The Drug that Prevents HIV Infections has Different Impacts for Men and Women, Study Says

Truvada, the only drug that has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration to prevent HIV infections was discovered to have different impacts for men and women. Women need higher dosage compared to men.

Truvada is manufactured by Gilead and approved by the FDA as a "pre-exposure prophylaxis" (PrEP) of HIV. It protects the patients from infections and it is 90-96 percent effective. FDA initially suggested that patients should only take Truvada twice a week. Although its results have been positive, it was found that its effect on women is only at 30 percent, according to MicroCap Magazine.

The experiment was tested on 47 healthy women, who have been tested for the level of DNA material found in human cells, which the HIV uses to reproduce. The study also aims to see how much Truvada was required in preventing the HIV's infection to men and women's cells.

They test the levels of drugs and DNA present in each woman by collecting samples of their cervical, rectal and vaginal tissue. The result showed that the quantity of drug was less in cervical and vaginal tissue compared to rectal tissue.

It is concluded that while men need only two doses of the drug every week, women need a daily dose to protect them against HIV. However, there are groups who believe that Truvada must be taken as prescribed. It is feared that this may result to a false sense of security and make the disease resistant to the treatment once they caught AIDS, Morning Ticker reported.

Truvada is a proof that science has come a long way in battling HIV since it was discovered. Positive developments tell that a vaccine will soon be available to cure HIV.

In a Q&A last year, Dr. Stuart Rennie, a professor at UNC said there is "currently unprecedented excitement surrounding the possibility of a cure for HIV." He also said that the research's funding increased.

Science has turned HIV from terminal to a manageable illness. Timothy Brown, a Berlin patient was miraculously cured few years back, the scientist has been studying the case since then.

However, the scientists still have a lot of studies and works to be done to understand the pathogenesis of HIV. This is the farthest they have reached yet and they still cannot say when they are going to reach their goal.