In addition to the Positive Life Series presentation noted above, there will be a webinar on Tuesday, October 1, 10:00 - 11:30 AM, to help answer questions about new health insurance plans.  On October 1, insurance marketplaces will reveal the plans they'll offer and people may also begin enrolling on that date.  But that's not a deadline!  There will be time to research and compare plans before enrolling.  To help you evaluate insurance plans, the Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation (CHLPI) of Harvard Law School has developed a health plan assessment tool to help you figure out which plans are particularly well-, or  ill-suited for people with HIV.  This webinar will enable you to use an assessment tool, describe steps in evaluating a plan and highlight key provisions that will maximize access to care, treatment and affordability.  It includes a workbook and worksheet for plans available in California (they vary from state to state).  Click here for more information and to register for the webinar.  And click here for Covered California's site, which includes state-specific plans and information.  (jl) (sb) 

This week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) issued its highest level of warning for a drug-resistant strain of gonorrhea, noting that the sexually transmitted disease is an "urgent threat" to the health of Americans.  It's a risk for anyone sexually active but has always been a problem in the gay community and is especially dangerous for those living with HIV.  Protect yourself and click here to read more.  (sb)     

Kidney health is a huge concern when living with HIV so recent news that Israeli surgeons have conducted a successful kidney transplant from one living HIV-positive person to another is very encouraging.  Transplants are complex in themselves and this one required long coordination of antiviral medications between the two individuals to guard against resistance and mutation.  Read more here.  (sb)    

A new study at Harvard Medical school shows that a new formulation of the widely used antiviral tenofovir is just as effective at a lower dose with fewer adverse side-effects on kidney and bone health.  Tenofovir is a nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI) and is the sole ingredient of Viread, and a component of single-pill combination therapies Truvada, Atripla, Complera and Stribild.  How and when the manufacturers of these drugs may alter their products' dosages of tenofovir remains to be seen.  But if you are on any of these drugs, watch for developments and discuss the matter with your doctor on your next check-up.  Click here for the full story.  (sb)     

This is no surprise: a recent study of veterans of antiviral therapy conclusively showed that they adhere to their regimen better when taking only a single pill daily.  This study group even had a lower hospitalization rate than another group that remained on multiple-pill therapy.  Atripla, Stribild and Complera are currently the only approved once-daily drugs.  Of course, switching meds is no light matter and obviously can be done only after careful consultation with your healthcare provider.  But if you have trouble remembering to take mulitiple pills or have other adherence issues, it's worth discussing with your doctor if a single-pill medication might be right for you.  Click here to read more on this study.  (sb)  

Genocea Biosciences Inc., a Massachusetts biopharmaceutical company, recently reported positive results from a clinical study of a vaccine to treat recurrent outbreaks of genital herpes from simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2).  The vaccine apparently inhibits HSV's ability to "shed," or detach itself from one individual to another.  This happens most commonly during sexual contact, but also from mother to baby during childbirth.  The science is a bit complicated, but click here for the full story.  The nasty-looking genital herpes bug (pictured) remains a major STI problem in immune-suppressed patients.  (sb)  

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) are studying how HIV affects the brain, particularly among older HIV-positive individuals.  UCSD researchers are reaching out to the HIV community in the Palm Springs area who are interested in traveling to San Diego to complete a standard battery of cognitive and medical tests, and who are willing to agree to organ and tissue donation after death.  (This donation agreement is required to enroll and participate in this study, and for transportation to be provided.  If you are not willing to meet this requirement, UCSD researchers have other studies for which you may be eligible).  This study, known as the California NeuroAIDS Tissue Network (CNTN), is part of a larger national research program, the National NeuroAIDS Tissue Consortium (NNTC).  Together, these researchers use their shared knowledge and resources to develop uniform methods for studying HIV-affected populations with neurological disorders.  Additionally, the NNTC is a resource for HIV researchers around the globe.   Study participants will be compensated for their time, and transportation will be provided to and from the research center in San Diego.  Overnight accommodations will be provided as necessary.  If you are interested in learning more about CNTN, please contact Susanna Concha-Garcia at 619.543.5098 with any questions you have about travel or compensation.  Click here for the UCSD researchers' website.  (sb)    

