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

Creating New Immune Systems for HIV PatientsCreating New Immune Systems for HIV PatientsCreating New Immune Systems for HIV Patients 

There is good news in attempts to halt HIV by growing, in patients, new immune systems lacking function in a key gene just as the first-and only-cured HIV patient did.

HIV Infection Linked to Reduced Risk of MS 

A new study published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry - a journal of the BMJ - suggests that individuals infected with HIV may be at much lower risk of developing multiple sclerosis.

Treatment

$1,000 Hepatitis Pill Shows Why Fixing Health Costs Is So Hard 

A new drug for the liver diseasehepatitis C is scaring people. Not because the drug is dangerous - it's generally heralded as a genuine medical breakthrough - but because it costs $1,000 a pill and about $84,000 for a typical person's total treatment.

Miscellaneous

The Black HIV Epidemic: A Public Health Mystery from Atlanta's Gay Community 

A journey with the researchers studying the troubling disparity in HIV diagnoses.

Cleveland HIV/AIDS Healthcare Center Hosts Opening in Coordination with Gay Games (photo gallery) 

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The AIDS Taskforce of Greater Cleveland and the AIDS Healthcare Foundation celebrated the grand opening of a new healthcare center and pharmacy Tuesday, as the city prepares for the 2014 Gay Games.

NMAC Launches PrEP Resource for Young Gay Men of Color 

The National Minority AIDS Council (NMAC) has launched PrEPare for Life, an online resource page for young gay men of color about pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). The page includes peer-based educational videos, infographics to be shared on social media and links to other PrEP resources.

Obama and African Leaders to Discuss U.S. Funding for HIV/AIDS 

When African leaders arrive in Washington this week to meet with President Obama, one of the most politically sensitive issues expected to be discussed is the future of the U.S. commitment to global efforts to deal with HIV/AIDS.

Racial Differences in Life Expectancy Vary Between States 

Differences in life expectancy between black people and white people vary from state to state, according to a new study published in the journal Health Affairs.

Recession, Not Affordable Care Act, Slows Health Spending, Study Concludes 

Aug. 05--Spending on health care in the United States grew at a slower pace in recent years because of the economic recession and not because of the Affordable Care Act, an academic study published on Monday concluded.

Researchers Look at Prescription Opioid Abuse Among Young Adults in NYC 

The prevalence of heroin use has been rising steadily in the U.S in recent years. According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, the number of individuals reporting past year heroin use almost doubled between 2007 (373,000) and 2012 (669,000). Emerging evidence suggests the increase may be linked to prescription opioid (PO) users who transition from oral and/or intranasal PO use to heroin use, with POs providing the entryway to regular opioid use, and ultimately, heroin injection. This drug-use trajectory appears to have become increasingly common over the past ten years; in one study, 77.4% of participants in a 2008-2010 cohort reported using POs nonmedically prior to initiating heroin use, as compared to 66.8% in the 2002-2004 cohort.