VAGINAL gels to protect women against HIV have failed to work, but new insights into how the virus is transmitted could change this.
HIV in semen takes two forms: as DNA in white blood cells and free-floating RNA in seminal fluid. The two are genetically distinct.
To find out which transmits the disease, Davey Smith and colleagues at the University of California, San Diego, took samples from six pairs of homosexual men in which HIV had been transferred from one to the other. When they compared the virus found in the recipient to the DNA and RNA versions in the semen of the man who infected him, it was most closely related to the RNA, which suggests RNA is the culprit (Science Translational Medicine, vol 3, p 1).
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Gels, which could help women whose male partners won鈥檛 wear condoms, have been focused on physically blocking HIV. Newer ones could target RNA, says Smith.
鈥淰aginal gels could help women whose male partners refuse to wear a condom鈥�
