PURPOSE OF REVIEW This review discusses recent developments within the field of microbicide development and considers whether there are grounds to be hopeful that it will be possible to develop a microbicide for the prevention of HIV infection. RECENT FINDINGS Phase 2B/3 effectiveness studies of surfactant and polyanion vaginal microbicides have demonstrated modest or no effect against HIV in...

BACKGROUND The XVII International Conference on AIDS held in Mexico City in August 2008 emphasised the importance of dual prevention using both vaccines and microbicides in the fight against HIV and AIDS. Microbicides are important because they constitute one of the potentially important female-controlled methods of HIV and sexually transmitted infection prevention, especially in Malawi where t...

Back ground: With a view to explore the possibilities of finding new molecules with proven therapeutic efficacy for human use with potent sperm attenuating activity and lower side effect profile than nonoxynol9 (N-9). the present study was designed to investigate spermicidal activity in Xestospongia officinalis. Material and Methods: The extract, fractions followed by isolation and characteriza...

Mesoscale structures (microns dimensions, nL-pL volumes) have been designed and fabricated in silicon for use in various analytical tasks. We studied sperm motility and performed sperm selection in channels (80 microns wide x 20 microns deep), branching structures (40 microns wide x 20 microns deep, eight bifurcations), and channels containing barriers (7 microns feature size). Sperm-cervical m...

OBJECTIVE We tested the effect of nonoxynol-9 (N-9) in condom lubrication on the risk of acquiring STD and genital discomfort. METHODS The study was a triple masked, randomised controlled trial comparing N-9 lubricated condoms with plain silicone lubricated condoms among Dominican female sex workers. RESULTS Randomisation provided two groups (313 for N-9 and 322 for plain) similar in baseli...

The study investigated spermicidal and antitrichomonas activities of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants with a view to generate new lead for development of dual-function spermicidal microbicides, which is an urgent global need. Fluoxetine, Sertraline, and Fluvoxamine exhibited both spermicidal and anti-STI (antitrichomonas) activities in vitro, whereas Paroxetine and ...

Great questions! Here's the scoop on what you heard: according to a four-year study conducted by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) [2], women who used nonoxynol-9 (N-9) gel were infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) at a higher rate than those who used a placebo gel. Though N-9 isn?t effective at protecting against HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (...