NAPWA

Three steps closer to the cure

Adrian Ogier summarises three of the latest cure-related research findings presented at AIDS2012. read more »

Serodiscordant couples needed for important study

We currently don’t know how much being on treatment reduces the risk of HIV transmission within serodiscordant gay relationships.

The Opposites Attract study is a globally unique research project being launched in Australia to find out just that read more »

Where are we with rapid HIV testing?

Australia has yet to approve rapid HIV testing. Currently, the only way to access the technology is through clinical trials.

Two of these are in the final stages of data collection and analysis, with results due to be presented at the Australasian HIV/AIDS Conference in October. read more »

HPV vaccine extended to boys

In a world first, Australian schoolboys will soon be able to get the Gardasil vaccine, which will protect them from contracting the human papillomavirus (HPV) types 6, 11, 16 and 18 — the types most responsible for causing genital warts, precancerous anal lesions and anal cancer. read more »

Checklist guide now available

Hard copies of the latest CHECKLIST GUIDE FOR PEOPLE WITH HIV are now available from the NAPWHA office in Sydney. This handy booklet will help you make the best decisions about your health, care and treatment whether you’ve just found out you’re positive or you’re a long-termer. read more »

Women poorly represented in HIV drug trials

Women comprise nearly half of the HIV positive population worldwide, but these 15.5 million women tend to be under-represented in clinical trials of HIV drug therapies. read more »

US PrEP guidelines released

As a follow-up to the preliminary guidelines regarding pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for men who have sex with men, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have also issued interim recommendations for heterosexually active adults. read more »

Positive Olympic trampolinist delights

Gay Australian Olympian Ji Wallace has delighted the Australian HIV community sector by publicly revealing his HIV status in a recent letter to the Star Observer. read more »

Not on treatment?

Do you have HIV but are currently not on treatment?

Researchers from the National Centre in HIV Social Research and NAPWHA are interested in your story and hearing your views on HIV treatment. read more »

The power of resilience

re·sil·ience [ri-zil-ee-uhns] noun
2. ability to recover readily from illness, depression, adversity, or the like; buoyancy.

Unlike dictionaries, psychologists vary in their definition of resilience with some saying it is less about actual recovery and more about ‘the ability to establish and maintain a stable equilibrium across and over time’. Nevertheless, DAVID MENADUE investigates a trait we could probably all do with a little more of. read more »

Why treatment is good for you

Most people on treatment are on a combination that has reduced their viral loadA measurement of the quantity of HIV RNA in the blood. Viral load blood test results are expressed as the number of copies (of HIV) per milliliter of blood plasma. to an undetectable level and keeps it there. And this is a good thing. It means their immune systems are not being destroyed by HIV and they are not going to progress to AIDS.

Neil McKellar-Stewart thought it was time we looked at all the health benefits to us of being on treatment. So, he tracked down the research and here it is. read more »

When push comes to shove

Why do some of us refuse treatment? And how far will we go before we finally relent? JAMES MAY tells us his story. read more »

Tales from the Network

Tales from the Network

It was while Peter Watts was introducing Joe to some of the services they offer at Queensland Positive People (QPP), that they got to talking.

Diagnosed with HIV some years ago, lately Joe had been struggling with his health and seemed, he said, to be constantly and overwhelmingly tired.

‘Sometimes I just don’t have enough energy to stand up in the shower,’ he told him. read more »

STATE OF MIND: cognitive behaviour therapy

STATE OF MIND, the column where therapists recommend techniques we can employ to deal with the symptoms of anxiety or depression. In this issue, Ruth Hennessy talks about Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. read more »