A cross-section of articles we've read this week about HIV/AIDS, STIs and a wide cross-section of structural and systemic factors impacting HIV/AIDS in Black communities.

Science

Cats May be Key to HIV Vaccine 

There have been numerous studies showing how dogs can benefit human health, by sniffing out cancer, for example. Now it is time for cats to shine, as researchers say they may hold the key to a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) vaccine.

HIV and Heart Disease 

Scientists have increasingly realized that a diverse set of medical conditions-ranging from psoriasis to rheumatoid arthritis-also raise the risk of heart disease. The common link may be increased inflammation in the body.

HIV Vaccines Elicit Immune Response in Infants 

A new analysis of two HIV vaccine trials that involved pediatric patients shows that the investigational vaccines stimulated a critical immune response in infants born to HIV-infected mothers, researchers at Duke Medicine report.

NIH Trials Turn Away New Patients as Shutdown Obstructs Work of Scientists, Researchers 

Much of the government's sprawling scientific and technological machinery has been turned off, and researchers and engineers fear that a prolonged shutdown could imperil their projects and create lasting harm to U.S. innovation.

Treatment

Hospitalized HIV Patients Benefit from Seeing Infectious Diseases Specialists 

Oct. 4, 2013 - When patients with HIV are hospitalized for other conditions, such as a heart problem, surgery or complications of diabetes, mistakes are often made involving their complicated anti-retroviral therapy (ART) regimens. But those errors are more than twice as likely to be corrected when patients are seen by an infectious diseases (ID) physician, suggests a Cleveland Clinic study being presented at IDWeek 2013™ today.

Visits to Multiple HIV Clinics Linked to Poorer Outcomes 

Oct. 9, 2013 - Patients who received care at multiple HIV clinics -- as opposed to only one -- were less likely to take their medication and had higher HIV viral loads, a new study published in the journal AIDS and Behavior of almost 13,000 HIV patients in Philadelphia from Penn Medicine found. The findings reinforce the notion that continuous care with one provider/clinic is optimal for outcomes and even reducing transmissions, and can help cut down on duplicative HIV services that contribute to higher health care costs.

Miscellaneous

The Color of Affordable Care 

Shortly after House Republicans shut down the federal government in an effort to halt implementation of the Affordable Care Act, Sabrina Tavernise and Robert Gebeloff of The New York Times reported that many Republican-controlled states have already strangled an important feature of the legislation by denying extension of Medicaid eligibility to the working poor.

Georgia Campus HIV Alert Sparks Backlash 

Georgia Southern University posted a campus alert on August 20, 2013, warning the community of "an attractive, well-kempt, well-dressed African American male" who they feared was "knowingly and intentionally infecting" his sexual partners with HIV. The post garnered criticism that it re-stigmatized the gay, Black, and HIV-positive communities, and was taken down without explanation.

PA. Governor Apologizes for Comparing Gay Marriage to 'Brother and Sister' 

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett is apologizing for comparing same-sex marriage to the marriage of a brother and sister during a Friday television interview, angering gay-rights groups.

States of Health 

Ours can be an unforgiving country. Paul Sullivan was in his fifties, college-educated, and ran a successful small business in the Houston area. He owned a house and three cars. Then the local economy fell apart. Business dried up. He had savings, but, like more than a million people today in Harris County, Texas, he didn't have health insurance. "I should have known better," he says. When an illness put him in the hospital and his doctor found a precancerous lesion that required treatment, the unaffordable medical bills arrived. He has to sell his cars and, eventually, his house. To his shock, he had to move into a homeless shelter, carrying his belongings in a suitcase wherever he went.

Uninsured Find More Success via Health Exchanges Run by States 

WASHINGTON - Robyn J. Skrebes of Minneapolis said she was able to sign up for health insurance in about two hours on Monday using the Web site of the state-run insurance exchange in Minnesota, known as MNsure. Ms. Skrebes, who is 32 and uninsured, said she had selected a policy costing $179 a month, before tax credit subsidies, and also had obtained Medicaid coverage for her 2-year-old daughter, Emma.

Why the Health Care Law Scares the G.O.P. 

This spring, the Missouri Chamber of Commerce urged the state Legislature to accept the federal government's plan to expand Medicaid for the poor and disabled.

The business lobbying group had not suddenly gone rogue. Here is how Daniel P. Mehan, its president, summarized his feelings about President Obama's health care law: "We don't like it."