|
|
 |
'Lauryl' condom could make women more hardy
Liz Clarke The Star, July 11 2002. Reprinted courtesy of Independent Newspapers (Pty) Ltd.
|
An "invisible" condom worn by women has been hailed as one of the most innovative preventive measures presented at the Barcelona AIDS Conference.
The substance is a gel formation containing sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS) which, when applied to the vaginal area, forms not only a physical barrier, but also a chemical buffer between the pathogens and cells that the HIV virus would target.
If successful, the "can't-see" condom, developed by scientists at the University of Quebec in Canada, could become a major boon in sub-Saharan Africa, where campaigns to use condoms have had limited success, and where thousands of women, particularly in rural areas, find it hard to control their partners' sexual behaviour.
The most significant advantage for women is that their partners would not be aware of the presence of a protective sheath, which could reduce the high incidence of sex-related violence against women, particularly in the poorer rural areas.
Dr Michel Bergeron, one of the chief investigators, said that when mice were injected with the gel containing SLS, they were completely protected from lethal HIV infection. The substance was also well tolerated after many applications in rabbits.
He said phase-one safety trials on humans had just begun, using 19 women and nine men to evaluate adverse genital events. |
| Was this article helpful to you? |
 ?100%???? ?0%
|
|
Back
|
|
|
|
