This globally available drug could help prevent HIV transmission
| Aug 25, 2018, 08:00 IST
Researchers including those from the University of Manitoba in Canada tested the effects of acetylsalicylic acid (or aspirin) and other anti-inflammatory drugs on HIV target cells in a group of Kenyan women who were at low risk for HIV. They found that aspirin, the globally available drug could help prevent HIV transmission.
The pilot study, published in the Journal of the International AIDS Society, built on existing knowledge about the role of inflammation in HIV transmission. Researchers found that Aspirin was the most effective anti-inflammatory drug. It reduced the number of HIV target cells in the female genital tract by 35 per cent. "Further research is needed to confirm our results with aspirin and test whether this level of target cell reduction will actually prevent HIV infections," said Keith R Fowke from University of Manitoba. "If so, this could be a strategy for HIV prevention that is not only inexpensive, but easily accessed globally. People living in poverty are disproportionately at risk of acquiring HIV. We need prevention approaches that are affordable and immediately available," added Fowke.
The goal of this study is to provide a new tool in the HIV prevention arsenal that would be used together with other approaches to reduce HIV transmission in high-risk populations, Fowke said.
The pilot study, published in the Journal of the International AIDS Society, built on existing knowledge about the role of inflammation in HIV transmission. Researchers found that Aspirin was the most effective anti-inflammatory drug. It reduced the number of HIV target cells in the female genital tract by 35 per cent. "Further research is needed to confirm our results with aspirin and test whether this level of target cell reduction will actually prevent HIV infections," said Keith R Fowke from University of Manitoba. "If so, this could be a strategy for HIV prevention that is not only inexpensive, but easily accessed globally. People living in poverty are disproportionately at risk of acquiring HIV. We need prevention approaches that are affordable and immediately available," added Fowke.
The goal of this study is to provide a new tool in the HIV prevention arsenal that would be used together with other approaches to reduce HIV transmission in high-risk populations, Fowke said.