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.

MSM

Longitudinal Studies Shed Light on MSM Per-Contact HIV Risk 

A new analysis of the risk of HIV transmission posed by specific sexual acts found that younger men who have sex with men and MSM of color have a higher risk of the contracting the virus. Publishing their findings in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes (JAIDS), researchers pooled data from three longitudinal studies of MSM from the era preceding modern antiretrovirals (ARVs) and the early-ARV era. Covering overlapping time periods that spanned 1998 to 2003, the studies, which all required the men to be HIV negative upon entry and which gathered reports on their sexual behavior, included the HIV Network for Prevention Trials Vaccine Preparedness Study, the EXPLORE.

Prevention

Reaching Out to Prevent HIV in High-Risk Youth 

Program reaches out to young black, Latino gays on the streets to provide testing, therapy.

Science

Possible Link Between Cognitive Depressive Symptoms and Antiretroviral Therapy Uptake 

Researchers from Boston University's School of Medicine (BUSM) and College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) found that among HIV-infected Russian drinkers, depressive symptom severity alone was not significantly associated with lower rates of antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation. However, when examining cognitive symptoms of depression, results showed that high levels of depressive symptoms may be associated with delayed ART initiation. The findings are published online in the journal AIDS and Behavior.

Relapse of 'Cured' HIV Patients Spurs AIDS Science On 

Scientists seeking a cure for AIDS say they have been inspired, not crushed, by a major setback in which two HIV positive patients believed to have been cured found the virus re-invading their bodies once more.

Study Ties Diabetic Crises to Dip in Food Budgets 

Poor people with diabetes are significantly more likely to go to the hospital for dangerously low blood sugar at the end of the month when food budgets are tight than at the beginning of the month, a new study has found.

Miscellaneous

Another Modest Rise for Health Costs 

WASHINGTON - National health spending grew slowly for the fourth consecutive year, increasing 3.7 percent in 2012 to $2.8 trillion, the federal government said Monday. But officials disagreed over whether the Affordable Care Act or lingering effects of the recession were primarily responsible for the remarkable trend.

HIV Cure: Functional Cure Achievable Against HIV/AIDS By Being Realistic Says Famous AIDS Researcher 

Even with the major setback in the quest for functional cure against HIV/AIDS, world-renowned AIDS researcher Dr. Robert Gallo sees effective cure versus the deadly disease possible - going realistic is the only way to achieve such goal.

Obamacare Enrollment for LGBTs 

Despite significant social, political, and legal gains in the last few decades, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans have long lagged behind their straight and cisgender counterparts when it comes to physical and mental health.

Rose Parade Gay Wedding Ignites Controversy Over AIDS Message 

Gay couple Aubrey Loots and Danny Leclair made history Wednesday, when the pair participated in the first gay wedding ever officiated on a Rose Parade float.

U2's Bono Speaks Out on Nelson Mandela and HIV/AIDS Intervention at Palm Springs Gala 

'We are within reach of declaring the first AIDS-free generation.'