, there was an additionally follow up of two years. As the study progressed, the participants were measured for body weight and body composition and factors like consumed calories, race, age and cardiovascular exercise were all considered in the data. Amongst the three groups, those who used DMPA as birth control were two times more likely to become obese in the three years that followed. Berenson states, “The findings are worrisome; however, more research is needed to determine if DMPA use directly contributes to obesity-related conditions and puts patients’ overall health at risk.” The results of this study will help doctors and physicians be better able to advise women how various forms of contraception may affect their body, especially concerning weight gain.

This study was published in the journal Gaceta Sanitaria and had over 2,100 male and female participants between the ages of 14 and 24. The particpants came from the regions of Madrid, Andalusia and Galicia. The participants were placed into two separate groups based on ages. One group was comprised of adolescnents between the ages of 14 and 18 and the second group was comprised of young adults between the ages of 19 and 24.

Jose Maria Falide, a researcher from the Galician university and the lead author of the research states, “The results show that condom use among young Spanish males and females has more to do with preventing unwanted pregnancies than with preventing infection with sexually-transmitted diseases, because they are used more during vaginal sex than oral or anal sex.”

One notable difference when it came to the usage of condoms was based on gender and various sexual activities. For example, females were more prone to use condoms when engaging in vaginal sex, while males were prone to use them when engaging in oral or anal sex. Falide adds that “although girls are very concerned about the risk of unwanted pregnancies, they don’t have the same perception of risk in relation to sexually-transmitted diseases, and this gives them a false sense of security when they become involved in a monogamous relationship.”

Another difference in condom use was associated with the age of the particpant. A surprising finding of the research showed that those in the adolescent group tended to use condoms more than those in the young adult group. The researchers speculate that as the youngsters grow older, they tend to become involved in longer-lasting relationships which causes them to change their use of contraceptives. For example, a young adult female in a monogamous long-lasting relationship may choose to use hormonal methods of birth control, as opposed to condoms, to prevent pregnancies. Falide states, “Among young people, the fear of an unwanted pregnancy makes them take greater protective measures. However, as people get older, they become more relaxed in the use of prophylactic methods, and use other methods more, such as the Pill.”

This was not entirely surprisng to the researchers of the study. It is very common for those who have fewer sexual partners to believe they have a lower sexual risk. Falide states, “It must be made clear that, in today’s society, a monogamous relationship is not a sufficient guarantee of safety. We must raise the perception of vulnerability among stable couples. Preventive health strategies must focus on the use of condoms, not only to prevent pregnancy, but also as a means of preventing sexually-transmitted diseases.”

This condom effort was put forth for various reasons. The main reason behind this initiative was due to Britain having the highest pregnancy rate in comparison to the rest of the European countries. So far, the British government has not met its ambitious goal of cutting the teenage pregnancy rate in half. In addition, those who have proposed this new idea believe that by using these condom cards, young teenage boys will feel less embarrassed than visiting a general practitioner, a pharmacist or a sexual health clinic. The goal was to have these free condom distribution centers in areas where teenage boys tend to congregate on a daily basis.

The government guidance on the program states that once a teenage boys has attended a lesson on safe-sex, he will be issued the condom card and begin to receive free condoms immediately. Any teenage boy utilizing this service will not be forced to give out their name or be asked any questions concerning their sexual activity. Supporters of this initiative hope that teenage pregnancies will be curbed and that young teenage boys will feel more responsible for providing and using contraception during sexual encounters.

Critics of this program, however, feel that by allowing teenage boys free contraception, they will feel encouraged to become sexually active at younger ages. Already some regions around Britain are using the condom card service, but once the guidance is published in the fall, all boys who are 13 or over will be able to use the service. Each council will be able to offer the condom cards (or C-cards as they are being called) to boys under the age of 13, if they so wish, if the boy has already admitted to being sexually active.

This condom card initiative is being devised by the Brook advisory service for the Department for Children, Schools and Families. This department is responsible for giving advice to teenagers about contraceptives. Since some feel that teenaged girls have notoriously been the focus of contraception responsibility, this new condom card strategy will encourage teenage boys to become more knowledgeable about safe sex.

Each card will be issued once the teenage boy has sat through a lesson on the correct use of condoms. If the teenage boy decides to participate in other lessons on sexually transmitted diseases, he will get a stamp on his condom card, upping his status. The chief executive of Brook (the advisory service) strongly feels that utilizing the C-card will make the consistent and correct use of condoms “an everyday reality.”

A Newark area teen has been arrested for breaking into a home and steeling condoms.

On Thursday, New Castle County Police responded to a report of a burglary in progress. When the officers arrived, they were instructed by at least two witnesses who observed a male lurking around a neighboring home.

Article at the Newark Post

I don’t know which is more disturbing, that a teenager broke into someone’s house to steal condoms, or that that Newark Post spelled the word “stealing” as “steeling.”

