Medicine

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- A couple filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the state of South Carolina for what they say was an unnecessary sexual assignment surgery performed on a toddler they later adopted. [ Read more → ]

AARHUS, Denmark -- Scientists and researchers at Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark say they believe there will be a breakthrough in finding a cure for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) “within months.” [ Read more → ]

FOSTER CITY, Calif. -- Gilead Sciences Inc. said Monday that the Food and Drug Administration rejected two marketing applications for HIV treatments, citing quality control problems at the company's manufacturing facilities. [ Read more → ]

WASHINGTON -- The latest bad news in the hunt for an AIDS vaccine: The government halted a large U.S. study on Thursday, saying the experimental shots aren't preventing HIV infection. [ Read more → ]

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Facing pressure from shrinking federal funds, the West Virginia Senate advanced a bill Thursday that would allow local health departments to charge patients for testing for sexually transmitted diseases. [ Read more → ]

A baby born with the virus that causes AIDS appears to have been cured, scientists announced Sunday, describing the case of a child from Mississippi who's now 2½ and has been off medication for about a year with no signs of infection. [ Read more → ]

ARLINGTON, Va. -- The American Psychiatric Association has voted to eliminate the term "gender identity disorder" and replace it with "gender dysphoria" when diagnosing people who are transgender. [ Read more → ]

WASHINGTON -- The Federal Aviation Administration has released new medical certification procedures for transgender pilots, eliminating unnecessary psychological testing that had previously been required. [ Read more → ]

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday approved Truvada, the first drug approved to reduce the risk of HIV infection in uninfected individuals who are at high risk of HIV infection, or who may engage in sexual activity with HIV-infected partners. [ Read more → ]

ELIZABETH, N.J. -- A gay HIV-positive man says in court that a hospital denied him treatment and visitors, as the doctor remarked, "This is what he gets for going against God's will." [ Read more → ]

Janus was the Roman God of Thresholds, of transition, of beginnings and ending. He is often depicted with two faces, one for looking forward and one for looking back. January, the beginning month of the new year is named for Janus, and so, it's natural that humans take this time to look back -- and look forward -- at the approach of the New Year... [ Read more → ]

Linda Harvey of Mission America has a message for parents: don’t let your child be treated by a gay or lesbian doctor or nurse. On her radio show yesterday, Harvey said that parents should prohibit gay and lesbian health care employees from attending to their children because their sexual orientation is “erroneously influential to children.” [ Read more → ]

Utilizing the specialized computer video game Foldit that was developed by researchers from the University of Washington in 2008, online computer gamers have figured out how to decipher an enzyme critical to the early development of AIDS that had stumped scientists for nearly ten years. [ Read more → ]

With all the doctor appointments and wellness activities we engage in, living with HIV/AIDS can be a full-time job. And the truth is, it doesn’t pay very well. We’ve all been feeling the pinch of tough economic times. So I hope you’ll find some savings... [ Read more → ]

In a report issued Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, new multi-year data disclosed that the annual rate of new HIV infections in the United States has remained relatively stable. [ Read more → ]

Several years ago, I told someone that I was HIV positive before I agreed to his invitation for a date. “Yeah, I know,” he casually replied, and then he looked a little embarrassed, as if he shouldn’t have said it. It was too late, of course; I knew exactly what he meant. He knew my HIV status because of the appearance of my face. [ Read more → ]

In the New England Journal of Medicine this week is an excellent research study on HIV, entitled Preventing HIV-1 Infection with Antiretroviral Therapy. [ Read more → ]

In a groundbreaking series of recent clinical trials, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that a pill containing either one or two anti-HIV drugs taken daily can reduce transmission of the HIV-virus by as much as three-quarters among heterosexual couples. [ Read more → ]

On this day 30 years ago -- July 3, 1981 -- under the headline "Rare Cancer Seen in 41 Homosexuals," The New York Times reported: [ Read more → ]

On this day, June 5, in 1981, the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta published a report of five cases of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) among previously healthy young men in Los Angeles. All of the men were described as "homosexuals" -- two had died. [ Read more → ]