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Anna Forbes

Publications and source records attributed to Anna Forbes.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Women and HIV. Microbicides for HIV prevention.

We all know about the "feminization" of AIDS. Approximately 8000 women and girls are infected with HIV daily, the vast majority by their husbands or boyfriends. In Africa, women make up 60% of all people living with HIV/AIDS, and girls make up 6% of HIV positive African youth. While fewer than half of all new HIV infections in the United States occur among women, the transmission pattern is similar. Heterosexual contact is the source of at least 78% of all new infections among U.S. women. Biologically, a woman is at least twice as likely as a man to contract HIV from a single act of unprotected vaginal intercourse. Even with the "female condom," a woman cannot protect herself during heterosexual sex without the cooperation of her partner. The "ABCs" (abstain, be faithful, use condoms) fail millions of women who lack the social and economic power to negotiate when and how sex occurs and whether protection is used. Microbicides could change this picture with just a simple cream, foam, or gel that can be inserted vaginally to protect women condom use isn't possible. Five candidate microbicides are now in large-scale efficacy trials and dozens more are in the preclinical and clinical trial pipeline. Research to develop rectal microbicides is also finally underway. We now have the scientific means and the public health motivation to put the first totally new HIV prevention technology into the hands of receptive sex partners--male and female--in the very near future.

Antiviral Agents↗
PubMed2003

The acceptability of an investigational vaginal microbicide, PRO 2000 Gel, among women in a phase I clinical trial.

PURPOSE: Vaginal microbicides will provide a woman-initiated prevention strategy that could substantially reduce rates of HIV infection. The acceptability of microbicides will greatly influence the use and, hence, effectiveness of such products. In this study, the acceptability of an investigational microbicide, PRO 2000 Gel (Indevus Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Lexington, MA), was assessed, and women's opinions about microbicides and their potential for real world use were gathered. METHODS: Quantitative and qualitative data were collected from 30 U.S. and 33 South African women. All sexually active HIV-uninfected women and all sexually abstinent HIV-infected women participating in this phase I clinical trial stated in a survey that they would use PRO 2000 Gel if they had reason to be concerned about HIV and the product were available. Qualitative data, however, provided insight into the nuances of acceptability ratings. Women rated product safety, ease of use, and positive effects on sexual pleasure among the most important characteristics of acceptable microbicides. RESULTS: Opinions regarding product leakage, contraceptive capability, and the ability to be used without partners noticing, as well as characteristics of the product itself, varied substantially based on the context of sex and perceptions of risk within each individual woman's life. CONCLUSIONS: As microbicide development continues and the first investigational products move into efficacy trials, the needs and preferences of those women who constitute the potential users of microbicides become paramount. Providing woman-initiated microbicides that are safe, easy to use, and pleasurable will be key to the impact these products will have on the AIDS epidemic worldwide.

Administration, Intravaginal↗