One of the police officers involved made a statement, saying, “If only the kid had gone to CondomMan.com, he would have gotten condoms for virtually free, instead of having to steal them out of neighbor’s houses.”

Not really, but it would have been cool if he had.

The study was performed amongst youngsters currently in middle school who live in the southeastern United States region and attend public school in urban areas. Christine Markham, assistant professor of behavioral science at the University Of Texas School Of Public Health helped lead the study and stated, “This is one of the few school-based studies conducted with this age group to look at specific sexual practices in order to develop more effective prevention programs. This study shows that although most seventh graders are not engaging in sexual risk behaviors, a small percentage are putting themselves at risk.”

For the purposes of this study, researchers used the definition of sexual intercourse to include oral, vaginal and anal sex. Results from this study determined that by the age of 12, approximately 8 percent of middle students had participated in oral sex, 12 percent had participated in vaginal sex, 6.5 percent had participated in anal sex and 4 percent had participated in all of these types of sexual intercourse. Markham stated, “These findings are alarming because youth who start having sex before age 14 are much more likely to have multiple lifetime sexual partners, use alcohol or drugs before sex and have unprotected sex, all of which puts them at greater risk for getting a sexually transmitted disease (STD) or becoming pregnant.”

Results from the study also showed that approximately one-third of the students who were sexually active admitted to having vaginal or anal sex without using a condom in the last three months, while a quarter of those students who were sexually active admitted to having four or more sexual partners. Results also showed that the more sexually experienced students were either African-American and/or male. Markham goes on to say, “We need to develop prevention programs that address the needs of students who are not yet sexually active in order to promote skills and attitudes to help them wait until they are older to have sex. And we need to provide skills and knowledge related to condoms and contraception for youth who are already sexually active.”

In addition, researchers in this study also feel that those students who are already sexually active should be given information and services that discuss both sexually transmitted diseases and testing for pregnancies. These services should also include information on either abstaining in the future or reducing risky sexual behavior. Markham stated, “A common misperception among adolescents is that oral or anal intercourse is not as risky for STD transmission. But transmission of non-viral and viral STDs can occur through all three types of intercourse when condoms are not used.” She goes on to say, “It is critical that health education teachers and school nurses feel comfortable addressing these issues with their students and that their efforts are supported by parents and the school administration.”

Now premature ejaculation might be a problem of the past thanks to the development of a topical spray named PSD502. This new spray has been deemed both safe and effective in its treatment of premature ejaculation. The researchers on this study were able to discuss their findings and data on how effective the spray was at the 104th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Urological Association (AUA).

Up until now, most men who were burdened with premature ejaculations used topical creams which utilized desensitization in order to postpone ejaculation. These creams would dull the skin around the penis; however, they could only be used during foreplay and would need to be washed off or topped with a condom before sexual intercourse began. While effective, many men felt pleasure was reduced significantly with the use of these creams.

Researchers involved in the study of the topical spray note it is also quite effective and simple to use. The spray which includes lidocaine and prilocaine also desensitizes the skin on the penis, but only the foreskin’s inner lining. Because of this limited desensitization, there is no adverse effect on sexual sensation. In order to be effective, this topical spray should be put on approximately five minutes before sexual intercourse.

There were 300 male participants in the study, all who had been diagnosed with premature ejaculation. Diagnosis was determined using the definition used by the International Society of Sexual Medicine (premature ejaculation in less than a minute once intercourse begins). The 300 participants were placed into two separate groups with one group using the new PSD502 topical spray and the other group using a placebo spray. The group that used the PSD502 spray had a vast improvement in latency time, going from an average of 0.6 minutes to four minutes. The placebo group only went up to a latency time of one minute from the same average. Of the group that used the PSD502 spray, there were no serious side effects reported by either participants or their sexual partners. A spokesman for AUA, Ira Sharlip, MD, states, “Premature ejaculation is one of the most common sexual dysfunctions in men. It occurs in 20-30% of men of all ages and we need an effective, patient-friendly treatment for this distressing problem. This new topical spray has promise to become one of the most effective treatments for premature ejaculation. It has a number of characteristics which will be attractive to patients with premature ejaculation.”

According to a recent report on a study done in China, men might be able to hold the hormone torch from here on out. Researchers there have discovered a male contraception method that has been determined to be effective; in addition, there have been no serious side-effects and it is also reversible. Dr. Yi-Qun Gu, MD, from the Chinese National Research Institute for Family Planning states, “”For couples who can not, or prefer not to use only female-oriented contraception, options have been limited to vasectomy, condom and withdrawal. Our study shows a male hormonal contraceptive regimen may be a potential, novel and workable alternative.”

Dr. Gu noted that this study was the largest one of its kind to test male hormonal contraceptives. In the trial that took place across several centers, researchers tested androgen preparation. The study had over 1,000 participants. These participants had to be fertile healthy men between the ages of 20 to 45 years. In addition, each of these male participants was the father of at least one child who had been born within the two years leading up to the study. The female partners of these participants ranged in age between 18 and 38 years and were also equally fertile. In the study that spanned thirty months, the male participants had a monthly injection of 500 mg of testosterone undecanoate with tea seed oil.

