Drugs Are Found to Block HIV In Monkeys

This article on Brain-boosting drugs suggests cognitive enhancers could be used more widely for healthy adults.  What do you think?

• WHO study: annual testing and immediate ARV treatment would have major impact on spread of HIV/AIDS
  • More from NY times
• CBC – AIDS indepth
• Global AIDS statics from AVERT.org
• UNAIDS 2008 Report on the global AIDS epidemic

In support of World AIDS Day, giveaday.ca is hosting an online blog event (called a harambee) being held to increase awareness and promote AIDS education and support.

Please visit the site here: http://giveaday.ca/blog/

The blog event posts are also listed here: http://giveaday.ca/blog/?cat=11

“Give a Day to World AIDS is a simple yet powerful way to make a difference in the fight against the AIDS pandemic.”  – Dr. Jane Philpott

I recently had the opportunity to attend a Harambee in support of Give a Day 2008.

Click here to read more and find pictures on the giveaday.ca blog.

Here is an excerpt from the giveaday.ca Facebook page describing the campaign:

“There are 33 million people in the world infected with HIV. The GAD’08 campaign gives us 33 days to inspire 33 million Canadians to be part of the solution.

GAD challenges everyone to recognize World AIDS Day (December 1) by giving one day’s pay to an organization that will use that money well in the communities most affected by HIV.

If you’re a student or you don’t have a day’s pay, you could give $33 as your way to say that you care.

Thousands of people die every day from this infection that is preventable and treatable.

Share that story with everyone you know.
Share the suffering.
Share in the solution – please give a day!”

Sanofi’s drug, Acomplia has been pulled from EU markets due to safety concerns, specifically links to mental disorders:

Read more here: http://www.reuters.com/article/euRegulatoryNews/idUSLN50297220081023

At what point are companies going to realize that it’s not ethical to keep pushing for approval of dangerous drugs, never mind a terrible PR move. How does Sanofi appear in this situation? It’s like a restaurant trying to sell food that’s gone bad – the meager returns they may get for it will never account for the potential damage to public image and perception. And that’s without mentioning the potential harm to patients.

http://www.xdrtb.org/

More on TB here

http://www.whitebandaction.org/

From Wikipedia: “the term epigenetics refers to changes in gene expression caused by environmental factors, not by changes in the underlying DNA sequence.”

How to green your genes – suggestions on how to manage the factors that influence how genes are expressed

Epigenetic therapy – Q&A article with good examples

More on this soon.