Are You Gellin'?

A team of researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, is seeking young women to participate in the first U.S. study of the safety of VivaGel, a vaginal microbicide designed to prevent herpes and HIV infection. 'The significance of the gel is that it potentially gives the power back to the woman to protect herself against infection,' says Anna-Barbara Moscicki, MD, professor of pediatrics at UCSF and lead investigator for the study. Because of HIV's increasing effect on women, development of the gel has been given fast-track status by the Food and Drug Administration. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, women account for more than one quarter of all new HIV diagnoses. Women of color are especially affected by HIV infection. In 2002, the most recent year for which data are available, HIV infection was the leading cause of death for African-American women ages 25 to 34. It was the third leading cause of death for African-American women ages 35 to 44 and the fourth leading cause of death for African-American women ages 45 to 54 and for Hispanic women ages 35 to 44. In the same year HIV infection was the fifth leading cause of death among all women ages 35 to 44 and the sixth leading cause of death among all women ages 25 to 34. The only diseases causing more deaths among women were various types of cancer and heart disease.