Researchers in the study discovered that with the testosterone injection, there was a cumulative pregnancy rate (in other words, the contraceptive failed) of 1.1 of every 100 men within the first two years, also known as the efficacy phase. Of the over 1,000 participants, none reported any serious side effects. Also, the reproductive function of the men went back to their normal range in almost every case except for two participants. Dr. Gu adds, “Despite the present encouraging results, the long-term safety of this hormonal male contraceptive regimen requires more extensive testing with a focus on cardiovascular, prostate and behavioral safety.”

In a recent issue of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (April 2009), researchers from both the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Florida reported that this discovery could aid in enhancing sexually transmitted disease screenings for patients. Stephanie Staras, an assistant professor of epidemiology at the University of Florida and the study’s lead author adds, “If you are choosing high-risk partners, you are much more likely to have an STD, even when we account for your condom-use patterns. The theory is simple: You need to have sex with someone who has an STD to get an STD. Based on the prevalence of STDs in the United States, it seems like the public may not fully understand their risk.”

Statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that in the United States, approximately nineteen million people are exposed to and contract a sexually transmitted disease every single year. Of these, approximately 50% of them are young adults with ages ranging from 15 to 24. The study examined over 400 people between these ages on topics of sexual activity, sexually transmitted diseases and characteristics of sexual partners. Of those examined who admitted to having partners who were considered “high-risk,” approximately 50% of those had been diagnosed with a sexually transmitted disease; however, of those examined who admitted being high-risk themselves, approximately 40% of those had been diagnosed with a sexually transmitted disease.

The study shows that doctors and clinic workers usually ask the patient about their past sexual activity and behaviors; however, by not asking about a patient’s sexual partners, many patients who may have a sexually transmitted disease (because they are partners with somebody who is considered high-risk) may not be tested and treated. Staras adds, “Partner selection is an area of STD prevention that could complement what we are already doing with promoting condom use, and could possibly really help people. If somehow we could convince individuals to incorporate this information in a meaningful way into their decision-making, then we could reduce STDs.”

High risk sexual partners were judged on five different characteristics including whether or not that partner had alcohol or drug-related problems, was over five years of age older or younger than their partner, had multiple sexual partners within the last twelve months, had a stint in jail or had been diagnosed with an STD within the year. Researchers on this study used this in an equation they formulated which totaled up these characteristics and compared them to these same characteristics in their partners. They also considered condom use and the number of sexual partners the patient had in their equation. Using this formula and the results, the researchers determined that the sexual partner was the strongest factor in determining whether or not somebody was at a higher risk of getting an STD. Richard Crosby, a co-director for the Rural Center for AIDS/STD Prevention states, “It’s all about the risk of the partner and sometimes we forget that. From a public health perspective, it’s important to understand these findings. From a practical and prevention perspective, we still need to rely on people using valid methods of protection to avoid being infected or infecting.”

A study out of the Oregon Health & Science University’s Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute (OHSU VGTI) has shown evidence that when HIV is targeted by a vaccine in the early stages when infection first occurs and before the virus begins to replicate causing the full-blown infection, the disease does not become as widespread. Scientists on the research team were responsible for devising a vaccine in which a part of the immune system (effector memory T-cells, specifically) was reprogrammed, so to speak, to resist HIV at the infection’s initial location.

Louis Picker, M.D., an associate director at OHSU VGTI and the director of the vaccine program there stated, “HIV appears to be vulnerable when it is first introduced into mucosal surfaces in the body. However, once HIV spreads throughout the entire body, it replicates very rapidly and becomes difficult if not impossible to control. Our approach is to attack during this early period of vulnerability. The approach is similar to that of a homeowner who sprays their house with water before sparks land on the roof. This approach can prevent the roof from catching fire and, in the case of HIV, prevent the spread of the virus.”

The trial was performed on monkeys in order for researchers to find out if their method of reprogramming or “educating” the body’s immune system would be successful. Monkeys are often used as models because their version of SIV (simian immunodeficiency virus) is very similar to the human version of HIV. In order to run their tests, they vaccinated several monkeys with CMV (cytomegalovirus) which would let out SIV proteins and cause those effector memory T-cells to be on the lookout for SIV upon infection; once located, the T-cells would attack the invading SIV.

One dozen rhesus macaque monkeys were vaccinated in this way. Once infected with SIV, 4 of those monkeys had formed a protection from SIV. Naturally, the researchers on this project wondered why only one-third of the monkeys responded in this way. This will be one of the questions they need to answer in upcoming trials. In addition, researchers hope to have a larger number of monkeys to study. The full research can be found on the online version of the journal Nature Medicine. Both the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases helped fund this research.