Minority Aids Initiative Finds Progress
The AIDS virus is on the rise. It is estimated that one to two people in every high school have the virus. It can be contracted through sexual intercourse, sharing needles, and from the mother. In 2004, 81% of the AIDS population were people ages 15-24. In the past year, 6,000-7,000 more teenagers have also been diagnosed.
HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus. AIDS stands for active immunodeficiency syndrome. The virus attacks the immune system. Although many drugs have been created to slow the virus, a cure has not been found.
The virus is more prominent in minorities. A new plan has been set up; Minority Aids Initiative. Its purpose is to provide information and to explore ways to reduce and eventually eliminate the virus in communities made up of minorities.
A new drug that has been approved by the FDA is Etravirine. It is sold under the trade name Intelence. Etravirine is a non-nucleoside reverse transcript inhibitor. In plain English, it helps to block an enzyme that the AIDS virus needs to multiply. Tibotec Therapeutics markets the drug.
The purpose of the drug is to reduce the amount of HIV virus in the blood. It was developed based on its ability to counter HIV strains that resist other treatments.
The trial consisted of 599 adults infected with HIV. Half of them were given their regular antibiotics and Etravirine. The other half was given their regular antibiotics and a placebo pill. The results showed that the people who took Etravirine had a drop of HIV in their blood levels. So, the drug has been proven to be effective.
Etravirine is now available for all HIV patients. It has not yet been tested on HIV positive children or pregnant women. The most common side effects were nausea and severe rashes. For more information, visit www.tibotec.com