Many of us around the D.A.P. community are older gay men who have survived living with HIV for decades, some as long as 30 years.  We've done our best to pass along our stories and cautionary tales to younger men not even born when the epidemic began.  Now, we're hearing of spikes in new infections among guys in their twenties or even their teens, and may feel appalled and frustrated, much as all parents have felt with their children for all time.  Weren't you listening?! we may ask.  What were you thinking?!  Well, some of them are reflecting and appreciating what the rest of us have been through as they begin to face unexpected HIV issues themselves.  Despite becoming infected through ignorance, negligence or the callow nature of youth, HIV is being taken seriously in some quarters of the millennial generation.  Click here for one young writer's take in The Huffington Post.  (sb)  

With all the data available on HIV, it's easy to overlook statistics.  But here's one from a new study from the Community Access National Network (CANN) that demands attention: about 25 percent of people in the U.S. infected with HIV are also infected with hepatitis C (HCV).  The study also shows HCV is more common among African-Americans and much more easily transmitted in sex between men than previously thought.  CANN is working with ADAPs around the country to improve prevention and especially availability of treatment of coinfection.  Click here to read more about their new combined approach.  (sb)  

We've all been there: how do you tell a friend or family member that you are HIV-positive?   What will they think?  Will they embrace you or run away screaming?  Should you even try?  Steven Petrow, author of The Complete Guide to Gay & Lesbian Manners, recently addressed these questions in a Miss Manners-like column in The New York Times.  "The stigma that prevents many people with HIV from disclosing their condition is not just unreasonable, it's bad medicine because it discourages people from being tested.  Knowing one's status has immense benefits, in terms of early treatment and reducing transmission," said Petrow.  He cited new organizations, The Stigma Project and Needle Prick, aimed primarily at younger people, which are designed to diminish longstanding stigma about HIV disclosure.  Click here for Petrow's interview, here for the Stigma Project and here for Needle Prick (and its fun slogan).  (sb)  

This week marks the fifth annual National Gay Men's Awareness Day.  Most of us feel quite sufficiently aware of HIV/AIDS already, but appreciate that the government takes note.  There are so many other similar awareness days for all sorts of diseases, conditions, situations and about any conceivable circumstance that most pass without much attention.  Still, the day has potential to educate, especially younger gay men so we'll continue to put it out there.  Click here and here for updates.  And Human Rights Campaign has a good piece here about the special stigmas faced by gay Hispanic and African-American men.  (sb)  

Over the next few weeks, area theatergoers have a chance to see The Normal Heart, Larry Kramer's classic 1985 play about the early years of the AIDS epidemic.  The Fountain Theatre in Los Angeles is presenting the first production of the play in this area in nearly 20 years.  The show opened this past weekend and runs through November 3.  It stars Tim Cummings as Ned Weeks, a New York writer (based on the playwright) who is spurred to indignant activism by the devastation of the epidemic.  Others in the cast are Bill Brochtrup, Lisa Pelikan, Verton R. Banks, Matt Gottlieb, Fred Koehler, Stephen O'Mahoney, Ray Paolantonio, Dan Shaked, and Jeff Witzke.  Simon Levy directs.  The Normal Heart is a landmark play about our own history and is worth attending if you've not seen it.  For showtimes, directions and tickets, call 323.663.1525 or visit fountaintheatre.com.  (sb)

Our friend and colleague Rick Vila, who has played a huge role in developing the scope and quality of DAPCAN, is stepping away as a regular volunteer editor.  Rick has volunteered at D.A.P. for 11 years and started working with DAPCAN in 2010.  In addition to his volunteer hours, Rick, along with his husband Ken Lyon, is also a member of Partners for Life, one of the Major Donor Programs benefiting clients of D.A.P.  We will miss Rick's dedication, hard work and easy writing style, but we're not losing him completely!  He promises to contribute an occasional column to DAPCAN and, we hope, a little extra help when we really need it.  We look forward to that and are deeply grateful to Rick for his incredible years of service.